Pitch-ore Pitch"-ore` noun (Min.) Pitchblende.

Pitchblende Pitch"blende` noun [ 1st pitch + blende .] (Min.) A pitch-black mineral consisting chiefly of the oxide of uranium; uraninite. See Uraninite .

Pitcher Pitch"er noun 1. One who pitches anything, as hay, quoits, a ball, etc.; specifically (Baseball) , the player who delivers the ball to the batsman.

2. A sort of crowbar for digging. [ Obsolete] Mortimer.

Pitcher Pitch"er noun [ Middle English picher , Old French pichier , Old High German pehhar , pehhāri ; probably of the same origin as English beaker . Confer Beaker .] 1. A wide-mouthed, deep vessel for holding liquids, with a spout or protruding lip and a handle; a water jug or jar with a large ear or handle.

2. (Botany) A tubular or cuplike appendage or expansion of the leaves of certain plants.

American pitcher plants , the species of Sarracenia. See Sarracenia . -- Australian pitcher plant , the Cephalotus follicularis , a low saxifragaceous herb having two kinds of radical leaves, some oblanceolate and entire, others transformed into little ovoid pitchers, longitudinally triple-winged and ciliated, the mouth covered with a lid shaped like a cockleshell. -- California pitcher plant , the Darlingtonia California . See Darlingtonia . -- Pitcher plant , any plant with the whole or a part of the leaves transformed into pitchers or cuplike organs, especially the species of Nepenthes . See Nepenthes .

Pitcherful Pitch"er·ful noun ; plural Pitcherfuls The quantity a pitcher will hold.

Pitchfork Pitch"fork` noun A fork, or farming utensil, used in pitching hay, sheaves of grain, or the like.

Pitchfork Pitch"fork` transitive verb To pitch or throw with, or as with, a pitchfork.

He has been pitchforked into the footguards.

G. A. Sala.

Pitchiness Pitch"i·ness noun [ From Pitchy .] Blackness, as of pitch; darkness.

Pitching Pitch"ing noun 1. The act of throwing or casting; a cast; a pitch; as, wild pitching in baseball.

2. The rough paving of a street to a grade with blocks of stone. Mayhew.

3. (Hydraul. Eng.) A facing of stone laid upon a bank to prevent wear by tides or currents.

Pitching piece (Carp.) , the horizontal timber supporting the floor of a platform of a stairway, and against which the stringpieces of the sloping parts are supported.

Pitchstone Pitch"stone` noun (Geol.) An igneous rock of semiglassy nature, having a luster like pitch.

Pitchwork Pitch"work` noun The work of a coal miner who is paid by a share of his product.

Pitchy Pitch"y adjective [ From 1st Pitch .] 1. Partaking of the qualities of pitch; resembling pitch.

2. Smeared with pitch.

3. Black; pitch-dark; dismal. " Pitchy night." Shak.

Piteous Pit"e·ous adjective [ Middle English pitous , Old French pitos , French piteux . See Pity .] 1. Pious; devout. [ Obsolete]

The Lord can deliver piteous men from temptation.

Wyclif.

2. Evincing pity, compassion, or sympathy; compassionate; tender. "[ She] piteous of his case." Pope.

She was so charitable and so pitous .

Chaucer.

3. Fitted to excite pity or sympathy; wretched; miserable; lamentable; sad; as, a piteous case. Spenser.

The most piteous tale of Lear.

Shak.

4. Paltry; mean; pitiful. " Piteous amends." Milton.

Syn. -- Sorrowful; mournful; affecting; doleful; woeful; rueful; sad; wretched; miserable; pitiable; pitiful; compassionate.

-- Pit"e*ous*ly , adverb -- Pit"e*ous*ness , noun

Pitfall Pit"fall` noun A pit deceitfully covered to entrap wild beasts or men; a trap of any kind. Sir T. North.

Pitfalling Pit"fall`ing adjective Entrapping; insnaring. [ R.] "Full of . . . contradiction and pitfalling dispenses." Milton.

Pith Pith noun [ Anglo-Saxon pi...a ; akin to Dutch pit pith, kernel, LG. peddik . Confer Pit a kernel.] 1. (Botany) The soft spongy substance in the center of the stems of many plants and trees, especially those of the dicotyledonous or exogenous classes. It consists of cellular tissue.

2. (a) (Zoology) The spongy interior substance of a feather. (b) (Anat.) The spinal cord; the marrow.

3. Hence: The which contains the strength of life; the vital or essential part; concentrated force; vigor; strength; importance; as, the speech lacked pith .

Enterprises of great pith and moment.

Shak.

Pith paper . Same as Rice paper , under Rice .

Pith Pith transitive verb (Physiol.) To destroy the central nervous system of (an animal, as a frog), as by passing a stout wire or needle up and down the vertebral canal.

Pithecanthropus Pith`e·can·thro"pus noun [ New Latin ; Greek ... ape + ... man.] 1. A hypothetical genus of primates intermediate between man and the anthropoid apes. Haeckel.

2. A genus consisting of an primate ( P. erectus ) apparently intermediate between man and the existing anthropoid apes, known from bones of a single individual found in Java (hence called Java man ) in 1891-92. These bones include a thigh bone of the human type, two molar teeth intermediate between those of man and the anthropoids, and the calvaria of the skull, indicating a brain capacity of about 900 cubic centimeters, and resembling in form that of the Neanderthal man. Also [ plural - thropi ], an animal of this genus. -- Pith`e*can"thrope noun -- Pith`e*can"thro*poid adjective

Pitheci Pi·the"ci noun plural [ New Latin , from Greek ... an ape.] (Zoology) A division of mammals including the apes and monkeys. Sometimes used in the sense of Primates .

Pithecoid Pith"e·coid adjective [ Greek ... an ape + -oid .] (Zoology) 1. Of or pertaining to the genus Pithecia , or subfamily Pithecinæ , which includes the saki, ouakari, and other allied South American monkeys.

2. Of or pertaining to the anthropoid apes in particular, or to the higher apes of the Old World, collectively.

Pithful Pith"ful adjective Full of pith. [ R.] W. Browne.

Pithily Pith"i·ly adverb In a pithy manner.

Pithiness Pith"i·ness noun The quality or state of being pithy.

Pithless Pith"less adjective Destitute of pith, or of strength; feeble. Dryden. " Pithless argumentation." Glandstone.

Pithsome Pith"some adjective Pithy; robust. [ R.] " Pithsome health and vigor." R. D. Blackmore.

Pithy Pith"y adjective [ Compar. Pithier ; superl. Pithiest .] 1. Consisting wholly, or in part, of pith; abounding in pith; as, a pithy stem; a pithy fruit.

2. Having nervous energy; forceful; cogent.

This pithy speech prevailed, and all agreed.

Dryden.

In all these Goodman Fact was very short, but pithy .

Addison.

Pithy gall (Zoology) , a large, rough, furrowed, oblong gall, formed on blackberry canes by a small gallfly ( Diastrophus nebulosus ).

Pitiable Pit"i·a·ble adjective [ Confer Old French pitiable , French pitoyable .] Deserving pity; wworthy of, or exciting, compassion; miserable; lamentable; piteous; as, pitiable persons; a pitiable condition; pitiable wretchedness.

Syn. -- Sorrowful; woeful; sad. See Piteous .

-- Pit"i*a*ble*ness , noun -- Pit"i*a*bly , adverb

Pitier Pit"i·er noun One who pities. Gauden.

Pitiful Pit"i·ful adjective 1. Full of pity; tender-hearted; compassionate; kind; merciful; sympathetic.

The Lord is very pitiful , and of tender mercy.

James v. 11.

2. Piteous; lamentable; eliciting compassion.

A thing, indeed, very pitiful and horrible.

Spenser.

3. To be pitied for littleness or meanness; miserable; paltry; contemptible; despicable.

That's villainous, and shows a most pitiful ambition in the fool that uses it.

Shak.

Syn. -- Despicable; mean; paltry. See Contemptible .

-- Pit"i*ful*ly , adverb -- Pit"i*ful*ness , noun

Pitiless Pit"i·less adjective 1. Destitute of pity; hard-hearted; merciless; as, a pitiless master; pitiless elements.

2. Exciting no pity; as, a pitiless condition.

-- Pit"i*less*ly , adverb -- Pit"i*less*ness , noun

Pitman Pit"man noun ; plural Pitmen 1. One who works in a pit, as in mining, in sawing timber, etc.

2. (Machinery) The connecting rod in a sawmill; also, sometimes, a connecting rod in other machinery.

Pitot's tube Pi·tot's" tube` (Hydraul.) A bent tube used to determine the velocity of running water, by placing the curved end under water, and observing the height to which the fluid rises in the tube; a kind of current meter.

Pitpan Pit"pan` noun A long, flat- bottomed canoe, used for the navigation of rivers and lagoons in Central America. Squier.

Pitpat Pit"pat` noun & adverb See Pitapat .

Pitta Pit"ta (pĭt"tȧ) noun (Zoology) Any one of a large group of bright-colored clamatorial birds belonging to Pitta , and allied genera of the family Pittidæ . Most of the species are varied with three or more colors, such as blue, green, crimson, yellow, purple, and black. They are called also ground thrushes , and Old World ant thrushes ; but they are not related to the true thrushes.

» The pittas are most abundant in the East Indies, but some inhabit Southern Asia, Africa, and Australia. They live mostly upon the ground, and feed upon insects of various kinds.

Pittacal Pit"ta·cal (pĭt"tȧ*kăl) noun [ Greek pi`tta , pi`ssa , pitch + kalo`s beautiful: confer French pittacale .] (Chemistry) A dark blue substance obtained from wood tar. It consists of hydrocarbons which when oxidized form the orange-yellow eupittonic compounds, the salts of which are dark blue.

Pittance Pit"tance (pĭt"t a ns) noun [ Middle English pitance , pitaunce , French pitance ; confer Italian pietanza , Late Latin pitancia , pittantia , pictantia ; perhaps from Latin pietas pity, piety, or perhaps akin to English petty . Confer Petty , and Pity .] 1. An allowance of food bestowed in charity; a mess of victuals; hence, a small charity gift; a dole. "A good pitaunce ." Chaucer.

One half only of this pittance was ever given him in money.

Macaulay.

2. A meager portion, quantity, or allowance; an inconsiderable salary or compensation. "The small pittance of learning they received." Swift.

The inconsiderable pittance of faithful professors.

Fuller.

Pitted Pit"ted (-tĕd) adjective 1. Marked with little pits, as in smallpox. See Pit , transitive verb , 2.

2. (Botany) Having minute thin spots; as, pitted ducts in the vascular parts of vegetable tissue.

Pitter Pit"ter noun A contrivance for removing the pits from peaches, plums, and other stone fruit.

Pitter Pit"ter intransitive verb To make a pattering sound; to murmur; as, pittering streams. [ Obsolete] R. Greene.

Pitter-patter Pit"ter-pat`ter noun A sound like that of alternating light beats. Also, a pattering of words.

Pitter-patter Pit"ter-pat`ter adverb With, or with the sound of, alternating light beats; as, his heart went pitter- patter .

Pittle-pattle Pit"tle-pat`tle intransitive verb To talk unmeaningly; to chatter or prattle. [ R.] Latimer.

Pituitary Pi·tu"i·ta·ry adjective [ Latin pituita phlegm, pituite: confer French pituitarie .] (Anat.) (a) Secreting mucus or phlegm; as, the pituitary membrane, or the mucous membrane which lines the nasal cavities. (b) Of or pertaining to the pituitary body; as, the pituitary fossa.

Pituitary body or gland (Anat.) , a glandlike body of unknown function, situated in the pituitary fossa, and connected with the infundibulum of the brain; the hypophysis. -- Pituitary fossa (Anat.) , the ephippium.

Pituite Pit"u·ite noun [ Latin pituita : confer French pituite . Confer Pip a disease of fowls.] Mucus, phlegm.

Pituitous Pi·tu"i·tous adjective [ Latin pituitosus : confer French pituiteux .] Consisting of, or resembling, pituite or mucus; full of mucus; discharging mucus.

Pituitous fever (Medicine) , typhoid fever; enteric fever.

Pituitrin Pi·tu"i·trin noun (Biol. Chem.) A substance or extract from the pituitary body.

Pity Pit"y noun ; plural Pities . [ Middle English pite , Old French pité , pitié , French pitié , Latin pietas piety, kindness, pity. See Pious , and confer Piety .] 1. Piety. [ Obsolete] Wyclif.

2. A feeling for the sufferings or distresses of another or others; sympathy with the grief or misery of another; compassion; fellow-feeling; commiseration.

He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord.

Prov. xix. 17.

He . . . has no more pity in him than a dog.

Shak.

3. A reason or cause of pity, grief, or regret; a thing to be regretted. "The more the pity ." Shak.

What pity is it
That we can die but once to serve our country!

Addison.

» In this sense, sometimes used in the plural, especially in the colloquialism: "It is a thousand pities ."

Syn. -- Compassion; mercy; commiseration; condolence; sympathy, fellow-suffering; fellow-feeling. -- Pity , Sympathy , Compassion . Sympathy is literally fellow-feeling , and therefore requiers a certain degree of equality in situation, circumstances, etc., to its fullest exercise. Compassion is deep tenderness for another under severe or inevitable misfortune. Pity regards its object not only as suffering, but weak , and hence as inferior.

Pity Pit"y transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Pitied ; present participle & verbal noun Pitying .] 1. To feel pity or compassion for; to have sympathy with; to compassionate; to commiserate; to have tender feelings toward (any one), awakened by a knowledge of suffering.

Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.

Ps. ciii. 13.

2. To move to pity; -- used impersonally. [ Obsolete]

It pitieth them to see her in the dust.

Bk. of Com. Prayer.

Pity Pit"y intransitive verb To be compassionate; to show pity.

I will not pity , nor spare, nor have mercy.

Jer. xiii. 14.

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