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Pervious

Admitting passage; capable of being penetrated by another body or substance; permeable; as, a pervious soil.

Perviousness

The quality or state of being pervious; as, the perviousness of glass.

Pery

A pear tree. See Pirie.

Pes

The distal segment of the hind limb of vertebrates, including the tarsus and foot.

Pesade

The motion of a horse when, raising his fore quarters, he keeps his hind feet on the ground without advancing; rearing.

Pesage

A fee, or toll, paid for the weighing of merchandise.

Peseta

A Spanish silver coin, and money of account, equal to about nineteen cents (ca. 1900), and divided into 100 centesimos. Now replaced by the euro.

Peshitto Peshito

The earliest Syriac version of the Old Testament, translated from Hebrew; also, the incomplete Syriac version of the New Testament.

Pesky

Pestering; vexatious; troublesome. Used also as an intensive.

Peso

A Spanish dollar; also, an Argentine, Chilian, Colombian, etc., coin, equal to from 75 cents to a dollar; also, a pound weight.

Pessary

An instrument or device to be introduced into and worn in the vagina, to support the uterus, or remedy a malposition. A medicinal substance in the form of a bolus or mass, designed for introduction into the vagina; a vaginal suppository.

pessimal

Least favorable for survival; -- of an organism's environment.

Pessimism

The opinion or doctrine that everything in nature is ordered for or tends to the worst, or that the world is wholly evil; -- opposed to optimism.

Pessimist

One who advocates the doctrine of pessimism; -- opposed to optimist.

Pessimize

To hold or advocate the doctrine of pessimism.

Pessulus

A delicate bar of cartilage connecting the dorsal and ventral extremities of the first pair of bronchial cartilages in the syrinx of birds.

Pest

A fatal epidemic disease; a pestilence; specif., the plague.

Pestalozzian

Belonging to, or characteristic of, a system of elementary education which combined manual training with other instruction, advocated and practiced by Jean Henri Pestalozzi (1746-1827), a Swiss teacher. An advocate or follower of the system of Pestalozzi.

Pester

To trouble; to disturb; to annoy; to harass with petty vexations.

pestered

Troubled persistently especially with petty annoyances; as, the exasperation of a pestered animal.

Pesterment

The act of pestering, or the state of being pestered; vexation; worry.

Pesterous

Inclined to pester. Also, vexatious; encumbering; burdensome.

Pesthouse

A house or hospital for persons who are infected with any pestilential disease.

Pestiduct

That which conveys contagion or infection.

Pestiferous

Pest-bearing; pestilential; noxious to health; malignant; infectious; contagious; as, pestiferous bodies.

Pestilence

Specifically, the disease known as the plague; hence, any contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating.

Pestilent

Pestilential; noxious; pernicious; mischievous.

Pestilently

In a pestilent manner; mischievously; destructively.

pestillation

The act of pounding and bruising with a pestle in a mortar.

pestle

To pound, pulverize, bray, or mix with a pestle, or as with a pestle; to use a pestle.

pesto

A sauce used in Italian cuisine, typically made by blending olive oil, basil, garlic, pine nuts, and grated parmesan cheese; it is served hot or cold over pasta, meat, or fish. Where pine nuts are expensive, sunflower seeds are sometimes substituted.

pet

Petted; indulged; favorite; admired; cherished; as, a pet child; a pet lamb; a pet theory; a pet animal.

Pet

To be a pet.

Petal

One of the leaves of the corolla, or the colored leaves of a flower. See Corolla, and Illust. of Flower.

Petaled

Having petals; as, a petaled flower; -- opposed to apetalous, and much used in compounds; as, one-petaled, three-petaled, etc.

Petaliform

Having the form of a petal; petaloid; petal-shaped.

Petaline

Pertaining to a petal; attached to, or resembling, a petal.

Petalism

A form of sentence among the ancient Syracusans by which they banished for five years a citizen suspected of having dangerous influence or ambition. It was similar to the ostracism in Athens; but olive leaves were used instead of shells for ballots.

Petalite

A rare mineral, occurring crystallized and in cleavable masses, usually white, or nearly so, in color. It is a silicate of aluminum and lithium.

Petalody

The metamorphosis of various floral organs, usually stamens, into petals.

Petaloideous

Having the whole or part of the perianth petaline.

Petalosticha

An order of Echini, including the irregular sea urchins, as the spatangoids. See Spatangoid.

Petalous

Having petals; petaled; -- opposed to apetalous.

Petard

A case containing powder to be exploded, esp. a conical or cylindrical case of metal filled with powder and attached to a plank, to be exploded against and break down gates, barricades, drawbridges, etc. It has been superseded.

Petasus

The winged cap of Mercury; also, a broad-brimmed, low-crowned hat worn by Greeks and Romans.

Petaurist

Any flying marsupial of the genera Petaurus, Phalangista, Acrobata, and allied genera. See Flying mouse, under Flying, and Phalangister.

Petaurista

A genus of very large Asiatic flying squirrels.

petcock

A small cock or faucet or valve for letting out air or releasing compression, or for draining a vessel.

Petechiae

Small crimson, purple, or livid spots, like flea-bites, due to extravasation of blood, which appear on the skin in malignant fevers, etc.

Petechial

Characterized by, or pertaining to, petechi/; spotted.

Peter

To become depleted; to run out; to fail; -- used generally with out; as, that mine has petered out.

Peterman

A fisherman; -- so called after the apostle Peter.

Petersham

A rough, knotted woolen cloth, used chiefly for men's overcoats; also, a coat of that material.

Peterwort

See Saint Peter's-wort, under Saint.

Petiolary Petiolar

Of or pertaining to petiole, or proceeding from it; as, a petiolar tendril; growing or supported upon a petiole; as, a petiolar gland; a petiolar bud.

Petiolated Petiolate

Having a stalk or petiole; as, a petioleate leaf; the petiolated abdomen of certain Hymenoptera.

Petiole

A leafstalk; the footstalk of a leaf, connecting the blade with the stem. See Illust. of Leaf.

Petiolule

A small petiole, or the petiole of a leaflet.

Petit

Small; little; insignificant; mean; -- Same as Petty.

petite

A size category of women's clothing, for women with less than average height.

petitio

The fallacy of assuming the conclusion in the premises; begging the question.

Petition

To make a petition or solicitation.

Petitionee

A person cited to answer, or defend against, a petition.

Petitioning

The act of presenting apetition; a supplication.

Petitor

One who seeks or asks; a seeker; an applicant.

Petitory

Petitioning; soliciting; supplicating.

Petrary

An ancient war engine for hurling stones.

Petrel

Any one of numerous species of longwinged sea birds belonging to the family Procellarid/. The small petrels, or Mother Carey's chickens, belong to Oceanites, Oceanodroma, Procellaria, and several allied genera.

Petrescence

The process of changing into stone; petrification.

Petrescent

Petrifying; converting into stone; as, petrescent water.

Petrifaction

The process of petrifying, or changing into stone; conversion of any organic matter (animal or vegetable) into stone, or a substance of stony hardness.

Petrifactive

Having the quality of converting organic matter into stone; petrifying.

Petrify

To become stone, or of a stony hardness, as organic matter by calcareous deposits.

Petrine

Of or pertaining to St. Peter; as, the Petrine Epistles.

Petrocoptis

A genus of perennial tussock-forming rock plants; native to the Pyrenees and mountains of Northern Spain; it is similar to and sometimes placed in the genus Lychnis.

Petrogale

Any Australian kangaroo of the genus Petrogale, as the rock wallaby (Petrogale penicillata).

petroglyph

A carving or drawing on rock, especially one made by prehistoric humans; called also a petrograph.

Petroglyphy

The art or operation of carving figures or inscriptions on rock or stone.

petrograph

A carving or drawing on rock, especially one made by prehistoric humans; called also a petrograph.

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