Peach"blow`, a. (Ceramics) Of the delicate purplish pink color likened to that of peach blooms; -- applied esp. to a Chinese porcelain, small specimens of which bring great prices in the Western countries.
Pea"cock` Throne. 1. A famous throne formerly of the kings of Delhi, India, but since 1739, when it was carried off by Nadir Shah, held by the shahs of Persia (later Iran); - - so called from its bearing a fully expanded peacock's tail done in gems.
Peag (?), n. [Written also peage, peak, peeke.] [Prob. of North Amer. Indian origin.] A kind of aboriginal shell money, or wampum, of the Atlantic coast of the United States; -- originally applied only to polished white cylindrical beads.
Pea"nut but"ter. A paste made by mixing ground fresh roasted peanuts with a small quantity of water or oil, and used chiefly as a relish on sandwiches, etc.
{ Pea"vey Pea"vy } (?), n. [Said to be from the inventor's name.] (Lumbering) A cant hook having the end of its lever armed with a spike.
Ped`i*at"ric (pd`*t"rk or pd`*t"rk), a. [Gr. pai^s, paido`s, child + 'iatrei`a healing.] (Med.) Pertaining to the care and medical treatment of children.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
Ped`i*at"rics (?), n. That branch of medical science which treats of the hygiene and diseases of children.
Ped"i*cure (?), n. [Pedi- + L. cura care.] 1. The care of the feet and nails.
2. One who cares for the feet and nails; a chiropodist. -- Ped"i*cure, v. t. -- Ped"i*cur*ism (#), n. -- Ped"i*cur*ist (#), n.
Ped"i*gree clause. A clause sometimes inserted in contracts or specifications, requiring that a material of construction, as cement, must be of a brand that has stood the test of a specified number of years' use in an important public work. [Cant, U. S.]
Ped"o*graph (?), n. [Gr. &?; ground + -graph.] An instrument carried by a pedestrian for automatically making a topographical record of the ground covered during a journey.
Pe*dol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. &?;, &?;, child + -logy.] (Med.) Pediatrics.
Ped"rail` (?), n. [See Pedi-; Rail.] (Mach.) (a) A device intended to replace the wheel of a self-propelled vehicle for use on rough roads and to approximate to the smoothness in running of a wheel on a metal track. The tread consists of a number of rubber shod feet which are connected by ball-and-socket joints to the ends of sliding spokes. Each spoke has attached to it a small roller which in its turn runs under a short pivoted rail controlled by a powerful set of springs. This arrangement permits the feet to accomodate themselves to obstacles even such as steps or stairs. The pedrail was invented by one B. J. Diplock of London, Eng. (b) A vehicle, as a traction engine, having such pedrails.
Pe"dro (?), n. [From Sp. Pedro Peter, L. Petrus, Gr. &?;.] (Card Playing) (a) The five of trumps in certain varieties of auction pitch. (b) A variety of auction pitch in which the five of trumps counts five.
Peep sight. An adjustable piece, pierced with a small hole to peep through in aiming, attached to a rifle or other firearm near the breech; -- distinguished from an open sight.
Peg, n. A drink of spirits, usually whisky or brandy diluted with soda water. [India]
This over, the club will be visted for a "peg," Anglice drink.
Harper's Mag.
||Pei`gnoir" (?), n. [F., fr. peigner to comb, L. pectinare. See Pectinate.] A woman's loose dressing sack; hence, a loose morning gown or wrapper.
Pe"le's hair (?). [After a Hawaiian goddess associated with the crater Kilauea.] Glass threads or fibers formed by the wind from bits blown from frothy lava or from the tips of lava jets or from bits of liquid lava thrown into the air. It often collects in thick masses resembling tow.
Pel"i*can State. Louisiana; -- a nickname alluding to the device on its seal.
Pe*lisse" (?), n. A lady's or child's long outer garment, of silk or other fabric.
Pel*lag"rous (?), a. [It. pellagroso: cf. F. pellagreux.] (Med.) Pertaining to, or affected with, or attendant on, pellagra; as, pellagrous insanity.
Pe*lo"rus (?), n. [After Pelorus, said to have been Hannibal's pilot when he left Italy.] (Navig.) An instrument similar to a mariner's compass, but without magnetic needles, and having two sight vanes by which bearings are taken, esp. such as cannot be taken by the compass.
||Pe*lo"ta (?), n. [Sp., lit., ball.] A Basque, Spanish, and Spanish-American game played in a court, in which a ball is struck with a wickerwork racket.
Pel`tier" ef*fect" (?). [After Jean C. A. Peltier, French physicist, the discoverer.] (Elec.) The production or absorption of heat at the junction of two metals on the passage of a current. Heat generated by the passage of the current in one direction will be absorbed if the current is reversed.
Pel`tier's" cross (?). (Elec.) A cross formed of two strips of different metals, to illustrate the Peltier effect.
Pel"ton wheel (?). (Mech.) A form of impulse turbine or water wheel, consisting of a row of double cup-shaped buckets arranged round the rim of a wheel and actuated by one or more jets of water playing into the cups at high velocity.
||Pe*lure" (?), n. [F., lit., peel, fr. peler to peel.] A crisp, hard, thin paper, sometimes used for postage stamps.
Pel*vim"e*try (?), n. [Pelvis + -metry.] (Med.) The measurement of the pelvis.
Pem"broke ta`ble (?). [From Pembroke, a town and shire in Wales.] A style of four-legged table in vogue in England, chiefly in the later Georgian period.
The characteristic which gives a table the name of Pembroke consists in the drop leaves, which are held up, when the table is open, by brackets which turn under the top.
F. C. Morse.
Pem"mi*can, n. A treatise of much thought in little compass.
Pe*nang" law"yer (?). [Prob. fr. Malay pnang lar.] A kind of walking stick made from the stem of an East Asiatic palm (Licuala acutifida).
||Pen`chant" (?), n. (Card Playing) A game like bézique, or, in the game, any queen and jack of different suits held together.
Pe"ne*plain` (?), n. [L. paene, pene, almost + E. plain.] (Phys. Geog.) A land surface reduced by erosion to the general condition of a plain, but not wholly devoid of hills; a base-level plain.
Pen*in"su*la State. Florida; -- a nickname.
||Pen*tath"lon (?), n. In the modern Olympic Games, a composite contest made up of a running broad jump, throwing the javelin, a 200-meter run, throwing the discus, and a 1500-meter run.
{ Pen"to*san (?), n. Also -sane (?) }. [From Pentose.] (Chem.) One of a class of substances (complex carbohydrates widely distributed in plants, as in fruits, gums, woods, hay, etc.) which yield pentoses on hydrolysis.
Pen"tose (?), n. [Penta- + - ose.] (Chem.) Any of a group of sugars of the formula C5H10O5, as arabinose; -- so called from the five carbon atoms in the molecule. They are not fermented by yeast.
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Peo"ple's bank (?). A form of coöperative bank, such as those of Germany; -- a term loosely used for various forms of coöperative financial institutions.
People's party. (U. S. Politics) A party formed in 1891, advocating in an increase of the currency, public ownership and operation of railroads, telegraphs, etc., an income tax, limitation in ownership of land, etc.
Pep"lum (?), n.; pl. E. - lumus, L. -la. [L.] A peplos. Hence: An overskirt hanging like an ancient peplos; also, a short fitted skirt attached to a waist or coat.
Pep"per box` (?), n. A buttress on the left-hand wall of a fives court as the game is played at Eton College, England.
Per`ca*line" (?), n. [F.] A fine kind of cotton goods, usually of one color, and with a glossy surface, -- much use for linings.
Per"co*la`tor, n. 1. A kind of coffee pot in which the heated water is caused to filter through the coffee and thus extract its essence.