Pean (?), n. [OF. pene, F. panne.] (Her.) One of the furs, the ground
being sable, and the spots or tufts or.
Pe"an (?), n. A song of praise and triumph. See PÊan.
Pe"an*ism (?), n. [Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to chant the pÊan.] The song or
shout of praise, of battle, or of triumph. [R.]
Pea"nut (?), n. (Bot.) The fruit of a trailing leguminous plant
(Arachis hypogÊa); also, the plant itself, which is widely cultivated
for its fruit.
The fruit is a hard pod, usually containing two or three seeds,
sometimes but one, which ripen beneath the soil. Called also earthnut,
groundnut, and goober.
Pear (p‚r), n. [OE. pere, AS. peru, L. pirum: cf. F. poire. Cf. Perry.]
(Bot.) The fleshy pome, or fruit, of a rosaceous tree (Pyrus communis),
cultivated in many varieties in temperate climates; also, the tree
which bears this fruit. See Pear family, below.
Pear blight. (a) (Bot.) A name of two distinct diseases of pear trees,
both causing a destruction of the branches, viz., that caused by a
minute insect (Xyleborus pyri), and that caused by the freezing of the
sap in winter. A. J. Downing. (b) (Zoˆl.) A very small beetle
(Xyleborus pyri) whose larvÊ bore in the twigs of pear trees and cause
them to wither. -- Pear family (Bot.), a suborder of rosaceous plants
(PomeÊ), characterized by the calyx tube becoming fleshy in fruit, and,
combined with the ovaries, forming a pome. It includes the apple, pear,
quince, service berry, and hawthorn. -- Pear gauge (Physics), a kind of
gauge for measuring the exhaustion of an air-pump receiver; -- so
called because consisting in part of a pear-shaped glass vessel. --
Pear shell (Zoˆl.), any marine gastropod shell of the genus Pyrula,
native of tropical seas; -- so called from the shape. -- Pear slug
(Zoˆl.), the larva of a sawfly which is very injurious to the foliage
of the pear tree.
Pearch (?), n. [Obs.] See Perch.
Pearl (?), n. A fringe or border. [Obs.] -- v. t. To fringe; to border.
[Obs.] See Purl.
Pearl stitch. See Purl stitch, under Purl.
Pearl, n. [OE. perle, F. perle, LL. perla, perula, probably fr.
(assumed) L. pirulo, dim. of L. pirum a pear. See Pear, and cf. Purl to
mantle.] 1. (Zoˆl.) A shelly concretion, usually rounded, and having a
brilliant luster, with varying tints, found in the mantle, or between
the mantle and shell, of certain bivalve mollusks, especially in the
pearl oysters and river mussels, and sometimes in certain univalves. It
is usually due to a secretion of shelly substance around some
irritating foreign particle. Its substance is the same as nacre, or
mother-of- pearl. Pearls which are round, or nearly round, and of fine
luster, are highly esteemed as jewels, and compare in value with the
precious stones.
2. Hence, figuratively, something resembling a pearl; something very
precious.