Pec"cant, n. An offender. [Obs.] Whitlock.
Pec"cant*ly, adv. In a peccant manner.
Pec"ca*ry (?), n.; pl. Peccaries (#). [From the native South American
name: cf. F. pÈcari, Sp. pecar.] (Zoˆl.) A pachyderm of the genus
Dicotyles.
The collared peccary, or tajacu (Dicotyles torquatus), is about the
size and shape of a small hog, and has a white ring aroung the neck. It
ranges from Arkansas to Brazil. A larger species (D. labiatus), with
white cheeks, is found in South America.
||Pec*ca"vi (?). [L.] I have sinned; -- used colloquially to express
||confession or acknowledgment of an offense. Aubrey.
Pec"co (?), n. See Pekoe.
Peck, n. [Perh. akin to pack; or, orig., an indefinite quantity, and
fr. peck, v. (below): cf. also F. picotin a peak.] 1. The fourth part
of a bushel; a dry measure of eight quarts; as, a peck of wheat. "A
peck of provender." Shak.
2. A great deal; a large or excessive quantity. "A peck of
uncertainties and doubts." Milton.
Peck, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pecked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Pecking.] [See
Pick, v.] 1. To strike with the beak; to thrust the beak into; as, a
bird pecks a tree.
2. Hence: To strike, pick, thrust against, or dig into, with a pointed
instrument; especially, to strike, pick, etc., with repeated quick
movements.
3. To seize and pick up with the beak, or as with the beak; to bite; to
eat; -- often with up. Addison.
This fellow pecks up wit as pigeons peas.
Shak.
4. To make, by striking with the beak or a pointed instrument; as, to
peck a hole in a tree.
Peck, v. i. 1. To make strokes with the beak, or with a pointed
instrument. Carew.