Ped"dle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Peddled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Peddling
(?).] To sell from place to place; to retail by carrying around from
customer to customer; to hawk; hence, to retail in very small
quantities; as, to peddle vegetables or tinware.
Ped"dler (?), n. [OE. pedlere, pedlare, also peddare, peoddare, fr. OE.
ped a basket, of unknown origin.] One who peddles; a traveling trader;
one who travels about, retailing small wares; a hawker. [Written also
pedlar and pedler.] "Some vagabond huckster or peddler." Hakluyt.
Ped"dler*y (?), n. [Written also pedlary and pedlery.] 1. The trade, or
the goods, of a peddler; hawking; small retail business, like that of a
peddler.
2. Trifling; trickery. [Obs.] "Look . . . into these their deceitful
peddleries." Milton.
Ped"dling, a. 1. Hawking; acting as a peddler.
2. Petty; insignificant. "The miserable remains of a peddling
commerce." Burke.
Ped"er*ast (?), n. [Gr. paiderasth`s; pai^s, paido`s, a boy + 'era^n to
love: cf. F. pÈdÈraste.] One guilty of pederasty; a sodomite.
Ped`er*as"tic (?), a. [Gr. paiderastiko`s.] Of or pertaining to
pederasty.
Ped"er*as`ty (?), n. [Gr. paiderasti`a: cf. F. pÈdÈrastie.] The crime
against nature; sodomy.
Ped`e*re"ro (?), n. [Sp. pedrero, fr. OSp. pedra, Sp. piedra, a stone,
L. petra, fr. Gr. &?;. So named because it was at first charged with
stones.] (Mil.) A term formerly applied to a short piece of chambered
ordnance. [Written also paterero and peterero.]
||Pe*de"sis (?), n. [NL., from Gr. &?; a leaping.] Same as Brownian
||movement, under Brownian.
Ped"es*tal (?), n. [Sp. pedestal; cf. F. piÈdestal, It. piedestallo;
fr. L. es, pedis, foot + OHG. stal standing place, station, place, akin
to E. stall. See Foot, and Stall, and Footstall.] 1. (Arch.) The base
or foot of a column, statue, vase, lamp, or the like; the part on which
an upright work stands. It consists of three parts, the base, the die
or dado, and the cornice or surbase molding. See Illust. of Column.