Per*func"to*ri*ly (?), adv. In a perfunctory manner; formally;
carelessly. Boyle.
Per*func"to*ri*ness, n. The quality or state of being perfunctory.
Per*func"to*ry (?), a. [L. perfunctorius, fr. perfunctus dispatched, p.
p. of perfungi to discharge, dispatch; per (see Per) + fungi to
perform. See Function.] 1. Done merely to get rid of a duty; performed
mechanically and as a thing of rote; done in a careless and superficial
manner; characterized by indifference; as, perfunctory admonitions.
Macaulay.
2. Hence: Mechanical; indifferent; listless; careless. "Perfunctory in
his devotions." Sharp.
Per*func"tu*rate (?), v. t. To perform in a perfunctory manner; to do
negligently. [R.]
Per*fuse" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Perfused (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Perfusing.] [L. perfusus, p. p. of perfundere to pour over; per +
fundere to pour.] To suffuse; to fill full or to excess. Harvey.
Per*fu"sion (?), n. [L. perfusio.] The act of perfusing.
Per*fu"sive (?), a. Of a nature to flow over, or to spread through.
{ Per`ga*me"no*us (?), Per`ga*men*ta"ceous (?), } a. [L. pergamena
parchment. See Parchment.] Like parchment.
Per*haps" (?), adv. [Per + hap chance.] By chance; peradventure;
perchance; it may be.
And pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven
thee.
Acts viii. 22.
Per"i- (?). [Gr. &?;, prep.] A prefix used to signify around, by, near,
over, beyond, or to give an intensive sense; as, perimeter, the measure
around; perigee, point near the earth; periergy, work beyond what is
needed; perispherical, quite spherical.
Pe"ri (?), n.; pl. Peris (#). [Per. per a female genus, a fairy.]
(Persian Myth.) An imaginary being, male or female, like an elf or
fairy, represented as a descendant of fallen angels, excluded from
paradise till penance is accomplished. Moore.
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Per`i*a"gua (?), n. See Pirogue.
Per"i*anth (?), n. [Pref. peri- + Gr. &?; flower: cf. F. pÈrianthe.]
(Bot.) (a) The leaves of a flower generally, especially when the calyx
and corolla are not readily distinguished. (b) A saclike involucre
which incloses the young fruit in most hepatic mosses. See Illust. of
Hepatica.
||Per`i*an"thi*um (?), n. [NL.] (Bot.) The perianth.
Per"i*apt (?), n. [Gr. &?;, fr. &?; hung about, &?; to hang about; &?;
about + &?; to tie: cf. F. pÈriapte.] A charm worn as a protection
against disease or mischief; an amulet. Coleridge.
Now help, ye charming spells and periapts.
Shak.
Per`i*as"tral (?), a. Among or around the stars. "Comets in periastral
passage." R. A. Proctor.
Per`i*as"tron (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; about + &?; a star.] (Astron.)
That point, in the real or apparent orbit of one star revolving around
another, at which the former is nearest to the latter.
Per"i*au"ger (?), n. See Pirogue. W. Irving.
Per"i*blast (?), a. [Gr. &?; to grow around. See Peri-, and -blast.]
(Biol.) The protoplasmic matter which surrounds the entoblast, or cell
nucleus, and undergoes segmentation. -- Per`i*blas"tic, a.
Per"i*blem (?), n. [Pref. peri- + root of Gr. &?; to sprout.] (Bot.)
Nascent cortex, or immature cellular bark.
||Pe*rib"o*los (?), n. [Nl., fr. Gr. &?;, fr. &?;, adj., going round,
||fr. &?; to throw round; cf. L. peribolus.] In ancient architecture,
||an inclosed court, esp., one surrounding a temple.
Per`i*bran"chi*al (?), a. (Anat.) Surrounding the branchiÊ; as, a
peribranchial cavity.
Per`i*bran"chi*al (?), a. (Anat.) Around the bronchi or bronchial
tubes; as, the peribronchial lymphatics.
||Per`i*cam"bi*um (?), n. [NL. See Peri-, and Cambium.] (Biol.) A layer
||of thin-walled young cells in a growing stem, in which layer certain
||new vessels originate.
{ Per`i*car"di*ac (?), Per`i*car"di*al (?), } a. (Anat.) Of or
pertaining to pericardium; situated around the heart.
Pericardial fluid (Physiol.), a serous fluid of a pale yellow color
contained in the pericardium.
Per`i*car"di*an (?), a. Pericardiac.
Per`i*car"dic (?), a. Pericardiac.
||Per`i*car*di"tus (?), n. [NL. See Pericardium, and -itis.] (Med.)
||Inflammation of the pericardium. Dunglison.
Per`i*car"di*um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;, fr. &?; about or near the
heart; &?; about + &?; heart.] (Anat.) The double baglike fold of
serous membrane which incloses the heart.
The inner layer is closely adherent to the outer surface of the heart,
and is called the cardiac pericardium. The outer layer loosely incloses
the heart and the adherent inner layer, and is called the parietal
pericardium. At the base of the heart the two layers are continuous,
and form a narrow closed cavity filled with fluid, in which the
pulsations of the heart cause little friction.
Per"i*carp (?), n. [Gr. &?;; &?; around + &?; fruit: cf. F. pÈricarpe.]
(Bot.) The ripened ovary; the walls of the fruit. See Illusts. of
Capsule, Drupe, and Legume.
{ Per`i*car"pi*al (?), Per`i*car"pic (?) }, a. (Bot.) Of or pertaining
to a pericarp.
Per`i*cel"lu*lar (?), a. (Anat.) Surrounding a cell; as, the
pericellular lymph spaces surrounding ganglion cells.
Per"i*chÊth (?), n. [See PerichÊtium.] (Bot.) The leafy involucre
surrounding the fruit stalk of mosses; perichÊtium; perichete.
Per`i*chÊ"ti*al (?), a. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to the perichÊth.
||Per`i*chÊ"ti*um (?), n.; pl. PerichÊtia (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?; about
||+ &?; flowing hair, foliage.] (Bot.) Same as PerichÊth.
Per`i*chÊ"tous (?), a. [See PerichÊtium.] (Zoˆl.) Surrounded by setÊ;
-- said of certain earthworms (genus PerichÊtus).
Per"i*chete (?), n. Same as PerichÊth.
Per`i*chon"dri*al (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the
perichondrium; situated around cartilage.
||Per`i*chon*dri"tis (?), n. [NL. See Perichondrium, and -itis.] (Med.)
||Inflammation of the perichondrium.
||Per`i*chon"dri*um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; around + &?; cartilage.]
||(Anat.) The membrane of fibrous connective tissue which closely
||invests cartilage, except where covering articular surfaces.
Per`i*chor"dal (?), a. Around the notochord; as, a perichordal column.
See Epichordal.
{ Per"i*clase (?), Per`i*cla"site (?), } n. [Pref. peri- + Gr. &?; to
break.] (Min.) A grayish or dark green mineral, consisting essentially
of magnesia (magnesium oxide), occurring in granular forms or in
isometric crystals.
||Per`i*clin"i*um (?), n.; pl. Periclinia (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?; around
||+ &?; a bed.] (Bot.) The involucre which surrounds the common
||receptacle in composite flowers.
Pe*ric"li*tate (?), v. t. [L. periclitatus, p. p. of periclitari, fr.
periculum.] To endanger. [Obs.]
Periclitating, pardi! the whole family.
Sterne.
Pe*ric`li*ta"tion (?), n. [L. periclitatio: cf. F. pÈriclitation.] 1.
Trial; experiment. [Obs.]