3. A handsome fortune or property; formerly, in cant language, the sum
of £100,000 sterling; also, the person possessing it.
Plum bird, Plum budder (Zoˆl.), the European bullfinch. -- Plum gouger
(Zoˆl.), a weevil, or curculio (Coccotorus scutellaris), which destroys
plums. It makes round holes in the pulp, for the reception of its eggs.
The larva bores into the stone and eats the kernel. -- Plum weevil
(Zoˆl.), an American weevil which is very destructive to plums,
nectarines, cherries, and many other stone fruits. It lays its eggs in
crescent-shaped incisions made with its jaws. The larva lives upon the
pulp around the stone. Called also turk, and plum curculio. See Illust.
under Curculio.
||Plu"ma (pl"m), n.; pl. PlumÊ (-m). [L.] (Zoˆl.) A feather.
Plum"age (plm"j), n. [F., from plume a feather.] (Zoˆl.) The entire
clothing of a bird.
It consist of the contour feathers, or the ordinary feathers covering
the head, neck, and body; the tail feathers, with their upper and lower
coverts; the wing feathers, including primaries, secondaries, and
tertiaries, with their coverts; and the down which lies beneath the
contour feathers. See Illust. under Bird.
Plu*mas"sa*ry (?), n. [Cf. F. plumasseau.] A plume or collection of
ornamental feathers.
||Plu`mas`sier" (?), n. [F.] One who prepares or deals in ornamental
||plumes or feathers.
Plumb (plm), n. [F. plomb, L. plumbum lead, a leaden ball or bullet;
cf. Gr. mo`lybos, mo`libos, mo`lybdos. Cf. Plummet, Plunge.] A little
mass or weight of lead, or the like, attached to a line, and used by
builders, etc., to indicate a vertical direction; a plummet; a plumb
bob. See Plumb line, below.
Plumb bob. See Bob, 4. -- Plumb joint, in sheet-metal work, a lap
joint, fastened by solder. -- Plumb level. See under Level. -- Plumb
line. (a) The cord by which a plumb bob is suspended; a plummet. (b) A
line directed to the center of gravity of the earth. -- Plumb rule, a
narrow board with a plumb line, used by builders and carpenters.
Plumb, a. Perpendicular; vertical; conforming the direction of a line
attached to a plumb; as, the wall is plumb.
Plumb, adv. In a plumb direction; perpendicularly. "Plumb down he
falls." Milton.
Plumb, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plumbed (plmd); p. pr. & vb. n. Plumbing
(plm"ng).] 1. To adjust by a plumb line; to cause to be perpendicular;
as, to plumb a building or a wall.
2. To sound with a plumb or plummet, as the depth of water; hence, to
examine by test; to ascertain the depth, quality, dimension, etc.; to
sound; to fathom; to test.
He did not attempt to plumb his intellect.
Ld. Lytton.