Chapter 1162

Planless <Xpage=1095>

Plan"less (?) , a. Having no plan.

Planner <Xpage=1095>

Plan"ner (?) , n. One who plans; a projector.

Plano- <Xpage=1095>

Pla"no- (?) . See Plani- .

Planoblast <Xpage=1095>

Plan"o*blast (?) , n. [Gr. <?/ to wander + -blast .] (Zo\'94l.) Any free-swimming gonophore of a hydroid; a hydroid medusa.

Plano-concave <Xpage=1095>

Pla"no-con"cave (?) , a. [ Plano- + concave .] Plane or flat on one side, and concave on the other; as, a plano-concave lens . See Lens .

Plano-conical <Xpage=1095>

Pla"no-con"ic*al (?) , a. [ Plano- + conical .] Plane or flat on one side, and conical on the other.

Grew.

Plano-convex <Xpage=1095>

Pla"no-con"vex (?) , a. [ Plano- + convex .] Plane or flat on one side, and convex on the other; as, a plano-convex lens . See Convex , and Lens .

Plano-horizontal <Xpage=1095>

Pla"no-hor`i*zon"tal (?) , a. [ Plano- + horizontal .] Having a level horizontal surface or position.

Lee.

Planometer <Xpage=1095>

Pla*nom"e*ter (?) , n. [ Plano- + -meter . Cf. Planimeter .] An instrument for gauging or testing a plane surface. See Surface gauge , under Surface .

Planometry <Xpage=1095>

Pla*nom"e*try (?) , n. (Mech.) The art or process of producing or gauging a plane surface.

Plano-orbicular <Xpage=1095>

Pla"no-or*bic"u*lar (?) , a. [ Plano- + orbicular .] Plane or flat on one side, and spherical on the other.

Planorbis <Xpage=1095>

Pla*nor"bis (?) , n. [NL., fr. L. planus flat + orbis a circle.] (Zo\'94l.) Any fresh-water air-breathing mollusk belonging to Planorbis and other allied genera, having shells of a discoidal form.

Plano-subulate <Xpage=1095>

Pla"no-su"bu*late (?) , a. [ Plano- + subulate .] Smooth and awl-shaped. See Subulate .

Plant <Xpage=1095>

Plant (?) , n. [AS. plante , L. planta .] 1. A vegetable; an organized living being, generally without feeling and voluntary motion, and having, when complete, a root, stem, and leaves, though consisting sometimes only of a single leafy expansion, or a series of cellules, or even a single cellule.

&hand; Plants are divided by their structure and methods of reproduction into two series, ph\'91nogamous or flowering plants , which have true flowers and seeds, and cryptogamous or flowerless plants , which have no flowers, and reproduce by minute one-celled spores. In both series are minute and simple forms and others of great size and complexity.

As to their mode of nutrition, plants may be considered as self-supporting and dependent . Self-supporting plants always contain chlorophyll, and subsist on air and moisture and the matter dissolved in moisture, and as a general rule they excrete oxygen, and use the carbonic acid to combine with water and form the material for their tissues. Dependent plants comprise all fungi and many flowering plants of a parasitic or saprophytic nature. As a rule, they have no chlorophyll, and subsist mainly or wholly on matter already organized, thus utilizing carbon compounds already existing, and not excreting oxygen. But there are plants which are partly dependent and partly self-supporting.

The movements of climbing plants, of some insectivorous plants, of leaves, stamens, or pistils in certain plants, and the ciliary motion of zo\'94spores, etc., may be considered a kind of voluntary motion.

2. A bush, or young tree; a sapling; hence, a stick or staff. "A plant of stubborn oak."

Dryden.

3. The sole of the foot. [R.] "Knotty legs and plants of clay."

B. Jonson.

4. (Com.) The whole machinery and apparatus employed in carrying on a trade or mechanical business; also, sometimes including real estate, and whatever represents investment of capital in the means of carrying on a business, but not including material worked upon or finished products; as, the plant of a foundry, a mill, or a railroad .

5. A plan; an artifice; a swindle; a trick. [Slang]

It was n't a bad plant , that of mine, on Fikey. Dickens.

6. (Zo\'94l.) (a) An oyster which has been bedded, in distinction from one of natural growth. (b) A young oyster suitable for transplanting. [Local, U.S.]

<-- a person who joins a group, to spy on them on behalf of another person or group -->

Plant bug (Zo\'94l.) , any one of numerous hemipterous insects which injure the foliage of plants, as Lygus lineolaris , which damages wheat and trees. -- Plant cutter (Zo\'94l.) , a South American passerine bird of the genus Phytotoma , family Phytotomid\'91 . It has a serrated bill with which it cuts off the young shoots and buds of plants, often doing much injury. -- Plant louse (Zo\'94l.) , any small hemipterous insect which infests plants, especially those of the families Aphid\'91 and Psyllid\'91 ; an aphid.

Plant <Xpage=1095>

Plant (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Planted ; p. pr. & vb. n. Planting .] [AS. plantian , L. plantare . See Plant , n. ] 1. To put in the ground and cover, as seed for growth; as, to plant maize .

2. To set in the ground for growth, as a young tree, or a vegetable with roots.

Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees. Deut. xvi. 21.

3. To furnish, or fit out, with plants; as, to plant a garden, an orchard, or a forest .

4. To engender; to generate; to set the germ of.

It engenders choler, planteth anger. Shak.

5. To furnish with a fixed and organized population; to settle; to establish; as, to plant a colony .

Planting of countries like planting of woods. Bacon.

6. To introduce and establish the principles or seeds of; as, to plant Christianity among the heathen .

7. To set firmly; to fix; to set and direct, or point; as, to plant cannon against a fort; to plant a standard in any place; to plant one's feet on solid ground; to plant one's fist in another's face.

8. To set up; to install; to instate.

We will plant some other in the throne. Shak.

Plant <Xpage=1095>

Plant , v. i. To perform the act of planting.

I have planted ; Apollos watered. 1 Cor. iii. 6.

Plantable <Xpage=1095>

Plant"a*ble (?) , a. Capable of being planted; fit to be planted.

B. Edwards.

Plantage <Xpage=1095>

Plant"age (?) , n. A word used once by Shakespeare to designate plants in general, or anything that is planted.

As true as steel, as plantage to the moon. Shak. (Troil. iii. sc. 2).

Plantain <Xpage=1095>

Plan"tain (?) , n. [Cf. F. plantain-arbre , plantanier , Sp. pl\'a0ntano , pl\'a0tano ; prob. same word as plane tree.] 1. (Bot.) A treelike perennial herb ( Musa paradisiaca ) of tropical regions, bearing immense leaves and large clusters of the fruits called plantains . See Musa . <-- a type of banana -->

2. The fruit of this plant. It is long and somewhat cylindrical, slightly curved, and, when ripe, soft, fleshy, and covered with a thick but tender yellowish skin. The plantain is a staple article of food in most tropical countries, especially when cooked. <-- resembling the banana of commerce, but smaller -->

Plantain cutter , &or; Plantain eater (Zo\'94l.) , any one of several large African birds of the genus Musophaga , or family Musophagid\'91 , especially Musophaga violacea . See Turaco . They are allied to the cuckoos. -- Plantain squirrel (Zo\'94l.) , a Java squirrel ( Sciurus plantani ) which feeds upon plantains. -- Plantain tree (Bot.) , the treelike herb Musa paradisiaca . See def. 1 (above).

Plantain <Xpage=1095>

Plan"tain , n. [F., fr. L. plantago . Cf. Plant .] (Bot.) Any plant of the genus Plantago , but especially the P. major , a low herb with broad spreading radical leaves, and slender spikes of minute flowers. It is a native of Europe, but now found near the abode of civilized man in nearly all parts of the world.

Indian plantain . (Bot.) See under Indian . -- Mud plantain , a homely North American aquatic plant ( Heteranthera reniformis ), having broad, reniform leaves. -- Rattlesnake plantain , an orchidaceous plant ( Goodyera pubescens ), with the leaves blotched and spotted with white. -- Ribwort plantain . See Ribwort . -- Robin's plantain , the Erigeron bellidifolium , a common daisylike plant of North America. -- Water plantain , a plant of the genus Alisma , having acrid leaves, and formerly regarded as a specific against hydrophobia. Loudon .

Plantal <Xpage=1095>

Plant"al (?) , a. [L. planta a plant.] Belonging to plants; as, plantal life . [Obs.]

Dr. H. More.

Plantar <Xpage=1095>

Plan"tar (?) , a. [L. plantaris , fr. planta the sole of the foot.] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the sole of the foot; as, the plantar arteries .

Plantation <Xpage=1095>

Plan*ta"tion (?) , n. [L. plantatio : cf. F. plantation .] 1. The act or practice of planting, or setting in the earth for growth. [R.]

2. The place planted; land brought under cultivation; a piece of ground planted with trees or useful plants; esp., in the United States and West Indies, a large estate appropriated to the production of the more important crops, and cultivated by laborers who live on the estate; as, a cotton plantation ; a coffee plantation .

3. An original settlement in a new country; a colony.

While these plantations were forming in Connecticut. B. Trumbull.

Plant-cane <Xpage=1095>

Plant"-cane` (?) , n. A stalk or shoot of sugar cane of the first growth from the cutting. The growth of the second and following years is of inferior quality, and is called rattoon .

Plant-eating <Xpage=1095>

Plant"-eat`ing (?) , a. Eating, or subsisting on, plants; as, a plant-eating beetle .

Planted <Xpage=1095>

Plant"ed (?) , a. (Joinery) Fixed in place, as a projecting member wrought on a separate piece of stuff; as, a planted molding .

Planter <Xpage=1095>

Plant"er (?) , n. 1. One who, or that which, plants or sows; as, a planter of corn; a machine planter .

2. One who owns or cultivates a plantation; as, a sugar planter ; a coffee planter .

3. A colonist in a new or uncultivated territory; as, the first planters in Virginia .

<-- a movable box or a fixed low, open structure, as of brick, in which plants are grown for decorative purposes. -->

Plantership <Xpage=1095>

Plant"er*ship , n. The occupation or position of a planter, or the management of a plantation, as in the United States or the West Indies.

Planticle <Xpage=1095>

Plant"i*cle (?) , n. [Dim. of Plant .] A young plant, or plant in embryo.

E. Darwin.

Plantigrada <Xpage=1095>

Plan`ti*gra"da (?) , n. pl. [NL.] (Zo\'94l.) A subdivision of Carnivora having plantigrade feet. It includes the bears, raccoons, and allied species.

Plantigrade <Xpage=1095>

Plan"ti*grade (?) , a. [L. planta sole of the foot + gradi to walk: cf. F. plantigrade .] (Zo\'94l.) (a) Walking on the sole of the foot; pertaining to the plantigrades. (b) Having the foot so formed that the heel touches the ground when the leg is upright.

Plantigrade <Xpage=1095>

Plan"ti*grade , n. (Zo\'94l.) A plantigrade animal, or one that walks or steps on the sole of the foot, as man, and the bears.

Planting <Xpage=1095>

Plant"ing (?) , n. 1. The act or operation of setting in the ground for propagation, as seeds, trees, shrubs, etc.; the forming of plantations, as of trees; the carrying on of plantations, as of sugar, coffee, etc.

2. That which is planted; a plantation.

Trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. Isa. lxi. 3.

3. (Arch.) The laying of the first courses of stone in a foundation. [Eng.]

Plantless <Xpage=1095>

Plant"less , a. Without plants; barren of vegetation.

Plantlet <Xpage=1095>

Plant"let , n. A little plant.

Plantocracy <Xpage=1095>

Plan*toc"ra*cy (?) , n. [ Planter + -cracy , as in democracy .] Government by planters; planters, collectively. [R.]

Plantule <Xpage=1095>

Plant"ule (?) , n. [F., dim. of plante a plant, L. planta .] (Bot.) The embryo which has begun its development in the act of germination.

Planula <Xpage=1095>

Plan"u*la (?) , n. ; pl. Planul\'91 (#) . [L., a little plane.] 1. (Biol.) In embryonic development, a vesicle filled with fluid, formed from the morula by the divergence of its cells in such a manner as to give rise to a central space, around which the cells arrange themselves as an envelope; an embryonic form intermediate between the morula and gastrula. Sometimes used as synonymous with gastrula . <-- now usu. gastrula -->

2. (Zo\'94l.) The very young, free-swimming larva of the c\'d2lenterates. It usually has a flattened oval or oblong form, and is entirely covered with cilia.

Planxty <Xpage=1095>

Planx"ty (?) , n. [Cf. L. plangere to mourn aloud.] (Mus.) An Irish or Welsh melody for the harp, sometimes of a mournful character.

Plaque <Xpage=1095>

Plaque (?) , n. [F. Cf. Plack , and see Placard .] Any flat, thin piece of metal, clay, ivory, or the like, used for ornament, or for painting pictures upon, as a slab, plate, dish, or the like, hung upon a wall; also, a smaller decoration worn on the person, as a brooch.

Plash <Xpage=1095>

Plash (?) , n. [OD. plasch . See Plash , v. ] 1. A small pool of standing water; a puddle. Bacon . "These shallow plashes ." Barrow .

2. A dash of water; a splash.

Plash <Xpage=1095>

Plash , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Plashed (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Plashing .] [Cf. D. plassen , G. platschen . Cf. Splash .] To dabble in water; to splash. " Plashing among bedded pebbles."

Keats.

Far below him plashed the waters. Longfellow.

Plash <Xpage=1095>

Plash , v. t. 1. To splash, as water.

2. To splash or sprinkle with coloring matter; as, to plash a wall in imitation of granite .

Plash <Xpage=1095>

Plash , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Plashed (<?/) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Plashing .] [OF. plaissier , plessier , to bend. Cf. Pleach .] To cut partly, or to bend and intertwine the branches of; as, to plash a hedge .

Evelyn.

Plash <Xpage=1095>

Plash , n. The branch of a tree partly cut or bent, and bound to, or intertwined with, other branches.

Plashet <Xpage=1095>

Plash"et (?) , n. [ Plash + -et .] A small pond or pool; a puddle.

Plashing <Xpage=1095>

Plash"ing , n. 1. The cutting or bending and intertwining the branches of small trees, as in hedges.

2. The dashing or sprinkling of coloring matter on the walls of buildings, to imitate granite, etc.

Plashoot <Xpage=1095>

Plash"oot (?) , n. A hedge or fence formed of branches of trees interlaced, or plashed . [Obs.]

Carew.

Plashy <Xpage=1095>

Plash"y (?) , a. [From 1st Plash .] 1. Watery; abounding with puddles; splashy. " Plashy fens." Milton . "The plashy earth." Wordsworth .

2. Specked, as if plashed with color.

Keats.

Plasm <Xpage=1095>

Plasm (?) , n. [L. plasma anything formed or molded, that which is molded, Gr. <?/, <?/, from <?/ to form, mold: cf. F. plasme . Cf. Plasma .] 1. A mold or matrix in which anything is cast or formed to a particular shape. [R.]

Woodward.

2. (Biol.) Same as Plasma .

Plasma <Xpage=1095>

Plas"ma (?) , n. [See Plasm .] 1. (Min.) A variety of quartz, of a color between grass green and leek green, which is found associated with common chalcedony. It was much esteemed by the ancients for making engraved ornaments.

2. (Biol.) The viscous material of an animal or vegetable cell, out of which the various tissues are formed by a process of differentiation; protoplasm.

3. Unorganized material; elementary matter.

4. (Med.) A mixture of starch and glycerin, used as a substitute for ointments.

U. S. Disp.

<-- = blood plasma -->

<-- 6. (physics) a state of matter in which charged particles have sufficient energy to move freely, rather than bound in atoms as in ordinary matter; it has some of the properties of a gas, but is a conductor of electricity; plasmas are found naturally in the atmosphere of stars, and can be created in special laboratory apparatus -->

Blood plasma (Physiol.) , the colorless fluid of the blood, in which the red and white blood corpuscles are suspended. -- Muscle plasma (Physiol.) , the fundamental part of muscle fibers, a thick, viscid, albuminous fluid contained within the sarcolemma, which on the death of the muscle coagulates to a semisolid mass.

<page="1096"> Page 1096

Plasmatic, Plasmatical <Xpage=1096>

Plas*mat"ic (?) , Plas*mat"ic*al (?) , a. [Gr. <?/.] 1. Forming; shaping; molding. [Obs.]

Dr. H. More.

2. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to plasma; having the character of plasma; containing, or conveying, plasma.

Plasmation <Xpage=1096>

Plas*ma"tion (?) , n. [L. plasmatio .] The act of forming or molding. [R.]

Grafton.

Plasmator <Xpage=1096>

Plas*ma"tor (?) , n. [L.] A former; a fashioner. [R.] "The sovereign plasmator , God Almighty."

Urquhart.

Plasmature <Xpage=1096>

Plas"ma*ture (?) , n. Form; mold. [R.]

Plasmic <Xpage=1096>

Plas"mic (?) , a. Of, pertaining to, or connected with, plasma; plasmatic.

<-- Plasmid, n. A piece of DNA, usually circular, functioning as part of the genetic material of a cell, not integrated with the chromosome and replicating independently of the chromosome, but transferred, like the chromosome, to subsequent generations. In bacteria, plasmids often carry the genes for antibiotic resistance; they are exploited in genetic engineering as the vehicles for introduction of extraneous DNA into cells, to alter the genetic makeup of the cell. The cells thus altered may produce desirable proteins which are extracted and used; in the case of genetically altered plant cells, the altered cells may grow into complete plants with changed properties, as for example, increased resistance to disease. . -->