Chapter 2

Pad"dle*wood` (?), n. (Bot.) The light elastic wood of the Aspidosperma excelsum, a tree of Guiana having a fluted trunk readily split into planks.

Pad"dock (?), n. [OE. padde toad, frog + -ock; akin to D. pad, padde, toad, Icel. & Sw. padda, Dan. padde.] (Zoˆl.) A toad or frog. Wyclif. "Loathed paddocks." Spenser

Paddock pipe (Bot.), a hollow-stemmed plant of the genus Equisetum, especially E. limosum and the fruiting stems of E. arvense; -- called also padow pipe and toad pipe. See Equisetum. -- Paddock stone. See Toadstone. -- Paddock stool (Bot.),a toadstool.

Pad"dock, n. [Corrupted fr. parrock. See Parrock.]

1. A small inclosure or park for sporting. [Obs.]

2. A small inclosure for pasture; esp., one adjoining a stable. Evelyn. Cowper.

Pad"dy (?), a. [Prov. E. paddy worm-eaten.] Low; mean; boorish; vagabond. "Such pady persons." Digges (1585). "The paddy persons." Motley.

Pad"dy, n.; pl. Paddies (#). [Corrupted fr. St. Patrick, the tutelar saint of Ireland.] A jocose or contemptuous name for an Irishman.

Pad"dy, n. [Either fr. Canarese bhatta or Malay pd.] (Bot.) Unhusked rice; -- commonly so called in the East Indies.

Paddy bird. (Zoˆl.) See Java sparrow, under Java.

Pad`e*li"on (?), n. [F. pas de lionon's foot.] (Bot.) A plant with pedately lobed leaves; the lady's mantle.

||Pa*del"la (?), n. [It., prop., a pan, a friing pan, fr. L. patella a ||pan.] A large cup or deep saucer, containing fatty matter in which a ||wick is placed, -- used for public illuminations, as at St. Peter's, ||in Rome. Called also padelle.

Pad`e*mel"on (?), n. (Zoˆl.) See Wallaby.

Pad"e*soy` (?), n. See Paduasoy.

Padge, n. (Zoˆl.) The barn owl; -- called also pudge, and pudge owl. [Prov. Eng.]

||Pa`di*shah" (?), n. [Per. pdishh. Cf. Pasha.] Chief ruler; monarch; ||sovereign; -- a title of the Sultan of Turkey, and of the Shah of ||Persia.

Pad"lock` (?), n. [Perh. orig., a lock for a pad gate, or a gate opening to a path, or perh., a lock for a basket or pannier, and from Prov. E. pad a pannier. Cf. Pad a path, Paddler.] 1. A portable lock with a bow which is usually jointed or pivoted at one end so that it can be opened, the other end being fastened by the bolt, -- used for fastening by passing the bow through a staple over a hasp or through the links of a chain, etc.

2. Fig.: A curb; a restraint.

Pad"lock`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Padlocked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Padlocking.] To fasten with, or as with, a padlock; to stop; to shut; to confine as by a padlock. Milton. Tennyson.

Pad"nag` (?), n. [lst pad + nag.] An ambling nag. "An easy padnag." Macaulay.

Pad"ow (?), n. (Zoˆl.) A paddock, or toad.

Padow pipe. (Bot.) See Paddock pipe, under Paddock.

||Pa*dro"ne (?), n.; pl. It. Padroni (#), E. Padrones. [It. See ||Patron.] 1. A patron; a protector.

2. The master of a small coaster in the Mediterranean.

3. A man who imports, and controls the earnings of, Italian laborers, street musicians, etc.

Pad`u*a*soy" (?), n. [From Padua, in Italy + F. soie silk; or cf. F. pou-de-soie.] A rich and heavy silk stuff. [Written also padesoy.]

Pa*du"cahs (p*d"kz), n. pl.; sing. Paducah (-k). (Ethnol.) See Comanches.

PÊ"an (p`an), n. [L. paean, Gr. paia`n, fr. Paia`n the physician of the gods, later, Apollo. Cf. PÊon, Peony.] [Written also pean.] 1. An ancient Greek hymn in honor of Apollo as a healing deity, and, later, a song addressed to other deities.

2. Any loud and joyous song; a song of triumph. Dryden. "Public pÊans of congratulation." De Quincey.

3. See PÊon.

PÊ`do*bap"tism (p`d*bp"tz'm), n. Pedobaptism.

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PÊ`do*gen"esis (p`d*jn"*ss), n. [Gr. pai^s, paido`s, child + E. genesis.] (Zoˆl.) Reproduction by young or larval animals.

PÊ`do*ge*net"ic (-j*nt"k), a. (Zoˆl.) Producing young while in the immature or larval state; -- said of certain insects, etc.

PÊ"on (p"n), n. [L. paeon, Gr. paiw`n a solemn song, also, a pÊon, equiv. to paia`n. See PÊan.] (Anc. Poet.) A foot of four syllables, one long and three short, admitting of four combinations, according to the place of the long syllable. [Written also, less correctly, pÊan.]

PÊ"o*nine (p"*nn), n. (Chem.) An artifical red nitrogenous dyestuff, called also red coralline.

PÊ"o*ny (p"*n), n. (Bot.) See Peony.

Pa"gan (p"gan), n. [L. paganus a countryman, peasant, villager, a pagan, fr. paganus of or pertaining to the country, rustic, also, pagan, fr. pagus a district, canton, the country, perh. orig., a district with fixed boundaries: cf. pangere to fasten. Cf. Painim, Peasant, and Pact, also Heathen.] One who worships false gods; an idolater; a heathen; one who is neither a Christian, a Mohammedan, nor a Jew.

Neither having the accent of Christians, nor the gait of Christian, pagan, nor man.

Shak.

Syn. -- Gentile; heathen; idolater. -- Pagan, Gentile, Heathen. Gentile was applied to the other nations of the earth as distinguished from the Jews. Pagan was the name given to idolaters in the early Christian church, because the villagers, being most remote from the centers of instruction, remained for a long time unconverted. Heathen has the same origin. Pagan is now more properly applied to rude and uncivilized idolaters, while heathen embraces all who practice idolatry.

Pa"gan, a. [L. paganus of or pertaining to the country, pagan. See Pagan, n.] Of or pertaining to pagans; relating to the worship or the worshipers of false goods; heathen; idolatrous, as, pagan tribes or superstitions.

And all the rites of pagan honor paid.

Dryden.

Pa"gan*dom (-dm), n. The pagan lands; pagans, collectively; paganism. [R.]

{ Pa*gan"ic (p*gn"k), Pa*gan"ic*al (-*kal), } a. Of or pertaining to pagans or paganism; heathenish; paganish. [R.] "The paganic fables of the goods." Cudworth. -- Pa*gan"ic*al*ly, adv. [R.]

Pa"gan*ish (p"gan*sh), a. Of or pertaining to pagans; heathenish. "The old paganish idolatry." Sharp

Pa"gan*ism (-z'm), n. [L. paganismus: cf. F. paganisme. See Pagan, and cf. Painim.] The state of being pagan; pagan characteristics; esp., the worship of idols or false gods, or the system of religious opinions and worship maintained by pagans; heathenism.

Pa*gan"i*ty (p*gn"*t), n. [L. Paganitas.] The state of being a pagan; paganism. [R.] Cudworth.

Pa"gan*ize (p"gan*z), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Paganized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Paganizing (?).] To render pagan or heathenish; to convert to paganism. Hallywell.

Pa"gan*ize, v. i. To behave like pagans. Milton.

Pa"gan*ly, adv. In a pagan manner. Dr. H. More.

Page (pj), n. [F., fr. It. paggio, LL. pagius, fr. Gr. paidi`on, dim. of pai^s, paido`s, a boy, servant; perh. akin to L. puer. Cf. Pedagogue, Puerile.] 1. A serving boy; formerly, a youth attending a person of high degree, especially at courts, as a position of honor and education; now commonly, in England, a youth employed for doing errands, waiting on the door, and similar service in households; in the United States, a boy employed to wait upon the members of a legislative body.

He had two pages of honor -- on either hand one.

Bacon.

2. A boy child. [Obs.] Chaucer.

3. A contrivance, as a band, pin, snap, or the like, to hold the skirt of a woman's dress from the ground.

4. (Brickmaking.) A track along which pallets carrying newly molded bricks are conveyed to the hack.

5. (Zoˆl.) Any one of several species of beautiful South American moths of the genus Urania.

Page, v. t. To attend (one) as a page. [Obs.] Shak.

Page, n. [F., fr. L. pagina; prob. akin to pagere, pangere, to fasten, fix, make, the pages or leaves being fastened together. Cf. Pact, Pageant, Pagination.]

1. One side of a leaf of a book or manuscript.

Such was the book from whose pages she sang.

Longfellow.

2. Fig.: A record; a writing; as, the page of history.

3. (Print.) The type set up for printing a page.

Page, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Paged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Paging (?).] To mark or number the pages of, as a book or manuscript; to furnish with folios.

Pag"eant (pj"ent or p"jent; 277), n. [OE. pagent, pagen, originally, a movable scaffold or stage, hence, what was exhibited on it, fr. LL. pagina, akin to pangere to fasten; cf. L. pagina page, leaf, slab, compaginare to join together, compages a joining together, structure. See Pact, Page of a book.]

1. A theatrical exhibition; a spectacle. "A pageant truly played." Shak.

To see sad pageants of men's miseries.

Spenser.

2. An elaborate exhibition devised for the entertainmeut of a distinguished personage, or of the public; a show, spectacle, or display.

The gaze of fools, and pageant of a day !

Pope.

We love the man, the paltry pageant you.

Cowper.

Pag"eant, a. Of the nature of a pageant; spectacular. "Pageant pomp." Dryden.

Pag"eant, v. t. To exhibit in show; to represent; to mimic. [R.] "He pageants us." Shak.

Pag"eant*ry (-r), n. Scenic shows or spectacles, taken collectively; spectacular quality; splendor.

Such pageantry be to the people shown.

Dryden.

The pageantry of festival.

J. A. Symonds.

Syn. -- Pomp; parade; show; display; spectacle.

Page"hood (?), n. The state of being a page.

||Pag"i*na (?), n.; pl. PaginÊ (#). [L.] (Bot.) The surface of a leaf ||or of a flattened thallus.

Pag"i*nal (?), a. [L. paginalis.] Consisting of pages. "Paginal books." Sir T. Browne.

Pag`i*na"tion (?), n. The act or process of paging a book; also, the characters used in numbering the pages; page number. Lowndes.

Pa"ging (?), n. The marking or numbering of the pages of a book.

Pa"god (?), n. [Cf. F. pagode. See Pagoda.] 1. A pagoda. [R.] "Or some queer pagod." Pope.

2. An idol. [Obs.] Bp. Stillingfleet.

Pa*go"da (?), n. [Pg. pagoda, pagode, fr.Hind. & Per. but-kadah a house of idols, or abode of God; Per. but an idol + kadah a house, a temple.] 1. A term by which Europeans designate religious temples and tower-like buildings of the Hindoos and Buddhists of India, Farther India, China, and Japan, -- usually but not always, devoted to idol worship.

2. An idol. [R.] Brande & C.

3. [Prob. so named from the image of a pagoda or a deity (cf. Skr. bhagavat holy, divine) stamped on it.] A gold or silver coin, of various kinds and values, formerly current in India. The Madras gold pagoda was worth about three and a half rupees.

Pa*go"dite (?), n. (Min.) Agalmatolite; -- so called because sometimes carved by the Chinese into the form of pagodas. See Agalmatolite.

||Pa*gu"ma (?), n. (Zoˆl.) Any one of several species of East Indian ||viverrine mammals of the genus Paguma. They resemble a weasel in ||form.

Pa*gu"ri*an (?), n. [L. pagurus a kind of crab, Gr. &?;.] (Zoˆl.) Any one of a tribe of anomuran crustaceans, of which Pagurus is a type; the hermit crab. See Hermit crab, under Hermit.

Pah (?), interj. An exclamation expressing disgust or contempt. See Bah.

Fie! fie! fie! pah! pah! Give me an ounce of civet, good apothecary, to sweeten my imagination.

Shak.

||Pah (?), n. [From native name.] A kind of stockaded intrenchment. ||[New Zealand.] Farrow.

Pa"hi (?), n. (Naut.) A large war canoe of the Society Islands.

Pah"le*vi (?), n. Same as Pehlevi.

||Pa*ho"e*ho`e (?), n. (Min.) A name given in the Sandwich Islands to ||lava having a relatively smooth surface, in distinction from the ||rough-surfaced lava, called a-a.

Pah"*Utes` (?), n. pl. (Ethnol.) See Utes.

Paid (?), imp., p. p., & a. of Pay. 1. Receiving pay; compensated; hired; as, a paid attorney.

2. Satisfied; contented. [Obs.] "Paid of his poverty." Chaucer.

Pai*deu"tics (?), n. [Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to teach, fr. &?;,&?;, a boy.] The science or art of teaching.

Pai"en (?), n. & a. Pagan. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Pai"gle (?), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Bot.) A species of Primula, either the cowslip or the primrose. [Written also pagle, pagil, peagle, and pygil.]

||Pai*ja"ma (?), n. Pyjama.

Pail (?), n. [OE. paile, AS. pÊgel a wine vessel, a pail, akin to D. & G. pegel a watermark, a gauge rod, a measure of wine, Dan. pÊgel half a pint.] A vessel of wood or tin, etc., usually cylindrical and having a bail, -- used esp. for carrying liquids, as water or milk, etc.; a bucket. It may, or may not, have a cover. Shak.

Pail"ful (?), n.; pl. Pailfuls (&?;). The quantity that a pail will hold. "By pailfuls." Shak.

Pail*lasse" (?; F. &?;), n. [F., fr. paille straw. See Pallet a bed.] An under bed or mattress of straw. [Written also palliasse.]

Pail`mall" (?), n. & a. See Pall-mall. [Obs.]

Pain (?), n. [OE. peine, F. peine, fr. L. poena, penalty, punishment, torment, pain; akin to Gr. &?; penalty. Cf. Penal, Pine to languish, Punish.] 1. Punishment suffered or denounced; suffering or evil inflicted as a punishment for crime, or connected with the commission of a crime; penalty. Chaucer.

We will, by way of mulct or pain, lay it upon him.

Bacon.

Interpose, on pain of my displeasure.

Dryden.

None shall presume to fly, under pain of death.

Addison.

2. Any uneasy sensation in animal bodies, from slight uneasiness to extreme distress or torture, proceeding from a derangement of functions, disease, or injury by violence; bodily distress; bodily suffering; an ache; a smart. "The pain of Jesus Christ." Chaucer.

Pain may occur in any part of the body where sensory nerves are distributed, and it is always due to some kind of stimulation of them. The sensation is generally referred to the peripheral end of the nerve.

3. pl. Specifically, the throes or travail of childbirth.

She bowed herself and travailed, for her pains came upon her.

1 Sam. iv. 19.

4. Uneasiness of mind; mental distress; disquietude; anxiety; grief; solicitude; anguish. Chaucer.

In rapture as in pain.

Keble.

5. See Pains, labor, effort.

Bill of pains and penalties. See under Bill. -- To die in the pain, to be tortured to death. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Pain, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pained (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Paining.] [OE. peinen, OF. pener, F. peiner to fatigue. See Pain, n.] 1. To inflict suffering upon as a penalty; to punish. [Obs.] Wyclif (Acts xxii. 5).

2. To put to bodily uneasiness or anguish; to afflict with uneasy sensations of any degree of intensity; to torment; to torture; as, his dinner or his wound pained him; his stomach pained him.

Excess of cold, as well as heat, pains us.

Locke.

3. To render uneasy in mind; to disquiet; to distress; to grieve; as a child's faults pain his parents.

I am pained at my very heart.

Jer. iv. 19.

To pain one's self, to exert or trouble one's self; to take pains; to be solicitous. [Obs.] "She pained her to do all that she might." Chaucer.

Syn. -- To disquiet; trouble; afflict; grieve; aggrieve; distress; agonize; torment; torture.

Pain"a*ble (?), a. [Cf. F. pÈnible.] Causing pain; painful. [Obs.]

The manacles of Astyages were not . . . the less weighty and painable for being composed of gold or silver.

Evelyn.

Pain"ful (?), a. 1. Full of pain; causing uneasiness or distress, either physical or mental; afflictive; disquieting; distressing. Addison.

2. Requiring labor or toil; difficult; executed with laborious effort; as a painful service; a painful march.

3. Painstaking; careful; industrious. [Obs.] Fuller.

A very painful person, and a great clerk.

Jer. Taylor.

Nor must the painful husbandman be tired.

Dryden.

Syn. -- Disquieting; troublesome; afflictive; distressing; grievous; laborious; toilsome; difficult; arduous.

-- Pain"ful*ly, adv. -- Pain"ful*ness, n.

Pai"nim (?), n.[OE. painime pagans, paganism, fr. OF. paienisme paganism, LL. paganismus. See Paganism, Pagan.] A pagan; an infidel; -- used also adjectively. [Written also panim and paynim.] Peacham.

Pain"less (?), a. Free from pain; without pain. -- Pain"less*ly, adv. - - Pain"less*ness, n.

Pains (?), n.Labor; toilsome effort; care or trouble taken; -- plural in form, but used with a singular or plural verb, commonly the former.

And all my pains is sorted to no proof.

Shak.

The pains they had taken was very great.

Clarendon.

The labored earth your pains have sowed and tilled.

Dryden.

Pains"tak`er (?), n. One who takes pains; one careful and faithful in all work. Gay.

Pains"tak`ing, a. Careful in doing; diligent; faithful; attentive. "Painstaking men." Harris.

Pains"tak`ing, n. The act of taking pains; carefulness and fidelity in performance. Beau. & Fl.

Pains"wor`thy (?), a. Worth the pains or care bestowed.

Paint (pnt), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Painted; p. pr. & vb. n. Painting.] [OE. peinten, fr. F. peint, p. p. of peindre to paint, fr. L. pingere, pictum; cf. Gr. poiki`los many-colored, Skr. piÁ to adorn. Cf. Depict, Picture, Pigment, Pint.] 1. To cover with coloring matter; to apply paint to; as, to paint a house, a signboard, etc.

Jezebel painted her face and tired her head.

2 Kings ix. 30.

2. Fig.: To color, stain, or tinge; to adorn or beautify with colors; to diversify with colors.

Not painted with the crimson spots of blood.

Shak.

Cuckoo buds of yellow hue Do paint the meadows with delight.

Shak.

3. To form in colors a figure or likeness of on a flat surface, as upon canvas; to represent by means of colors or hues; to exhibit in a tinted image; to portray with paints; as, to paint a portrait or a landscape.

4. Fig.: To represent or exhibit to the mind; to describe vividly; to delineate; to image; to depict.

Disloyal? The word is too good to paint out her wickedness.

Shak.

If folly grow romantic, I must paint it.

Pope.

Syn. -- To color; picture; depict; portray; delineate; sketch; draw; describe.

Paint, v. t. 1. To practice the art of painting; as, the artist paints well.

2. To color one's face by way of beautifying it.

Let her paint an inch thick.

Shak.

Paint, n. 1. (a) A pigment or coloring substance. (b) The same prepared with a vehicle, as oil, water with gum, or the like, for application to a surface.

2. A cosmetic; rouge. Praed.

Paint"ed, a. 1. Covered or adorned with paint; portrayed in colors.

As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean.

Coleridge.

2. (Nat. Hist.) Marked with bright colors; as, the painted turtle; painted bunting.

Painted beauty (Zoˆl.), a handsome American butterfly (Vanessa Huntera), having a variety of bright colors, -- Painted cup (Bot.), any plant of an American genus of herbs (Castilleia) in which the bracts are usually bright-colored and more showy than the flowers. Castilleia coccinea has brilliantly scarlet bracts, and is common in meadows. -- Painted finch. See Nonpareil. -- Painted lady (Zoˆl.), a bright-colored butterfly. See Thistle butterfly. -- Painted turtle (Zoˆl.), a common American freshwater tortoise (Chrysemys picta), having bright red and yellow markings beneath.

Paint"er (pnt"r), n. [OE, pantere a noose, snare, F. pantiËre, LL. panthera, L. panther a hunting net, fr. Gr. panqh`ra; pa^s all + qh`r beast; cf. Ir. painteir a net, gin, snare, Gael. painntear.] (Naut.) A rope at the bow of a boat, used to fasten it to anything. Totten.

Paint"er, n. [Corrupt. of panther.] (Zoˆl.) The panther, or puma. [A form representing an illiterate pronunciation, U. S.] J. F. Cooper.

Paint"er, n. [See lst Paint.] One whose occupation is to paint; esp.: (a) One who covers buildings, ships, ironwork, and the like, with paint. (b) An artist who represents objects or scenes in color on a flat surface, as canvas, plaster, or the like.

Painter's colic. (Med.) See Lead colic, under Colic. -- Painter stainer. (a) A painter of coats of arms. Crabb. (b) A member of a livery company or guild in London, bearing this name.

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Paint"er*ly (?), a. Like a painter's work. [Obs.] "A painterly glose of a visage." Sir P. Sidney.

Paint"er*ship, n. The state or position of being a painter. [R.] Br. Gardiner.

Paint"ing, n. 1. The act or employment of laying on, or adorning with, paints or colors.

2. (Fine Arts) The work of the painter; also, any work of art in which objects are represented in color on a flat surface; a colored representation of any object or scene; a picture.

3. Color laid on; paint. [R.] Shak.

4. A depicting by words; vivid representation in words.

Syn. -- See Picture.

Paint"less, a. Not capable of being painted or described. "In paintless patience." Savage.

Pain"ture (?), n. [F. peinture. See Paint, v. t., and cf. Picture.] The art of painting. [Obs.] Chaucer. Dryden.

Paint"y (?), a. Unskillfully painted, so that the painter's method of work is too obvious; also, having too much pigment applied to the surface. [Cant]

Pair (?), n. [F. paire, LL. paria, L. paria, pl. of par pair, fr. par, adj., equal. Cf. Apparel, Par equality, Peer an equal.]

1. A number of things resembling one another, or belonging together; a set; as, a pair or flight of stairs. "A pair of beads." Chaucer. Beau. & Fl. "Four pair of stairs." Macaulay. [Now mostly or quite disused, except as to stairs.]

Two crowns in my pocket, two pair of cards.

Beau. & Fl.

2. Two things of a kind, similar in form, suited to each other, and intended to be used together; as, a pair of gloves or stockings; a pair of shoes.

3. Two of a sort; a span; a yoke; a couple; a brace; as, a pair of horses; a pair of oxen.

4. A married couple; a man and wife. "A happy pair." Dryden. "The hapless pair." Milton.

5. A single thing, composed of two pieces fitted to each other and used together; as, a pair of scissors; a pair of tongs; a pair of bellows.

6. Two members of opposite parties or opinion, as in a parliamentary body, who mutually agree not to vote on a given question, or on issues of a party nature during a specified time; as, there were two pairs on the final vote. [Parliamentary Cant]

7. (Kinematics) In a mechanism, two elements, or bodies, which are so applied to each other as to mutually constrain relative motion.

Pairs are named in accordance with the kind of motion they permit; thus, a journal and its bearing form a turning pair, a cylinder and its piston a sliding pair, a screw and its nut a twisting pair, etc. Any pair in which the constraining contact is along lines or at points only (as a cam and roller acting together), is designated a higher pair; any pair having constraining surfaces which fit each other (as a cylindrical pin and eye, a screw and its nut, etc.), is called a lower pair.

Pair royal (pl. Pairs Royal) three things of a sort; -- used especially of playing cards in some games, as cribbage; as three kings, three "eight spots" etc. Four of a kind are called a double pair royal. "Something in his face gave me as much pleasure as a pair royal of naturals in my own hand." Goldsmith. "That great pair royal of adamantine sisters [the Fates]." Quarles. [Written corruptly parial and prial.]

Syn. -- Pair, Flight, Set. Originally, pair was not confined to two things, but was applied to any number of equal things (pares), that go together. Ben Jonson speaks of a pair (set) of chessmen; also, he and Lord Bacon speak of a pair (pack) of cards. A "pair of stairs" is still in popular use, as well as the later expression, "flight of stairs."

Pair, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Paired (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Pairing.] 1. To be joined in paris; to couple; to mate, as for breeding.

2. To suit; to fit, as a counterpart.

My heart was made to fit and pair with thine.

Rowe.

3. Same as To pair off. See phrase below.

To pair off, to separate from a company in pairs or couples; specif. (Parliamentary Cant), to agree with one of the opposite party or opinion to abstain from voting on specified questions or issues. See Pair, n., 6.

Pair, v. t. 1. To unite in couples; to form a pair of; to bring together, as things which belong together, or which complement, or are adapted to one another.

Glossy jet is paired with shining white.

Pope.

2. To engage (one's self) with another of opposite opinions not to vote on a particular question or class of questions. [Parliamentary Cant]

Paired fins. (Zoˆl.) See under Fin.

Pair, v. t. [See Impair.] To impair. [Obs.] Spenser.

Pair"er (?), n. One who impairs. [Obs.] Wyclif.

Pair"ing, n. [See Pair, v. i.] 1. The act or process of uniting or arranging in pairs or couples.

2. See To pair off, under Pair, v. i.