Chapter 20

Pee, n. (Naut.) Bill of an anchor. See Peak, 3 (c).

Peece (?), n. & v. [Obs.] See Piece.

||Pee"chi (?), n. (Zoˆl.) The dauw.

Peek (?), v. i. [OE. piken: cf. F. piquer to pierce, prick, E. pique. Cf. Peak.] To look slyly, or with the eyes half closed, or through a crevice; to peep. [Colloq.]

Peek"a*boo (?), n. A child's game; bopeep.

Peel (?), n. [OE. pel. Cf. Pile a heap.] A small tower, fort, or castle; a keep. [Scot.]

Peel, n. [F. pelle, L. pala.] A spadelike implement, variously used, as for removing loaves of bread from a baker's oven; also, a T-shaped implement used by printers and bookbinders for hanging wet sheets of paper on lines or poles to dry. Also, the blade of an oar.

Peel, v. t. [Confused with peel to strip, but fr. F. piller to pillage. See Pill to rob, Pillage.] To plunder; to pillage; to rob. [Obs.]

But govern ill the nations under yoke, Peeling their provinces.

Milton.

Peel, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Peeled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Peeling.] [F. peler to pull out the hair, to strip, to peel, fr. L. pilare to deprive of hair, fr. pilus a hair; or perh. partly fr. F. peler to peel off the skin, perh. fr. L. pellis skin (cf. Fell skin). Cf. Peruke.] 1. To strip off the skin, bark, or rind of; to strip by drawing or tearing off the skin, bark, husks, etc.; to flay; to decorticate; as, to peel an orange.

The skillful shepherd peeled me certain wands.

Shak.

2. To strip or tear off; to remove by stripping, as the skin of an animal, the bark of a tree, etc.

Peel, v. i. To lose the skin, bark, or rind; to come off, as the skin, bark, or rind does; -- often used with an adverb; as, the bark peels easily or readily.

Peel, n. The skin or rind; as, the peel of an orange.

Pee"le (?), n. (Zoˆl.) A graceful and swift South African antelope (Pelea capreola). The hair is woolly, and ash-gray on the back and sides. The horns are black, long, slender, straight, nearly smooth, and very sharp. Called also rheeboc, and rehboc.

Peel"er (?), n. One who peels or strips.

Peel"er, n. [See Peel to plunder.] A pillager.

Peel"er, n. A nickname for a policeman; -- so called from Sir Robert Peel. [British Slang] See Bobby.

Peel"house` (?), n. See 1st Peel. Sir W. Scott.

Peen (?), n. [Cf. G. pinne pane of a hammer.] (a) A round-edged, or hemispherical, end to the head of a hammer or sledge, used to stretch or bend metal by indentation. (b) The sharp-edged end of the head of a mason's hammer. [Spelt also pane, pein, and piend.]

Peen, v. t. To draw, bend, or straighten, as metal, by blows with the peen of a hammer or sledge.

Peenge (?), v. i. To complain. [Scot.]

Peep (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Peeped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Peeping.] [Of imitative origin; cf. OE. pipen, F. piper, pÈpier, L. pipire, pipare, pipiare, D. & G. piepen. Senses 2 and 3 perhaps come from a transfer of sense from the sound which chickens make upon the first breaking of the shell to the act accompanying it; or perhaps from the influence of peek, or peak. Cf. Pipe.] 1. To cry, as a chicken hatching or newly hatched; to chirp; to cheep.

There was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.

Is. x. 14.

2. To begin to appear; to look forth from concealment; to make the first appearance.

When flowers first peeped, and trees did blossoms bear.

Dryden.

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3. To look cautiously or slyly; to peer, as through a crevice; to pry.

eep through the blanket of the dark.

Shak.

From her cabined loophole peep.

Milton.

Peep sight, an adjustable piece, pierced with a small hole to peep through in aiming, attached to a rifle or other firearm near the breech.

Peep (?), n. 1. The cry of a young chicken; a chirp.

2. First outlook or appearance.

Oft have we seen him at the peep of dawn.

Gray.

3. A sly look; a look as through a crevice, or from a place of concealment.

To take t' other peep at the stars.

Swift.

4. (Zoˆl.) (a) Any small sandpiper, as the least sandpiper (Trigna minutilla). (b) The European meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis).

Peep show, a small show, or object exhibited, which is viewed through an orifice or a magnifying glass. -- Peep-o'-day boys, the Irish insurgents of 1784; -- so called from their visiting the house of the loyal Irish at day break in search of arms. [Cant]

Peep"er (?), n. 1. A chicken just breaking the shell; a young bird.

2. One who peeps; a prying person; a spy.

Who's there? peepers, . . . eavesdroppers?

J. Webster.

3. The eye; as, to close the peepers. [Colloq.]

Peep"hole` (?), n. A hole, or crevice, through which one may peep without being discovered.

Peep"ing hole`. See Peephole.

Pee"pul tree` (?). [Hind. ppal, Skr. pippala.] (Bot.) A sacred tree (Ficus religiosa) of the Buddhists, a kind of fig tree which attains great size and venerable age. See Bo tree. [Written also pippul tree, and pipal tree.]

Peer (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Peered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Peering.] [OF. parir, pareir equiv. to F. paraÓtre to appear, L. parere. Cf. Appear.] 1. To come in sight; to appear. [Poetic]

So honor peereth in the meanest habit.

Shak.

See how his gorget peers above his gown!

B. Jonson.

2. [Perh. a different word; cf. OE. piren, LG. piren. Cf. Pry to peep.] To look narrowly or curiously or intently; to peep; as, the peering day. Milton.

Peering in maps for ports, and piers, and roads.

Shak.

As if through a dungeon grate he peered.

Coleridge.

Peer, n. [OE. per, OF. per, F. pair, fr. L. par equal. Cf. Apparel, Pair, Par, n., Umpire.] 1. One of the same rank, quality, endowments, character, etc.; an equal; a match; a mate.

In song he never had his peer.

Dryden.

Shall they consort only with their peers?

I. Taylor.

2. A comrade; a companion; a fellow; an associate.

He all his peers in beauty did surpass.

Spenser.

3. A nobleman; a member of one of the five degrees of the British nobility, namely, duke, marquis, earl, viscount, baron; as, a peer of the realm.

A noble peer of mickle trust and power.

Milton.

House of Peers, The Peers, the British House of Lords. See Parliament. -- Spiritual peers, the bishops and archibishops, or lords spiritual, who sit in the House of Lords.

Peer v. t. To make equal in rank. [R.] Heylin.

Peer v. t. To be, or to assume to be, equal. [R.]

Peer"age (?), n. [See Peer an equal, and cf. Parage.] 1. The rank or dignity of a peer. Blackstone.

2. The body of peers; the nobility, collectively.

When Charlemain with all his peerage fell.

Milton.

Peer"dom (?), n. Peerage; also, a lordship. [Obs.]

Peer"ess, n. The wife of a peer; a woman ennobled in her own right, or by right of marriage.

{ Peer"ie, Peer"y } (?), a. [See 1st Peer, 2.] Inquisitive; suspicious; sharp. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] "Two peery gray eyes." Sir W. Scott.

Peer"less (?), a. Having no peer or equal; matchless; superlative. "Her peerless feature." Shak.

Unvailed her peerless light.

Milton.

--Peer"less*ly, adv. -- Peer"less*ness, n.

Peert (?), a. Same as Peart.

Peer"weet (?), n. Same as Pewit (a & b).

Pee"vish (?), a. [OE. pevische; of uncertain origin, perh. from a word imitative of the noise made by fretful children + -ish.] 1. Habitually fretful; easily vexed or fretted; hard to please; apt to complain; querulous; petulant. "Her peevish babe." Wordsworth.

She is peevish, sullen, froward.

Shak.

2. Expressing fretfulness and discontent, or unjustifiable dissatisfaction; as, a peevish answer.

3. Silly; childish; trifling. [Obs.]

To send such peevish tokens to a king.

Shak.

Syn. -- Querulous; petulant; cross; ill-tempered; testy; captious; discontented. See Fretful.

Pee"vish*ly, adv. In a peevish manner. Shak.

Pee"vish*ness, n. The quality of being peevish; disposition to murmur; sourness of temper.

Syn. -- See Petulance.

{ Pee"vit (?), Pee"wit (?), } n. (Zoˆl.) See Pewit.

Peg (?), n. [OE. pegge; cf. Sw. pigg, Dan. pig a point, prickle, and E. peak.] 1. A small, pointed piece of wood, used in fastening boards together, in attaching the soles of boots or shoes, etc.; as, a shoe peg.

2. A wooden pin, or nail, on which to hang things, as coats, etc. Hence, colloquially and figuratively: A support; a reason; a pretext; as, a peg to hang a claim upon.

3. One of the pins of a musical instrument, on which the strings are strained. Shak.

4. One of the pins used for marking points on a cribbage board.

5. A step; a degree; esp. in the slang phrase "To take one down peg."

To screw papal authority to the highest peg.

Barrow.

And took your grandess down a peg.

Hudibras.

Peg ladder, a ladder with but one standard, into which cross pieces are inserted. -- Peg tankard, an ancient tankard marked with pegs, so as divide the liquor into equal portions. "Drink down to your peg." Longfellow. -- Peg tooth. See Fleam tooth under Fleam. -- Peg top, a boy's top which is spun by throwing it. -- Screw peg, a small screw without a head, for fastening soles.

Peg (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pegged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Pegging (?).] 1. To put pegs into; to fasten the parts of with pegs; as, to peg shoes; to confine with pegs; to restrict or limit closely.

I will rend an oak And peg thee in his knotty entrails.

Shak.

2. (Cribbage) To score with a peg, as points in the game; as, she pegged twelwe points. [Colloq.]

Peg, v. i. To work diligently, as one who pegs shoes; -- usually with on, at, or away; as, to peg away at a task.

||Pe`ga*dor" (?), n. [Sp., a sticker.] (Zoˆl.) A species of remora ||(Echeneis naucrates). See Remora.

Pe*ga"se*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to Pegasus, or, figuratively, to poetry.

Peg"a*soid (?), a. [Pegasus + -oid.] (Zoˆl.) Like or pertaining to Pegasus.

Peg"a*sus (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;.] 1. (Gr. Myth.) A winged horse fabled to have sprung from the body of Medusa when she was slain. He is noted for causing, with a blow of his hoof, Hippocrene, the inspiring fountain of the Muses, to spring from Mount Helicon. On this account he is, in modern times, associated with the Muses, and with ideas of poetic inspiration.

Each spurs his jaded Pegasus apace.

Byron.

2. (Astron.) A northen constellation near the vernal equinoctial point. Its three brightest stars, with the brightest star of Andromeda, form the square of Pegasus.

3. (Zoˆl.) A genus of small fishes, having large pectoral fins, and the body covered with hard, bony plates. Several species are known from the East Indies and China.

Peg"ger (?), n. One who fastens with pegs.

Peg"ging (?), n. The act or process of fastening with pegs.

Pegm (?), n. [L. pegma a movable stage, Gr. &?;, orig., a framework.] A sort of moving machine employed in the old pageants. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

Peg"ma*tite (?), n. [From Gr. &?; something fastened together, in allusion to the quartz and feldspar in graphic granite: cf. F. pegmatite. See Pegm.] (Min.) (a) Graphic granite. See under Granite. (b) More generally, a coarse granite occurring as vein material in other rocks.

Peg`ma*tit"ic (?), a. (Min.) Of, pertaining to, or resembling, pegmatite; as, the pegmatic structure of certain rocks resembling graphic granite.

Peg"ma*toid (?), a. [Pegmatite + -oid.] (Min.) Resembling pegmatite; pegmatic.

Peg"o*man`cy (?), n. [Gr. phgh` fountain + -mancy.] Divination by fountains. [R.]

Peg"roots` (pg"rts`), n. Same as Setterwort.

Peh"le*vi` (?), n. [Parsee Pahlavi.] An ancient Persian dialect in which words were partly represented by their Semitic equivalents. It was in use from the 3d century (and perhaps earlier) to the middle of the 7th century, and later in religious writings. [Written also Pahlavi.]

Pein (?), n. See Peen.

Pei*ram"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. &?; a trail + -meter.] A dynamometer for measuring the force required to draw wheel carriages on roads of different constructions. G. Francis.

Pei*ras"tic (?), a. [Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to try, fr. &?; a trail.] Fitted for trail or test; experimental; tentative; treating of attempts.

Peise (?), n. [See Poise.] A weight; a poise. [Obs.] "To weigh pence with a peise." Piers Plowman.

Peise, v. t. To poise or weight. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Lest leaden slumber peise me down.

Shak.

Pei"trel (?), n. (Anc. Armor) See Peytrel.

Pe*jor"a*tive (?), a. [F. pÈjoratif, fr. L. pejor, used as compar. of malus evil.] Implying or imputing evil; depreciatory; disparaging; unfavorable.

Pek"an (?), n. [F. pekan.] (Zoˆl.) See Fisher, 2.

Pek"oe (?), n. [Chin. pih-hoau: cf. F. pekoÎ] A kind of black tea. [Written also pecco.]

Pe"la (?), n. (Zoˆl.) See Wax insect, under Wax.

Pel"age (?), n. [F. pelage, fr. L. pilus hair.] (Zoˆl.) The covering, or coat, of a mammal, whether of wool, fur, or hair.

Pe*la"gi*an (?), a. [L. pelagius, Gr. &?;, fr. &?; the sea: cf. F. pÈlagien.] Of or pertaining to the sea; marine; pelagic; as, pelagian shells.

Pe*la"gi*an, n. [L. Pelagianus: cf. F. pÈlagien.] (Eccl. Hist.) A follower of Pelagius, a British monk, born in the later part of the 4th century, who denied the doctrines of hereditary sin, of the connection between sin and death, and of conversion through grace.

Pe*la"gi*an, a. [Cf. F. pÈlagien.] Of or pertaining to Pelagius, or to his doctrines.

Pe*la"gi*an*ism (?), n. [Cf. F. pÈlagianisme.] The doctrines of Pelagius.

Pe*lag"ic (?), a. [L. pelagicus.] Of or pertaining to the ocean; -- applied especially to animals that live at the surface of the ocean, away from the coast.

Pel`ar*gon"ic (?), a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, an organic acid (called also nonoic acid) found in the leaves of the geranium (Pelargonium) and allied plants.

||Pel`ar*go"ni*um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; a stork.] (Bot.) A large ||genus of plants of the order GeraniaceÊ, differing from Geranium in ||having a spurred calyx and an irregular corolla.

About one hundred and seventy species are known, nearly all of them natives of South Africa, and many having very beautiful blossoms. See the Note under Geranium.

{ Pe*las"gi*an (?), Pe*las"gic (?), } a. [L. Pelasgus, Gr. &?; a Pelasgian.] 1. Of or pertaining to the Pelasgians, an ancient people of Greece, of roving habits.

2. (Zoˆl.) Wandering.

Pel"e*can (?), n. (Zoˆl.) See Pelican.

||Pel`e*can`i*for"mes (?), n. pl. [NL. See Pelican, and -form.] (Zoˆl.) ||Those birds that are related to the pelican; the Totipalmi.

Pel"e*coid (?), n. [Gr. &?; a hatchet + -oid.] (Geom.) A figure, somewhat hatched-shaped, bounded by a semicircle and two inverted quadrants, and equal in area to the square ABCD inclosed by the chords of the four quadrants. [Written also pelicoid.] Math. Dict.

||Pel`e*cyp"o*da (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; a hatchet + -poda.] ||(Zoˆl.) Same as Lamellibranchia.

Pel"e*grine (?), a. See Peregrine. [Obs.]

Pel"er*ine (?), n. [F. pËlerine a tippet, fr. pËlerin a pilgrim, fr. L. peregrinus foreign, alien. See Pilgrim.] A woman's cape; especially, a fur cape that is longer in front than behind.

Pelf (?), n. [OE. pelfir booty, OF. pelfre, akin to pelfrer to plunder, and perh. to E. pillage. Cf. Pilfer.] Money; riches; lucre; gain; -- generally conveying the idea of something ill-gotten or worthless. It has no plural. "Mucky pelf." Spenser. "Paltry pelf." Burke.

Can their pelf prosper, not got by valor or industry?

Fuller.

Pelf"ish, a. Of or pertaining to pelf. Stanyhurst.

{ Pel"fray (?), Pel"fry (?), } n. Pelf; also, figuratively, rubbish; trash. [Obs.] Cranmer.

Pel"i*can (?), n. [F. pÈlican, L. pelicanus, pelecanus, Gr. &?;, &?;, &?;, the woodpecker, and also a water bird of the pelican kind, fr. &?; to hew with an ax, akin to Skr. paraÁu.] [Written also pelecan.] 1. (Zoˆl.) Any large webfooted bird of the genus Pelecanus, of which about a dozen species are known. They have an enormous bill, to the lower edge of which is attached a pouch in which captured fishes are temporarily stored.

The American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) and the brown species (P. fuscus) are abundant on the Florida coast in winter, but breed about the lakes in the Rocky Mountains and British America.

2. (Old Chem.) A retort or still having a curved tube or tubes leading back from the head to the body for continuous condensation and redistillation.

The principle is still employed in certain modern forms of distilling apparatus.

Frigate pelican (Zoˆl.), the frigate bird. See under Frigate. -- Pelican fish (Zoˆl.), deep-sea fish (Eurypharynx pelecanoides) of the order Lyomeri, remarkable for the enormous development of the jaws, which support a large gular pouch. -- Pelican flower (Bot.), the very large and curiously shaped blossom of a climbing plant (Aristolochia grandiflora) of the West Indies; also, the plant itself. -- Pelican ibis (Zoˆl.), a large Asiatic wood ibis (Tantalus leucocephalus). The head and throat are destitute of feathers; the plumage is white, with the quills and the tail greenish black. -- Pelican in her piety (in heraldry and symbolical art), a representation of a pelican in the act of wounding her breast in order to nourish her young with her blood; -- a practice fabulously attributed to the bird, on account of which it was adopted as a symbol of the Redeemer, and of charity. -- Pelican's foot (Zoˆl.), a marine gastropod shell of the genus Aporrhais, esp. Aporrhais pes-pelicani of Europe.

Pel"ick (?), n. (Zoˆl.) The American coot (Fulica).

Pel"i*coid (?), n. See Pelecoid.

||Pel`i*co*sau"ri*a (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; a wooden bowl (but ||taken to mean, pelvis) + &?; a lizard.] (Paleon.) A suborder of ||Theromorpha, including terrestrial reptiles from the Permian ||formation.

Pe"li*om (?), n. [See Pelioma.] (Min.) A variety of iolite, of a smoky blue color; pelioma.

||Pe`li*o"ma (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;, fr. &?; livid.] 1. (Med.) A ||livid ecchymosis.

2. (Min.) See Peliom.

Pe*lisse" (?), n. [F., fr. L. pelliceus, pellicius, made of skins, fr. pellis a skin. Cf. Pelt skin, Pilch, and see 2d Pell.] An outer garment for men or women, originally of fur, or lined with fur; a lady's outer garment, made of silk or other fabric.

Pell (?), v. t. [Cf. Pelt, v. t.] To pelt; to knock about. [Obs.] Holland.

Pell, n. [OF. pel, F. peau, L. pellis a skin. See Fell a skin.] 1. A skin or hide; a pelt.

2. A roll of parchment; a parchment record.

Clerk of the pells, formerly, an officer of the exchequer who entered accounts on certain parchment rolls, called pell rolls. [Eng.]

Pel"lack (?), n. [Cf. Gael. Peileag.] (Zoˆl.) A porpoise.

Pell"age (pl"j), n. [See 2d Pell.] A customs duty on skins of leather.

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Pel"la*gra (pl"l*gr), n. (Med.) An erythematous affection of the skin, with severe constitutional and nervous symptoms, endemic in Northern Italy.

Pel"la*grin (?), n. One who is afficted with pellagra. Chambers's Encyc.

Pel"let (?), n. [F. pelote, LL. pelota, pilota, fr. L. pila a ball. Cf. Platoon.] 1. A little ball; as, a pellet of wax &?; paper.

2. A bullet; a ball for firearms. [Obs.] Bacon.

As swift as a pellet out of a gun.

Chaucer.

Pellet molding (Arch.), a narrow band ornamented with smalt, flat disks.

Pel"let, v.&?;. To form into small balls. [Obs.] Shak.

Pel"let*ed, a. Made of, or like, pellets; furnished with pellets. [R.] "This pelleted storm." Shak.

||Pel`li*bran`chi*a"ta (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. pellis garment + branchia ||a gill.] (Zoˆl.) A division of Nudibranchiata, in which the mantle ||itself serves as a gill.

Pel"li*cle (?), n. [L. pellicu&?;a, dim. of pellis skin: cf. F. pellicule.] 1. A thin skin or film.

2. (Chem.) A thin film formed on the surface of an evaporating solution.

Pel*lic"u*lar (?), a. Of or pertaining to a pellicle. Henslow.

Pel*li"le (?), n. (Zoˆl.) The redshank; -- so called from its note. [Prov. Eng.]

Pel"li*to*ry (?), n. [OE. paritorie, OF. paritoire, F. pariÈtaire; (cf. It. & Sp. parietaria), L. parietaria the parietary, or pellitory, the wall plant, fr. parietarus belonging to the walls, fr. paries, parietis a wall. Cf. Parietary.] (Bot.) The common name of the several species of the genus Parietaria, low, harmless weeds of the Nettle family; -- also called wall pellitory, and lichwort.

Parietaria officinalis is common on old walls in Europe; P. pennsylvanica is found in the United States; and six or seven more species are found near the Mediterranean, or in the Orient.

Pel"li*to*ry, n. [Sp. pelitre, fr. L. pyrethrum. See Bertram.] (Bot.) (a) A composite plant (Anacyclus Pyrethrum) of the Mediterranean region, having finely divided leaves and whitish flowers. The root is the officinal pellitory, and is used as an irritant and sialogogue. Called also bertram, and pellitory of Spain. (b) The feverfew (Chrysanthemum Parthenium); -- so called because it resembles the above.

Pell`-mell" (&?;), n. See Pall- mall.

Pell`mell", adv. [F. pÍle- mÍle, prob. fr. pelle a shovel + mÍler to mix, as when different kinds of grain are heaped up and mixed with a shovel. See Pell shovel, Medley.] In utter confusion; with confused violence. "Men, horses, chariots, crowded pellmell." Milton.

Pel*lu"cid (?), a. [L. pellucidus; per (see Per-) + lucidus clear, bright: cf. F. pellucide.] Transparent; clear; limpid; translucent; not opaque. "Pellucid crystal." Dr. H. More. "Pellucid streams." Wordsworth.

{ Pel`lu*cid"i*ty (?), Pel*lu"cid*ness (?), } n. [L. pelluciditas.] The quality or state of being pellucid; transparency; translucency; clearness; as, the pellucidity of the air. Locke.

Pel*lu"cid*ly, adv. In a pellucid manner.

||Pel"ma (?), n.; pl. Pelmata (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?;.] (Zoˆl.) The ||under surface of the foot.

Pe*lo"pi*um (?), n. [NL., fr. L. Pelops, brother of Niobe, Gr. &?;.] (Chem.) A supposed new metal found in columbite, afterwards shown to be identical with columbium, or niobium.

Pel`o*pon*ne"sian (?), a. [L. Peloponnesius, fr. Peloponnesus, Gr. &?;, lit., the Island of Pelops; &?;, &?;, Pelops + &?; an island.] Of or pertaining to the Peloponnesus, or southern peninsula of Greece. -- n. A native or an inhabitant of the Peloponnesus.

||Pe*lo"ri*a (?), n. [NL., from Gr. &?; monstrous.] (Bot.) Abnormal ||regularity; the state of certain flowers, which, being naturally ||irregular, have become regular through a symmetrical repetition of ||the special irregularity.

Pe*lo"ric (?), a. (Bot.) Abnormally regular or symmetrical. Darwin.

Pel"o*tage (?), n. [F.] Packs or bales of Spanish wool.

Pelt (?), n. [Cf. G. pelz a pelt, fur, fr. OF. pelice, F. pelisse (see Pelisse); or perh. shortened fr. peltry.] 1. The skin of a beast with the hair on; a raw or undressed hide; a skin preserved with the hairy or woolly covering on it. See 4th Fell. Sir T. Browne.

Raw pelts clapped about them for their clothes.

Fuller.

2. The human skin. [Jocose] Dryden.

3. (Falconry) The body of any quarry killed by the hawk.

Pelt rot, a disease affecting the hair or wool of a beast.

Pelt, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pelted; p. pr. & vb. n. Pelting.] [OE. pelten, pulten, pilten, to thrust, throw, strike; cf. L. pultare, equiv. to pulsare (v. freq. fr. pellere to drive), and E. pulse a beating.] 1. To strike with something thrown or driven; to assail with pellets or missiles, as, to pelt with stones; pelted with hail.

The children billows seem to pelt the clouds.

Shak.

2. To throw; to use as a missile.

My Phillis me with pelted apples plies.

Dryden.

Pelt, v. i. 1. To throw missiles. Shak.

2. To throw out words. [Obs.]

Another smothered seems to peltand swear.

Shak.

Pelt, n. A blow or stroke from something thrown.

||Pel"ta (?), n.; pl. PeltÊ. [L., a shield, fr. Gr. &?;.] 1. (Antiq.) A ||small shield, especially one of an approximately elliptic form, or ||crescent-shaped.

2. (Bot.) A flat apothecium having no rim.

{ Pel"tate (?), Pel"ta*ted (?), } a. [Cf. F. peltÈ. See Pelta.] Shield-shaped; scutiform; (Bot.) having the stem or support attached to the lower surface, instead of at the base or margin; -- said of a leaf or other organ. -- Pel"tate*ly (#), adv.

Pelt"er (?), n. One who pelts.

Pel"ter (?), n. A pinchpenny; a mean, sordid person; a miser; a skinflint. [Obs.] "Let such pelters prate." Gascoigne.