Chapter 22

3. Used for punishment, discipline, and reformation. "Penitentiary houses." Blackstone.

Pen`i*ten"tia*ry, n.; pl. Penitentiaries (#). [Cf. F. pÈnitencier. See Penitent.] 1. One who prescribes the rules and measures of penance. [Obs.] Bacon.

2. One who does penance. [Obs.] Hammond.

3. A small building in a monastery where penitents confessed. Shpiley.

4. That part of a church to which penitents were admitted. Shipley.

5. (R. C. Ch.) (a) An office of the papal court which examines cases of conscience, confession, absolution from vows, etc., and delivers decisions, dispensations, etc. Its chief is a cardinal, called the Grand Penitentiary, appointed by the pope. (b) An officer in some dioceses since A. D. 1215, vested with power from the bishop to absolve in cases reserved to him.

6. A house of correction, in which offenders are confined for punishment, discipline, and reformation, and in which they are generally compelled to labor.

Pen`i*ten"tia*ry*ship, n. The office or condition of a penitentiary of the papal court. [R.] Wood.

Pen"i*tent*ly, adv. In a penitent manner.

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Penk (?), n. A minnow. See Pink, n., 4. [Prov. Eng.] Walton.

Pen"knife` (?), n.; pl. Penknives (#). [Pen + knife.] A small pocketknife; formerly, a knife used for making and mending quill pens.

Pen"man (?), n.; pl. Penmen (&?;). 1. One who uses the pen; a writer; esp., one skilled in the use of the pen; a calligrapher; a writing master.

2. An author; a composer. South.

Pen"man*ship, n. The use of the pen in writing; the art of writing; style or manner of writing; chirography; as, good or bad penmanship.

||Pen"na (?), n.; pl. PennÊ (#). [L.] (Zoˆl.) A perfect, or normal, ||feather.

Pen"na"ceous (?), a. (Zoˆl.) Like or pertaining to a normal feather.

Pen"nach (?), n. [OF. pennache. See Panache.] A bunch of feathers; a plume. [Obs.] Holland.

Pen"nached (?), a. [Cf. OF. pennachÈ. See Panache.] Variegated; striped. [Obs.] Evelyn.

Pen"nage (?), n. [L. penna feather.] Feathery covering; plumage. [Obs.] Holland.

Pen"nant (?), n. [OE. penon, penoun, pynoun, OF. penon, F. pennon, fr. L. penna feather. See Pen a feather, and cf. Pennon, Pinion.] (Naut.) (a) A small flag; a pennon. The narrow, or long, pennant (called also whip or coach whip) is a long, narrow piece of bunting, carried at the masthead of a government vessel in commission. The board pennant is an oblong, nearly square flag, carried at the masthead of a commodore's vessel. "With flags and pennants trimmed." Drayton. (b) A rope or strap to which a purchase is hooked.

{ Pen"nate (?), Pen"na*ted (?), } a. [L. pennatus feathered, winged, from penna feather, wing.] 1. Winged; plume- shaped.

2. (Bot.) Same as Pinnate.

||Pen*nat"u*la (?), n.; pl. L. PennatulÊ (#), E. Pennatulas (#). [NL., ||fr. L. penna a feather.] (Zoˆl.) Any one of numerous species of ||Pennatula, Pteroides, and allied genera of Alcyonaria, having a ||featherlike form; a sea-pen. The zooids are situated along one edge ||of the side branches.

||Pen*nat`u*la"ce*a (?), n. pl. [NL. See Pennatula.] (Zoˆl.) A division ||of alcyonoid corals, including the seapens and related kinds. They ||are able to move about by means of the hollow muscular peduncle, ||which also serves to support them upright in the mud. See Pennatula, ||and Illust. under Alcyonaria.

Penned (?), a. 1. Winged; having plumes. [Obs.]

2. Written with a pen; composed. "Their penned speech." Shak.

Pen"ner (?), n. 1. One who pens; a writer. Sir T. North.

2. A case for holding pens. [Obs.]

Pen"ni*form (?), a. [L. penna feather + -form: cf. F. penniforme.] Having the form of a feather or plume.

Pen*nig"er*ous (?), a. [L. penniger; penna feather + gerere to bear.] (Zoˆl.) Bearing feathers or quills.

Pen"ni*less (?), a. [From Penny.] Destitute of money; impecunious; poor. -- Pen"ni*less*ness, n.

Pen"ni*nerved` (?), a. [L. penna feather + E. nerve.] Pinnately veined or nerved.

Pen*nip"o*tent (?), a. [L. pennipotens; penna wing + potens strong.] Strong of wing; strong on the wing. [Poetic] Davies (Holy Roode).

Pen"non (?), n. [Cf. Pinion.] A wing; a pinion. Milton.

Pen"non, n. [See Pennant.] A pennant; a flag or streamer. Longfellow.

{ Pen"non*cel`, Pen"non*celle` (?) }, n. [OF. penoncel. See Pennant.] See Pencel.

Pen"ny (?), a. [Perh. a corruption of pun, for pound.] Denoting pound weight for one thousand; -- used in combination, with respect to nails; as, tenpenny nails, nails of which one thousand weight ten pounds.

Pen*ny, n.; pl. Pennies (#) or Pence (&?;). Pennies denotes the number of coins; pence the amount of pennies in value. [OE. peni, AS. penig, pening, pending; akin to D. penning, OHG. pfenning, pfenting, G. pfennig, Icel. penningr; of uncertain origin.] 1. An English coin, formerly of copper, now of bronze, the twelfth part of an English shilling in account value, and equal to four farthings, or about two cents; -- usually indicated by the abbreviation d. (the initial of denarius).

"The chief Anglo-Saxon coin, and for a long period the only one, corresponded to the denarius of the Continent . . . [and was] called penny, denarius, or denier." R. S. Poole. The ancient silver penny was worth about three pence sterling (see Pennyweight). The old Scotch penny was only one twelfth the value of the English coin. In the United States the word penny is popularly used for cent.

2. Any small sum or coin; a groat; a stiver. Shak.

3. Money, in general; as, to turn an honest penny.

What penny hath Rome borne, What men provided, what munition sent?

Shak.

4. (Script.) See Denarius.

Penny cress (Bot.), an annual herb of the Mustard family, having round, flat pods like silver pennies (Thlaspi arvense). Dr. Prior. -- Penny dog (Zoˆl.), a kind of shark found on the South coast of Britain: the tope. -- Penny father, a penurious person; a niggard. [Obs.] Robinson (More's Utopia). -- Penny grass (Bot.), pennyroyal. [R.] -- Penny post, a post carrying a letter for a penny; also, a mail carrier. -- Penny wise, wise or prudent only in small matters; saving small sums while losing larger; -- used chiefly in the phrase, penny wise and pound foolish.

Pen"ny (?), a. Worth or costing one penny.

Pen"ny-a-lin"er (?), n. One who furnishes matter to public journals at so much a line; a poor writer for hire; a hack writer. Thackeray.

Pen`ny*roy"al (?), n. [A corruption of OE. puliall royal. OE. puliall is ultimately derived fr. L. puleium, or pulegium regium (so called as being good against fleas), fr. pulex a flea; and royal is a translation of L. regium, in puleium regium.] (Bot.) An aromatic herb (Mentha Pulegium) of Europe; also, a North American plant (Hedeoma pulegioides) resembling it in flavor.

Bastard pennyroyal (Bot.) See Blue curls, under Blue.

Pen"ny*weight` (?), n. A troy weight containing twenty-four grains, or the twentieth part of an ounce; as, a pennyweight of gold or of arsenic. It was anciently the weight of a silver penny, whence the name.

Pen"ny*wort` (?), n. (Bot.) A European trailing herb (Linaria Cymbalaria) with roundish, reniform leaves. It is often cultivated in hanging baskets.

March, or Water, pennywort. (Bot.) See under March.

Pen"ny*worth` (?), n. 1. A penny's worth; as much as may be bought for a penny. "A dear pennyworth." Evelyn.

2. Hence: The full value of one's penny expended; due return for money laid out; a good bargain; a bargain.

The priests sold the better pennyworths.

Locke.

3. A small quantity; a trifle. Bacon.

Pen"ock (?), n. See Pend.

Pen`o*log"ic*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to penology.

Pe*nol"o*gist (?), n. One versed in, or a student of, penology.

Pe*nol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. &?;, or L. poena, punishment + -logy.] The science or art of punishment. [Written also púnology.]

Pen"rack` (?), n. A rack for pens not in use.

Pens (?), n., pl. of Penny. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Pen"sa*tive (?), a. Pensive. [Obs.] Shelton.

Pen"sel (?), n. A pencel. Chaucer.

Pen"si*ble (?), a. Held aloft. [Obs.] Bacon.

Pen"sile (?), a. [L. pensilis, fr. pendere to hang: cf. OE. pensil. See Pendant.] Hanging; suspended; pendent; pendulous. Bacon.

The long, pensile branches of the birches.

W. Howitt.

Pen"sile*ness, n. State or quality of being pensile; pendulousness.

Pen"sion (?), n. [F., fr. L. pensio a paying, payment, fr. pendere, pensum, to weight, to pay; akin to pend&?;re to hang. See Pendant, and cf. Spend.] 1. A payment; a tribute; something paid or given. [Obs.]

The stomach's pension, and the time's expense.

Sylvester.

2. A stated allowance to a person in consideration of past services; payment made to one retired from service, on account of age, disability, or other cause; especially, a regular stipend paid by a government to retired public officers, disabled soldiers, the families of soldiers killed in service, or to meritorious authors, or the like.

To all that kept the city pensions and wages.

1 Esd. iv. 56.

3. A certain sum of money paid to a clergyman in lieu of tithes. [Eng.] Mozley & W.

4. [F., pronounced &?;.] A boarding house or boarding school in France, Belgium, Switzerland, etc.

Pen"sion, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pensioned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Pensioning.] To grant a pension to; to pay a regular stipend to; in consideration of service already performed; -- sometimes followed by off; as, to pension off a servant.

One knighted Blackmore, and one pensioned Quarles.

Pope.

Pen"sion*a*ry (?), a. 1. Maintained by a pension; receiving a pension; as, pensionary spies. Donne.

2. Consisting of a pension; as, a pensionary provision for maintenance.

Pen"sion*a*ry (?), n.; pl. Pensionaries (#). [Cf. F. pensionnaire. Cf. Pensioner.] 1. One who receives a pension; a pensioner. E. Hall.

2. One of the chief magistrates of towns in Holland.

Grand pensionary, the title of the prime minister, or or president of the Council, of Holland when a republic.

Pen"sion*er (?), n. 1. One in receipt of a pension; hence, figuratively, a dependent.

The fickle pensioners of Morpheus' train.

Milton.

Old pensioners . . . of Chelsea Hospital.

Macaulay.

2. One of an honorable band of gentlemen who attend the sovereign of England on state occasions, and receive an annual pension, or allowance, of £150 and two horses.

3. [Cf. F. pensionnaire one who pays for his board. Cf. Pensionary, n.] In the university of Cambridge, England, one who pays for his living in commons; -- corresponding to commoner at Oxford. Ld. Lytton.

Pen"sive (?), a. [F. pensif, fr. penser to think, fr. L. pensare to weigh, ponder, consider, v. intens. fr. pendere to weigh. See Pension, Poise.] 1. Thoughtful, sober, or sad; employed in serious reflection; given to, or favorable to, earnest or melancholy musing.

The pensive secrecy of desert cell.

Milton.

Anxious cares the pensive nymph oppressed.

Pope.

2. Expressing or suggesting thoughtfulness with sadness; as, pensive numbers. Prior.

Pen"sived (?), a. Made pensive. [R.] Shak.

Pen"sive*ly (?), adv. In a pensive manner.

Pen"sive*ness, n. The state of being pensive; serious thoughtfulness; seriousness. Hooker.

Pen"stock (?), n. [Etymol. uncertain; perh. fr. pen an inclosure + stock.] 1. A close conduit or pipe for conducting water, as, to a water wheel, or for emptying a pond, or for domestic uses.

2. The barrel of a wooden pump.

Pent (?), p. p. or a. [From Pen, v. t.] Penned or shut up; confined; -- often with up.

Here in the body pent.

J. Montgomery.

No pent-up Utica contracts your powers.

J. M. Sewall.

Pen"ta- (?). [Gr. &?;, a later combining form of &?; five. See Five.] 1. A combining form denoting five; as, pentacapsular; pentagon.

2. (Chem.) Denoting the degree of five, either as regards quality, property, or composition; as, pentasulphide; pentoxide, etc. Also used adjectively.

Pen`ta*ba"sic (?), a. [Penta- + basic.] (Chem.) Capable of uniting with five molecules of a monacid base; having five acid hydrogen atoms capable of substitution by a basic radical; -- said of certain acids.

Pen`ta*cap"su*lar (?), a. [Penta- + capsular.] (Bot.) Having five capsules.

Pen`ta*che"ni*um (?), n. [NL. See Penta-, and Achenium.] (Bot.) A dry fruit composed of five carpels, which are covered by an epigynous calyx and separate at maturity.

Pen`ta*chlo"ride (?), n. [Penta- + chloride.] (Chem.) A chloride having five atoms of chlorine in each molecule.

Pen"ta*chord (?), n. [L. pentachordus five-stringed, Gr. &?;; &?; five + &?; string.] 1. An ancient instrument of music with five strings.

2. An order or system of five sounds. Busby.

Pen*tac"id (&?;), a. [Penta- + acid.] (Chem.) Capable of neutralizing, or combining with, five molecules of a monobasic acid; having five hydrogen atoms capable of substitution by acid residues; -- said of certain complex bases.

Pen"ta*cle (?), n. [Gr. &?; five.] A figure composed of two equilateral triangles intersecting so as to form a six-pointed star, -- used in early ornamental art, and also with superstitious import by the astrologers and mystics of the Middle Ages.

Pen`ta*coc"cous (?), a. [See Penta- , Coccus.] (Bot.) Composed of five united carpels with one seed in each, as certain fruits.

Pen"ta*con`ter (?), n. (Gr. Antiq.) See Penteconter.

Pen*tac"ri*nin (?), n. (Physiol. Chem.) A red and purple pigment found in certain crinoids of the genus Pentacrinus.

Pen*tac"ri*nite (?), n. [Penta- + Gr. &?; a lily.] (Zoˆl.) Any species of Pentacrinus.

Pen*tac"ri*noid (?), n. [Pentacrinus + -oid.] (Zoˆl.) An immature comatula when it is still attached by a stem, and thus resembles a Pentacrinus.

||Pen*tac"ri*nus (?), n. [NL. See Penta-, and Crinum.] (Zoˆl.) A genus ||of large, stalked crinoids, of which several species occur in deep ||water among the West Indies and elsewhere.

Pen*ta"cron (?), n.; pl. L. Pentacra (#), E. Pentacrons (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?; five + &?; a summit.] (Geom.) A solid having five summits or angular points.

Pen`ta*cros"tic (?), n. [Penta- + acrostic.] A set of verses so disposed that the name forming the subject of the acrostic occurs five times -- the whole set of verses being divided into five different parts from top to bottom.

Pen"tad (?), n. [Gr. &?;, &?;, a body of five, fr. &?; five.] (Chem.) Any element, atom, or radical, having a valence of five, or which can be combined with, substituted for, or compared with, five atoms of hydrogen or other monad; as, nitrogen is a pentad in the ammonium compounds.

Pen"tad, a. (Chem.) Having the valence of a pentad.

{ Pen`ta*dac"tyl, Pen`ta*dac"tyle } (?), a. [Gr. &?; with five fingers or toes. See Penta- , and Dactyl.] 1. (Anat.) Having five digits to the hand or foot.

2. Having five appendages resembling fingers or toes.

Pen`ta*dac"tyl*oid (?), a. [Pentadactyl + -oid.] (Anat.) Having the form of, or a structure modified from, a pentadactyl limb.

Pen`ta*dec"ane (?), n. [Penta- + Gr. &?; ten.] (Chem.) A hydrocarbon of the paraffin series, (C15H32) found in petroleum, tar oil, etc., and obtained as a colorless liquid; -- so called from the fifteen carbon atoms in the molecule.

Pen`ta*dec`a*to"ic (?), a. [Penta- + decatoic.] (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or derived from, pentadecane, or designating an acid related to it.

Pen`ta*decyl"ic (?), a. [Penta- + decylic.] (Chem.) Same as Quindecylic.

Pen`ta*del"phous (?), a. [Penta- + Gr. &?; brother.] (Bot.) Having the stamens arranged in five clusters, those of each cluster having their filaments more or less united, as the flowers of the linden.

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Pen"ta*fid (?), a. [Penta- + root of L. findere to split.] (Bot.) Divided or cleft into five parts.

Pen"ta*glot (?), n. [Penta- + -glot, as in polyglot.] A work in five different tongues.

Pen"ta*gon (?), n. [Gr. &?;; &?; (see Penta-) + gwni`a angle: cf. L. pentagonium, F. pentagone.] (Geom.) A plane figure having five angles, and, consequently, five sides; any figure having five angles.

Regular pentagon, a pentagon in which the angles are all equal, and the sides all equal.

Pen*tag"o*nal (?), a. [Cf. F. pentagonal, pentagone, L. pentagonus, pentagonius, Gr. &?;.] Having five corners or angles.

Pentagonal dodecahedron. See Dodecahedron, and Pyritohedron.

Pen*tag"o*nal*ly, adv. In the form of a pentagon; with five angles. Sir T. Browne.

Pen*tag"o*nous (?), a. Pentagonal.

Pen"ta*gram (?), n. [Gr. &?;, neut. of &?; having five lines. See Penta-, and -gram.] A pentacle or a pentalpha. "Like a wizard pentagram." Tennyson.

{ Pen`ta*graph"ic (?), Pen`ta*graph"ic*al (?), } a. [Corrupted fr. pantographic, - ical.] Pantographic. See Pantograph.

||Pen`ta*gyn"i*a (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; (see Penta-) + &?; ||female.] (Bot.) A LinnÊan order of plants, having five styles or ||pistils.

{ Pen`ta*gyn"i*an (?), Pen*tag"y*nous (?), } a. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to plants of the order Pentagyna; having five styles.

Pen`ta*he"dral (?), a. Having five sides; as, a pentahedral figure.

Pen`ta*hed"ric*al (?), a. Pentahedral. [R.]

Pen`ta*he"dron (?), n. [Penta- + Gr. "e`dra seat, base.] A solid figure having five sides.

Pen`ta*he"drous (?), a. Pentahedral. Woodward.

Pen"tail` (?), n. (Zoˆl.) A peculiar insectivore (Ptilocercus Lowii) of Borneo; -- so called from its very long, quill-shaped tail, which is scaly at the base and plumose at the tip.

||Pen*tal"pha (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;: cf. F. pentalpha. See Penta-, ||and Alpha.] A five-pointed star, resembling five alphas joined at ||their bases; -- used as a symbol.

||Pen*tam"e*ra (?), n. pl. [NL. See Pentamerous.] (Zoˆl.) An extensive ||division of Coleoptera, including those that normally have ||five-jointed tarsi. It embraces about half of all the known species ||of the Coleoptera.

Pen*tam"er*an (?), n. (Zoˆl.) One of the Pentamera.

Pen*tam"er*ous (?), a. [Penta- + Gr. &?; part.] 1. (Biol.) Divided into, or consisting of, five parts; also, arranged in sets, with five parts in each set, as a flower with five sepals, five petals, five, or twice five, stamens, and five pistils.

2. (Zoˆl.) Belonging to the Pentamera.

||Pen*tam"e*rus (?), n. [NL. See Pentamerous.] (Paleon.) A genus of ||extinct Paleozoic brachiopods, often very abundant in the Upper ||Silurian.

Pentamerus limestone (Geol.), a Silurian limestone composed largely of the shells of Pentamerus.

Pen*tam"e*ter (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;; &?; (see Penta-) + &?; measure.] (Gr. & L.Pros.) A verse of five feet.

The dactylic pentameter consists of two parts separated by a diÊresis. Each part consists of two dactyls and a long syllable. The spondee may take the place of the dactyl in the first part, but not in the second. The elegiac distich consists of the hexameter followed by the pentameter. Harkness.

Pen*tam"e*ter, a. Having five metrical feet.

Pen`ta*meth"yl*ene (?), n. [Penta- + methylene.] (Chem.) A hypothetical hydrocarbon, C5H10, metameric with the amylenes, and the nucleus of a large number of derivatives; -- so named because regarded as composed of five methylene residues. Cf. Trimethylene, and Tetramethylene.

||Pen*tan"dri*a (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; (see Penta-) + &?;, &?;, ||man, male.] (Bot.) A LinnÊan class of plants having five separate ||stamens.

{ Pen*tan"dri*an (?), Pen*tan"drous (?), } a. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to the class Pentadria; having five stamens.

Pen"tane (?), n. [See Penta-.] (Chem.) Any one of the three metameric hydrocarbons, C5H12, of the methane or paraffin series. They are colorless, volatile liquids, two of which occur in petroleum. So called because of the five carbon atoms in the molecule.

Pen"tan`gle (?), n. [Penta- + angle.] A pentagon. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

Pen*tan"gu*lar (?), a. [Penta- + angular.] Having five corners or angles. [R.]

Pen`ta*pet"al*ous (?), a. [Penta- + petal.] (Bot.) Having five petals, or flower leaves.

Pen*taph"yl*lous (?), a. [Penta- + Gr. &?; leaf.] (Bot.) Having five leaves or leaflets.

Pen*tap"o*dy (?), n. [Penta- + Gr. &?;, &?;, foot.] (Pros.) A measure or series consisting of five feet.

Pen"tap*tote (?), n. [L. (pl.) pentaptota. Gr. &?; with five cases; &?; (see Penta-) + &?; falling.] (Gram.) A noun having five cases.

Pen"tap*tych (?), n. [Penta- + Gr. &?;, &?;, a fold.] (Fine Arts) A picture, or combination of pictures, consisting of a centerpiece and double folding doors or wings, as for an altarpiece.

Pen"tar*chy (?), n. [Gr. &?;: cf. F. pentarchie. See Penta-, and -archy.] A government in the hands of five persons; five joint rulers. P. Fletcher. "The pentarchy of the senses." A. Brewer.

Pen"ta*spast (?), n. [L. pentaspaston, Gr. &?; (see Penta-) + &?; to pull: cf. F. pentaspaste.] A purchase with five pulleys. [R.]

Pen`ta*sper"mous (?), a. [Penta- + Gr. &?; seed.] (Bot.) Containing five seeds.

Pen"ta*stich (?), n. [Gr. &?; of five verses; &?; (see Penta-) + &?; line, verse.] A composition consisting of five verses.

Pen*tas"ti*chous (?), a. [Penta- + Gr. &?; a row.] (Bot.) Having, or arranged in, five vertical ranks, as the leaves of an apple tree or a cherry tree.

||Pen`ta*stom"i*da (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. &?; (see Penta-) + &?; a ||mouth.] (Zoˆl.) Same as Linguatulina.

Pen"ta*style (?), a. [Penta- + Gr. &?; a pillar.] (Arch.) Having five columns in front; - - said of a temple or portico in classical architecture. -- n. A portico having five columns.

Pen"ta*teuch (?), n. [L. pentateuchus, Gr. &?;; &?; (see Penta-) + &?; a tool, implement, a book, akin to &?; to prepare, make ready, and perh. to E. text. See Five, and Text.] The first five books of the Old Testament, collectively; -- called also the Law of Moses, Book of the Law of Moses, etc.

Pen`ta*teu"chal (?), a. Of or pertaining to the Pentateuch.

Pen`ta*thi*on"ic (?), a. [Penta- + thionic.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid of sulphur obtained by leading hydrogen sulphide into a solution of sulphur dioxide; -- so called because it contains five atoms of sulphur.

||Pen*tath"lon (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;; &?; five + &?; a contest.] ||(Gr. Antiq.) A fivefold athletic performance peculiar to the great ||national games of the Greeks, including leaping, foot racing, ||wrestling, throwing the discus, and throwing the spear.

Pen`ta*tom"ic (?), a. [Penta- + atomic.] (Chem.) (a) Having five atoms in the molecule. (b) Having five hydrogen atoms capable of substitution.

Pen*tav"a*lent (?), a. [Penta- + L. valens, p. pr. See Valence.] (Chem.) Having a valence of five; -- said of certain atoms and radicals.

Pen"te*con`ter (?), n. [Gr. &?; (sc. &?;), fr. &?; fifty.] (Gr. Antiq.) A Grecian vessel with fifty oars. [Written also pentaconter.]

Pen"te*cost (?), n. [L. pentecoste, Gr. &?; (sc. &?;) the fiftieth day, Pentecost, fr. &?; fiftieth, fr. &?; fifty, fr. &?; five. See Five, and cf. Pingster.] 1. A solemn festival of the Jews; -- so called because celebrated on the fiftieth day (seven weeks) after the second day of the Passover (which fell on the sixteenth of the Jewish month Nisan); -- hence called, also, the Feast of Weeks. At this festival an offering of the first fruits of the harvest was made. By the Jews it was generally regarded as commemorative of the gift of the law on the fiftieth day after the departure from Egypt.

2. A festival of the Roman Catholic and other churches in commemoration of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles; which occurred on the day of Pentecost; -- called also Whitsunday. Shak.

Pen`te*cos"tal (?), a. Of or pertaining to Pentecost or to Whitsuntide.

Pen`te*cos"tals (?), n. pl. Offerings formerly made to the parish priest, or to the mother church, at Pentecost. Shipley.

Pen`te*cos"ter (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;, fr. &?; fifty.] (Gr. Antiq.) An officer in the Spartan army commanding fifty men. Mitford.

Pen`te*cos"ty (?), n.; pl. Pentecosties (#). [Gr. &?;, fr. &?; the fiftieth, &?; fifty.] (Gr. Antiq.) A troop of fifty soldiers in the Spartan army; -- called also pentecostys. Jowett (Thucyd. ).