Chapter 23

{ Pen*tel"ic (?), Pen*tel"i*can (?), } a. Of or pertaining to Mount Pentelicus, near Athens, famous for its fine white marble quarries; obtained from Mount Pentelicus; as, the Pentelic marble of which the Parthenon is built.

Pen"tene (?), n. [See Penta-.] (Chem.) Same as Amylene.

Pent"house` (?), n. [A corruption of pentice.] A shed or roof sloping from the main wall or building, as over a door or window; a lean-to. Also figuratively. "The penthouse of his eyes." Sir W. Scott.

Pent"house`, a. Leaning; overhanging. "Penthouse lid." Shak. "My penthouse eyebrows." Dryden.

Pen"tice (?), n. [F. appentis a penthouse. See Append.] A penthouse. [Obs.] Sir H. Wotton.

Pen"tile` (?), n. See Pantile.

Pen"tine (?), n. [See Penta-.] (Chem.) An unsaturated hydrocarbon, C5H8, of the acetylene series. Same as Valerylene.

Pen*to"ic (?), a. [See Penta-.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or desingating, an acid (called also valeric acid) derived from pentane.

Pen"tone (?), n. [See Penta-.] (Chem.) Same as Valylene.

Pen*tox"ide (?), n. [Penta- + oxide.] (Chem.) An oxide containing five atoms of oxygen in each molecule; as, phosphorus pentoxide, P2O5.

Pen"tre*mite (?), n. (Zoˆl.) Any species of Pentremites.

||Pen`tre*mi"tes (?), n. [NL., from Gr. &?; five + L. remus an oar.] ||(Zoˆl.) A genus of crinoids belonging to the Blastoidea. They have ||five petal-like ambulacra.

Pent"roof` (?), n. [F. pente slope + E. roof, or from penthouse roof.] See Lean-to.

Pen"trough` (?), n. A penstock.

Pen"tyl (?), n. [Penta + - yl.] (Chem.) The hypothetical radical, C5H11, of pentane and certain of its derivatives. Same as Amyl.

Pen*tyl"ic (?), a. Pertaining to, derived from, or containing, pentyl; as, pentylic alcohol

{ Pe"nu*chle (?), Pin"o*cle (?) }, n. A game at cards, played with forty-eight cards, being all the cards above the eight spots in two packs.

Pe"nult (?), n. [Abbreviated fr. penultima.] (Gram. & Pros.) The last syllable but one of a word; the syllable preceding the final one.

Pe*nul"ti*ma (?), n. [L. (sc. syllaba), fr. penultimus, paenultimus, the last but one; paene almost + ultimus the last.] Same as Penult.

Pe*nul"ti*mate (?), a. Last but one; as, the penultimate syllable, the last syllable but one of a word.

Pe*nul"ti*mate, n. The penult.

Pe*num"bra (?), n. [NL., fr. L. paene almost + umbra shade.] 1. An incomplete or partial shadow.

2. (Astron.) The shadow cast, in an eclipse, where the light is partly, but not wholly, cut off by the intervening body; the space of partial illumination between the umbra, or perfect shadow, on all sides, and the full light. Sir I. Newton.

The faint shade surrounding the dark central portion of a solar spot is also called the penumbra, and sometimes umbra.

3. (Paint.) The part of a picture where the shade imperceptibly blends with the light.

Pe*num"brala. Of or pertaining to a penumbra; resembling a penumbra; partially illuminated.

Pe*nu"ri*ous (?), a. [From Penury.] 1. Excessively sparing in the use of money; sordid; stingy; miserly. "A penurious niggard of his wealth." Milton.

2. Not bountiful or liberal; scanty.

Here creeps along a poor, penurious stream.

C. Pitt.

3. Destitute of money; suffering extreme want. [Obs.] "My penurious band." Shak.

Syn. -- Avaricious; covetous; parsimonious; miserly; niggardly; stingy. See Avaricious.

--Pe*nu"ri*ous*ly, adv. -- Pe*nu"ri*ous*ness, n.

Pen"u*ry (?), n. [L. penuria; cf. Gr. &?; hunger, &?; poverty, need, &?; one who works for his daily bread, a poor man, &?; to work for one's daily bread, to be poor: cf. F. pÈnurie.] 1. Absence of resources; want; privation; indigence; extreme poverty; destitution. "A penury of military forces." Bacon.

They were exposed to hardship and penury.

Sprat.

It arises in neither from penury of thought.

Landor.

2. Penuriousness; miserliness. [Obs.] Jer. Taylor.

Pen"wip`er (?), n. A cloth, or other material, for wiping off or cleaning ink from a pen.

Pen"wom`an (?), n.; pl. Penwomen (&?;). A female writer; an authoress. Johnson.

Pe"on (?), n. See Poon.

Pe"on, n. [Sp. peon, or Pg. pe&?;o, one who travels on foot, a foot soldier, a pawn in chess. See Pawn in chess.] 1. A foot soldier; a policeman; also, an office attendant; a messenger. [India]

2. A day laborer; a servant; especially, in some of the Spanish American countries, debtor held by his creditor in a form of qualified servitude, to work out a debt.

3. (Chess) See 2d Pawn.

Pe"on*age (?), n. The condition of a peon.

Pe"on*ism (?), n. Same as Peonage. D. Webster.

Pe"o*ny (?), n.; pl. Peonies (#). [OE. pione, pioine, pioni, OF. pione, F. pivoine, L. paeonia, Gr. &?;, fr. &?;, &?;, the god of healing. Cf. PÊan.] (Bot.) A plant, and its flower, of the ranunculaceous genus PÊonia. Of the four or five species, one is a shrub; the rest are perennial herbs with showy flowers, often double in cultivation. [Written also pÊony, and piony.]

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Peo"ple (?), n. [OE. peple, people, OF. pueple, F. peuple, fr. L. populus. Cf. Populage, Public, Pueblo.] 1. The body of persons who compose a community, tribe, nation, or race; an aggregate of individuals forming a whole; a community; a nation.

Unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Gen. xlix. 10.

The ants are a people not strong.

Prov. xxx. 25.

Before many peoples, and nations, and tongues.

Rev. x. 11.

Earth's monarchs are her peoples.

Whitter.

A government of all the people, by all the people, for all the people.

T. Parker.

Peopleis a collective noun, generally construed with a plural verb, and only occasionally used in the plural form (peoples), in the sense of nations or races.

2. Persons, generally; an indefinite number of men and women; folks; population, or part of population; as, country people; -- sometimes used as an indefinite subject or verb, like on in French, and man in German; as, people in adversity.

People were tempted to lend by great premiums.

Swift.

People have lived twenty-four days upon nothing but water.

Arbuthnot.

3. The mass of comunity as distinguished from a special class; the commonalty; the populace; the vulgar; the common crowd; as, nobles and people.

And strive to gain his pardon from the people.

Addison.

4. With a possessive pronoun: (a) One's ancestors or family; kindred; relations; as, my people were English. (b) One's subjects; fellow citizens; companions; followers. "You slew great number of his people." Shak.

Syn. -- People, Nation. When speaking of a state, we use people for the mass of the community, as distinguished from their rulers, and nation for the entire political body, including the rulers. In another sense of the term, nation describes those who are descended from the same stock; and in this sense the Germans regard themselves as one nation, though politically subject to different forms of government.

Peo"ple (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Peopled p. pr. & vb. n. Peopling (&?;).] [Cf. OF. popler, puepler, F. puepler. Cf. Populate.] To stock with people or inhabitants; to fill as with people; to populate. "Peopled heaven with angels." Dryden.

As the gay motes that people the sunbeams.

Milton.

Peo"pled (?), a. Stocked with, or as with, people; inhabited. "The peopled air." Gray.

Peo"ple*less, a. Destitute of people. Poe.

Peo"pler (?), n. A settler; an inhabitant. "Peoplers of the peaceful glen." J. S. Blackie.

Peo"plish (?), a. Vulgar. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Pe*o"ri*as (?), n. pl.; sing. Peoria (&?;). (Ethnol.) An Algonquin tribe of Indians who formerly inhabited a part of Illinois.

Pe*pas"tic (?), a. & n. [Gr. &?; to ripen, suppurate: cf. F. pÈpastique.] (Med.) Same as Maturative.

{ Pep"e*rine (?), ||Pep`e*ri"no (?), } n. [It. peperino, L. piper pepper. So called on account of its color.] (Geol.) A volcanic rock, formed by the cementing together of sand, scoria, cinders, etc.

||Pep"lis (?), n. [L., a kind of plant, Gr. &?;.] (Bot.) A genus of ||plants including water purslane.

||Pep"lus (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;.] 1. An upper garment worn by ||Grecian and Roman women.

2. A kind of kerchief formerly worn by Englishwomen. [Obs.] Fairholt.

||Pe"po (?), n. [L., a kind of melon, from Gr. &?;.] (Bot.) Any fleshy ||fruit with a firm rind, as a pumpkin, melon, or gourd. See Gourd.

Pep"per (?), n. [OE. peper, AS. pipor, L. piper, fr. Gr. &?;, &?;, akin to Skr. pippala, pippali.] 1. A well-known, pungently aromatic condiment, the dried berry, either whole or powdered, of the Piper nigrum.

Common, or black, pepper is made from the whole berry, dried just before maturity; white pepper is made from the ripe berry after the outer skin has been removed by maceration and friction. It has less of the peculiar properties of the plant than the black pepper. Pepper is used in medicine as a carminative stimulant.

2. (Bot.) The plant which yields pepper, an East Indian woody climber (Piper nigrum), with ovate leaves and apetalous flowers in spikes opposite the leaves. The berries are red when ripe. Also, by extension, any one of the several hundred species of the genus Piper, widely dispersed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the earth.

3. Any plant of the genus Capsicum, and its fruit; red pepper; as, the bell pepper.

The term pepper has been extended to various other fruits and plants, more or less closely resembling the true pepper, esp. to the common varieties of Capsicum. See Capsicum, and the Phrases, below.

African pepper, the Guinea pepper. See under Guinea. -- Cayenne pepper. See under Cayenne. -- Chinese pepper, the spicy berries of the Xanthoxylum piperitum, a species of prickly ash found in China and Japan. -- Guinea pepper. See under Guinea, and Capsicum. -- Jamaica pepper. See Allspice. -- Long pepper. (a) The spike of berries of Piper longum, an East Indian shrub. (b) The root of Piper, or Macropiper, methysticum. See Kava. -- Malaguetta, or Meleguetta, pepper, the aromatic seeds of the Amomum Melegueta, an African plant of the Ginger family. They are sometimes used to flavor beer, etc., under the name of grains of Paradise. -- Red pepper. See Capsicum. -- Sweet pepper bush (Bot.), an American shrub (Clethra alnifolia), with racemes of fragrant white flowers; -- called also white alder. -- Pepper box or caster, a small box or bottle, with a perforated lid, used for sprinkling ground pepper on food, etc. -- Pepper corn. See in the Vocabulary. -- Pepper elder (Bot.), a West Indian name of several plants of the Pepper family, species of Piper and Peperomia. -- Pepper moth (Zoˆl.), a European moth (Biston betularia) having white wings covered with small black specks. -- Pepper pot, a mucilaginous soup or stew of vegetables and cassareep, much esteemed in the West Indies. -- Pepper root. (Bot.). See Coralwort. -- pepper sauce, a condiment for the table, made of small red peppers steeped in vinegar. -- Pepper tree (Bot.), an aromatic tree (Drimys axillaris) of the Magnolia family, common in New Zealand. See Peruvian mastic tree, under Mastic.

Pep"per, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Peppered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Peppering.] 1. To sprinkle or season with pepper.

2. Figuratively: To shower shot or other missiles, or blows, upon; to pelt; to fill with shot, or cover with bruises or wounds. "I have peppered two of them." "I am peppered, I warrant, for this world." Shak.

Pep"per, v. i. To fire numerous shots (at).

Pep"per*brand` (?), n. (Bot.) See 1st Bunt.

Pep"per*corn` (?), n. 1. A dried berry of the black pepper (Piper nigrum).

2. Anything insignificant; a particle.

Pep"per dulse` (?). (Bot.) A variety of edible seaweed (Laurencia pinnatifida) distinguished for its pungency. [Scot.] Lindley.

Pep"per*er (?), n. A grocer; -- formerly so called because he sold pepper. [Obs.]

Pep"per*grass` (?), n. (Bot.) (a) Any herb of the cruciferous genus Lepidium, especially the garden peppergrass, or garden cress, Lepidium sativum; -- called also pepperwort. All the species have a pungent flavor. (b) The common pillwort of Europe (Pilularia globulifera). See Pillwort.

Pep"per*idge (?), n. [Cf. NL. berberis, E. barberry.] (Bot.) A North American tree (Nyssa multiflora) with very tough wood, handsome oval polished leaves, and very acid berries, -- the sour gum, or common tupelo. See Tupelo. [Written also piperidge and pipperidge.]

Pepperidge bush (Bot.), the barberry.

Pep"per*ing, a. Hot; pungent; peppery. Swift.

Pep"per*mint (?), n. [Pepper + mint.] 1. (Bot.) An aromatic and pungent plant of the genus Mentha (M. piperita), much used in medicine and confectionery.

2. A volatile oil (oil of peppermint) distilled from the fresh herb; also, a well-known essence or spirit (essence of peppermint) obtained from it.

3. A lozenge of sugar flavored with peppermint.

Peppermint camphor. (Chem.) Same as Menthol. -- Peppermint tree (Bot.), a name given to several Australian species of gum tree (Eucalyptus amygdalina, E. piperita, E. odorata, etc.) which have hard and durable wood, and yield an essential oil.

Pep"per*wort` (?), n. (Bot.) See Peppergrass.

Pep"per*y (?), a. 1. Of or pertaining to pepper; having the qualities of pepper; hot; pungent.

2. Fig.: Hot-tempered; passionate; choleric.

Pep"sin (?), n. [Gr. &?; a cooking, digesting, digestion, fr. &?;, &?;, to cook, digest: cf. F. pepsine. Cf. Dyspepsia.] (Physiol. Chem.) An unorganized proteolytic ferment or enzyme contained in the secretory glands of the stomach. In the gastric juice it is united with dilute hydrochloric acid (0.2 per cent, approximately) and the two together constitute the active portion of the digestive fluid. It is the active agent in the gastric juice of all animals.

As prepared from the glandular layer of pigs' or calves' stomachs it constitutes an important article of pharmacy.

Pep`sin*hy`dro*chlo"ric (?), a. (Physiol. Chem.) Same as Peptohydrochloric.

Pep*sin"o*gen (?), n. [Pepsin + -gen.] (Physiol. Chem.) The antecedent of the ferment pepsin. A substance contained in the form of granules in the peptic cells of the gastric glands. It is readily convertible into pepsin. Also called propepsin.

Pep"tic (?), a. [L. pepticus, Gr. &?;. See Pepsin.] 1. Relating to digestion; promoting digestion; digestive; as, peptic sauces.

2. Able to digest. [R.]

Tolerably nutritive for a mind as yet so peptic.

Carlyle.

3. (Physiol. Chem.) Pertaining to pepsin; resembling pepsin in its power of digesting or dissolving albuminous matter; containing or yielding pepsin, or a body of like properties; as, the peptic glands.

Pep"tic, n. 1. An agent that promotes digestion.

2. pl. The digestive organs.

Is there some magic in the place, Or do my peptics differ?

Tennyson.

Pep"tics (?), n. The science of digestion.

Pep"to*gen (?), n. [Peptone + -gen.] (Physiol.) A substance convertible into peptone.

Pep`to*gen"ic (?), a. Same as Peptogenous.

Pep*tog"e*nous (?), a. (Physiol. Chem.) Capable of yielding, or being converted into, peptone.

Pep`to*hy`dro*chlo"ric (?), a. [See Peptone, and Hydrochloric.] (Physiol. Chem.) Designating a hypothetical acid (called peptohydrochloric acid, pepsinhydrochloric acid, and chloropeptic acid) which is supposed to be formed when pepsin and dilute (0.1-0.4 per cent) hydrochloric acid are mixed together.

Pep"tone (?), n. [Gr. &?; cooked.] (Physiol. Chem.) (a) The soluble and diffusible substance or substances into which albuminous portions of the food are transformed by the action of the gastric and pancreatic juices. Peptones are also formed from albuminous matter by the action of boiling water and boiling dilute acids. (b) Collectively, in a broader sense, all the products resulting from the solution of albuminous matter in either gastric or pancreatic juice. In this case, however, intermediate products (albumose bodies), such as antialbumose, hemialbumose, etc., are mixed with the true peptones. Also termed albuminose.

Pure peptones are of three kinds, amphopeptone, antipeptone, and hemipeptone, and, unlike the albumose bodies, are not precipitated by saturating their solutions with ammonium sulphate.

Pep"to*nize (?), v. t. (Physiol.) To convert into peptone; to digest or dissolve by means of a proteolytic ferment; as, peptonized food.

Pep"to*noid (?), n. [Peptone + -oid.] (Physiol. Chem.) A substance related to peptone.

||Pep`to*nu"ri*a (?), n. [NL. See Peptone, and Urine.] (Med.) The ||presence of peptone, or a peptonelike body, in the urine.

Pep`to*tox"ine (?), n. [Peptone + toxic + -ine.] (Physiol. Chem.) A toxic alkaloid found occasionally associated with the peptones formed from fibrin by pepsinhydrochloric acid.

Pe"quots (?), n. pl.; sing. Pequot (&?;). (Ethnol.) A tribe of Indians who formerly inhabited Eastern Connecticut. [Written also Pequods.]

Per- (?). [See Per.] 1. A prefix used to signify through, throughout, by, for, or as an intensive as perhaps, by hap or chance; perennial, that lasts throughout the year; perforce, through or by force; perfoliate, perforate; perspicuous, evident throughout or very evident; perplex, literally, to entangle very much.

2. (Chem.) Originally, denoting that the element to the name of which it is prefixed in the respective compounds exercised its highest valence; now, only that the element has a higher valence than in other similar compounds; thus, barium peroxide is the highest oxide of barium; while nitrogen and manganese peroxides, so-called, are not the highest oxides of those elements.

Per (?), prep. [L. Cf. Far, For-, Pardon, and cf. Par, prep.] Through; by means of; through the agency of; by; for; for each; as, per annum; per capita, by heads, or according to individuals; per curiam, by the court; per se, by itself, of itself. Per is also sometimes used with English words.

Per annum, by the year; in each successive year; annually. -- Per cent, Per centum, by the hundred; in the hundred; -- used esp. of proportions of ingredients, rate or amount of interest, and the like; commonly used in the shortened form per cent. -- Per diem, by the day. [For other phrases from the Latin, see Quotations, Phrases, etc., from Foreign Languages, in the Supplement.]

Per*act" (?), v. t. [L. peractus, p. p. of peragere.] To go through with; to perform. [Obs.] Sylvester.

Per`a*cute" (?), a. [L. peracutus. See Per-, and Acute.] Very sharp; very violent; as, a peracute fever. [R.] Harvey.

Per`ad*ven"ture (?), adv. & conj. [OE. per aventure, F. par aventure. See Per, and Adventure.] By chance; perhaps; it may be; if; supposing. "If peradventure he speak against me." Shak.

Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city.

Gen. xviii. 24.

Per`ad*ven"ture, n. Chance; hap; hence, doubt; question; as, proved beyond peradventure. South.

Pe*rÊ"o*pod (?), n. [Gr. &?; on the opposite side + -pod.] (Zoˆl.) One of the thoracic legs of a crustacean. See Illust. of Crustacea.

Per"a*grate (?), v. t. [L. peragratus, p. p. of peragrate.] To travel over or through. [Obs.]

Per`agra"tion (?), n. [L. peragratio: cf. F. peragration.] The act or state of passing through any space; as, the peragration of the moon in her monthly revolution. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

Per*am"bu*late (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Perambulated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Perambulating.] [L. perambulatus, p. p. of perambulare to perambulate; per through + ambulare to walk. See Per-, and Amble.] To walk through or over; especially, to travel over for the purpose of surveying or examining; to inspect by traversing; specifically, to inspect officially the boundaries of, as of a town or parish, by walking over the whole line.

Per*am"bu*late, v. i. To walk about; to ramble; to stroll; as, he perambulated in the park.

Per*am`bu*la"tion (?), n. 1. The act of perambulating; traversing. Bacon.

2. An annual survey of boundaries, as of town, a parish, a forest, etc.

3. A district within which one is authorized to make a tour of inspection. "The . . . bounds of his own perambulation." [Obs.] Holyday.

Per*am"bu*la`tor (?), n. 1. One who perambulates.

2. A surveyor's instrument for measuring distances. It consists of a wheel arranged to roll along over the ground, with an apparatus of clockwork, and a dial plate upon which the distance traveled is shown by an index. See Odometer.

3. A low carriage for a child, propelled by pushing.

||Per`a*me"les (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; a pouch + L. meles a badger.] ||(Zoˆl.) Any marsupial of the genus Perameles, which includes numerous ||species found in Australia. They somewhat resemble rabbits in size ||and form. See Illust. under Bandicoot.

Per"bend (?), n. See Perpender.

Per"break` (?), n. [Obs.] See Parbreak.

Per*bro"mate (?), n. (Chem.)A salt of perbromic acid.

Per*bro"mic (?), a. [Pref. per- + bromic.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, the highest oxygen acid, HBrO4, of bromine.

Per*bro"mide (?), n. (Chem.) A bromide having a higher proportion of bromine than any other bromide of the same substance or series.

||Per"ca (?), n. [L., a perch.] (Zoˆl.) A genus of fishes, including ||the fresh-water perch.

||Per`cale" (?), n. [F.] A fine cotton fabric, having a linen finish, ||and often printed on one side, - - used for women's and children's ||wear.

||Per`ca`line" (?), n. [F.] A fine kind of French cotton goods, usually ||of one color.

Per*car"bide (?), n. [Pref. per- + carbide.] (Chem.)A compound containing a relatively large amount of carbon. [R.]

Per*car"bu*ret (?), n. [Pref. per- + carburet.] (Chem.) A percarbide. [Obsoles.]

Per*car"bu*ret`ed, a. (Chem.) Combined with a relatively large amount of carbon.

Per*case" (?), adv. [OE. per cas. See Parcase.] Perhaps; perchance. [Obs.] Bacon.

Perce (?), v. t. To pierce. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Per*ceiv"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being perceived; perceptible. -- Per*ceiv"a*bly, adv.

Per*ceiv"ance (?), n. Power of perceiving. [Obs.] "The senses and common perceivance." Milton.

Per*ceive" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Perceived (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Perceiving.] [OF. percevoir, perceveir, L. percipere, perceptum; per (see Per-) + capere to take, receive. See Capacious, and cf. Perception.] 1. To obtain knowledge of through the senses; to receive impressions from by means of the bodily organs; to take cognizance of the existence, character, or identity of, by means of the senses; to see, hear, or feel; as, to perceive a distant ship; to perceive a discord. Reid.

2. To take intellectual cognizance of; to apprehend by the mind; to be convinced of by direct intuition; to note; to remark; to discern; to see; to understand.

Jesus perceived their wickedness.

Matt. xxii. 18.

You may, fair lady, Perceive I speak sincerely.

Shak.

Till we ourselves see it with our own eyes, and perceive it by our own understandings, we are still in the dark.

Locke.

3. To be affected of influented by. [R.]

The upper regions of the air perceive the collection of the matter of tempests before the air here below.

Bacon.

Syn. -- To discern; distinguish; observe; see; feel; know; understand. -- To Perceive, Discern. To perceive a thing is to apprehend it as presented to the senses or the intellect; to discern is to mark differences, or to see a thing as distinguished from others around it. We may perceive two persons afar off without being able to discern whether they are men or women. Hence, discern is often used of an act of the senses or the mind involving close, discriminating, analytical attention. We perceive that which is clear or obvious; we discern that which requires much attention to get an idea of it. "We perceive light, darkness, colors, or the truth or falsehood of anything. We discern characters, motives, the tendency and consequences of actions, etc." Crabb.

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Per*ceiv"er (?), n. One who perceives (in any of the senses of the verb). Milton.

Perce"ly (?), n. Parsley. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Per*cent"age (?), n. [Per cent + -age, as in average. See Per, and Cent.] (Com.) A certain rate per cent; the allowance, duty, rate of interest, discount, or commission, on a hundred.

Per"cept (?), n. [From L. percipere, perceptum.] That which is perceived. Sir W. Hamilton.