Chapter 47

Pleth"o*ry (?), n. Plethora. Jer. Taylor.

{ ||Pleth"ron (?), ||Pleth"rum (?), } n.; pl. Plethra (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?;.] (Gr. Antiq.) A long measure of 100 Greek, or 101 English, feet; also, a square measure of 10,000 Greek feet.

||Pleth"ys*mo*graph (?), n. [Gr. &?; an enlargement + -graph.] ||(Physiol.) An instrument for determining and registering the ||variations in the size or volume of a limb, as the arm or leg, and ||hence the variations in the amount of blood in the limb.

-- Pleth`ys*mo*graph"ic (#), a.

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Pleth`ys*mog"ra*phy (?), n. (Physiol.) The study, by means of the plethysmograph, of the variations in size of a limb, and hence of its blood supply.

||Pleu"ra (?), n., pl. of Pleuron.

Pleu"ra, n.; pl. L. PleurÊ (#), E. Pleuras (#). [NL., n. fem., fr. Gr. &?; a rib, the side.] 1. (Anat.) (a) The smooth serous membrane which closely covers the lungs and the adjacent surfaces of the thorax; the pleural membrane. (b) The closed sac formed by the pleural membrane about each lung, or the fold of membrane connecting each lung with the body wall.

2. (Zoˆl.) Same as Pleuron.

Pleu"ral (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the pleura or pleurÊ, or to the sides of the thorax.

||Pleu*ral"gi*a (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; rib + &?; pain.] (Med.) Pain ||in the side or region of the ribs.

||Pleu`ra*poph"y*sis (?), n.; pl. Pleurapophyses (#). [NL. See Pleura, ||and Apophysis.] (Anat.) One of the ventral processes of a vertebra, ||or the dorsal element in each half of a hemal arch, forming, or ||corresponding to, a vertebral rib. -- Pleu*rap`o*phys"i*al (#), a. ||Owen.

Pleu*ren"chy*ma (?), n. [Gr. &?; side + &?;, as in parenchyma.] (Bot.) A tissue consisting of long and slender tubular cells, of which wood is mainly composed.

Pleu"ric (?), a. (Anat.) Pleural.

Pleu"ri*sy (?), n. [F. pleurÈsie, L. pleurisis, pleuritis, Gr pleyri^tis (sc. no`sos), fr. pleyra` rib, side.] (Med.) An inflammation of the pleura, usually accompanied with fever, pain, difficult respiration, and cough, and with exudation into the pleural cavity.

Pleurisy root. (Bot.) (a) The large tuberous root of a kind of milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) which is used as a remedy for pleuritic and other diseases. (b) The plant itself, which has deep orange-colored flowers; -- called also butterfly weed.

Pleu"rite (?), n. (Zoˆl.) Same as Pleuron.

{ Pleu*rit"ic (?), Pleu*rit"ic*al (?), } a. [L. pleuriticus, Gr. &?;: cf. F. pleurÈtique.] (Med.) (a) Of or pertaining to pleurisy; as, pleuritic symptoms. (b) Suffering from pleurisy.

||Pleu*ri"tis (?), n. [L.] (Med.) Pleurisy.

Pleu"ro- (?). [See Pleura.] A combining form denoting relation to a side; specif., connection with, or situation in or near, the pleura; as, pleuroperitoneum.

||Pleu`ro*brach"i*a (?), n. [NL. See Pleuro-, and Brachium.] (Zoˆl.) A ||genus of ctenophores having an ovate body and two long plumose ||tentacles.

Pleu"ro*branch (?), n. [See Pleuro- , and Branchia.] (Zoˆl.) Any one of the gills of a crustacean that is attached to the side of the thorax.

||Pleu`ro*bran"chi*a (?), n.; pl. PleuroeranchiÊ (#). [NL.] (Zoˆl.) ||Same as Pleurobranch.

Pleu"ro*carp (?), n. [Pleuro- + Gr. &?; fruit.] (Bot.) Any pleurocarpic moss.

{ Pleu`ro*car"pic (?), Pleu`ro*car"pous (?), } a. (Bot.) Side-fruited; -- said of those true mosses in which the pedicels or the capsules are from lateral archegonia; -- opposed to acrocarpous.

||Pleu`ro*cen"trum (?), n. [NL. see Pleuro-, and Centrum.] (Anat.) One ||of the lateral elements in the centra of the vertebrÊ in some fossil ||batrachians.

||Pleu*rod"e*res (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; the side + &?; the ||neck.] (Zoˆl.) A group of fresh-water turtles in which the neck can ||not be retracted, but is bent to one side, for protection. The ||matamata is an example.

Pleu"ro*dont (?), a. [Pleuro- + Gr. &?;, &?;, a tooth.] (Anat.) Having the teeth consolidated with the inner edge of the jaw, as in some lizards.

Pleu"ro*dont, n. (Zoˆl.) Any lizard having pleurodont teeth.

||Pleu`ro*dyn"i*a (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; side + &?; pain.] (Med.) A ||painful affection of the side, simulating pleurisy, usually due to ||rheumatism.

||Pleu"ron (?), n.; pl. Pleura (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?; a rib.] (Zoˆl.) ||(a) One of the sides of an animal. (b) One of the lateral pieces of a ||somite of an insect. (c) One of lateral processes of a somite of a ||crustacean.

Pleu`ro*nec"toid (?), a. [NL. Pleuronectes, name of a genus (fr. Gr. &?; rib + &?; a swimmer) + -oid.] (Zoˆl.) Pertaining to the PleuronectidÊ, or Flounder family.

Pleu`ro*per`i*car"di*al (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the pleura and pericardium.

Pleu`ro*per`ip*neu"mo*ny (?), n. [Pleuro- + peripneumony.] (Med.) Pleuropneumonia.

Pleu`ro*per`i*to*ne"al (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the pleural and peritoneal membranes or cavities, or to the pleuroperitoneum.

Pleu`ro*per`i*to*ne"um (?), n. [Pleuro- + peritoneum.] (Anat.) The pleural and peritoneal membranes, or the membrane lining the body cavity and covering the surface of the inclosed viscera; the peritoneum; -- used especially in the case of those animals in which the body cavity is not divided.

Peritoneum is now often used in the sense of pleuroperitoneum, the pleurÊ being regarded as a part of the peritoneum, when the body cavity is undivided.

Pleu`ro*pneu*mo"ni*a (?), n. [Pleuro- + pneumonia.] (Med.) Inflammation of the pleura and lungs; a combination of pleurisy and pneumonia, esp. a kind of contagions and fatal lung plague of cattle.

||Pleu*rop"te*ra (?), n. pl [NL., fr. Gr. &?; side + &?; wing.] (Zoˆl.) ||A group of Isectivora, including the colugo.

||Pleu`ro*sig"ma (?), n. [NL. See Pleuro-, and Sigma.] (Bot.) A genus ||of diatoms of elongated elliptical shape, but having the sides ||slightly curved in the form of a letter S. Pleurosigma angulatum has ||very fine striations, and is a favorite object for testing the high ||powers of microscopes.

||Pleu*ros"te*on (?), n.; pl. L. Pleurostea (#), E. -ons (#). [NL., fr. ||Gr. &?; a rib + &?; a bone.] (Anat.) The antero- lateral piece which ||articulates the sternum of birds.

||Pleu`ro*thot"o*nus (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. pleyro`qen from the side + ||to`nos a stretching.] (Med.) A species of tetanus, in which the body ||is curved laterally. Quain. Dunglison.

||Pleu*rot"o*ma (?), n.; pl. L. PleurotomÊ (#), E. Pleurotomas (#). ||[NL., fr. Gr. &?; the side + tomh` a cut.] (Zoˆl.) Any marine ||gastropod belonging to Pleurotoma, and ether allied genera of the ||family PleurotmidÊ. The species are very numerous, especially in ||tropical seas. The outer lip has usually a posterior notch or slit.

Plev"in (?), n. [OF. plevine. See Replevin.] A warrant or assurance. [Obs.]

Plex"i*form (?), a. [Plexus + -form: cf. F. Plexiforme.] Like network; complicated. Quincy.

Plex*im"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. &?; stroke, percussion (from &?; to strike) + -meter.] (Med.) A small, hard, elastic plate, as of ivory, bone, or rubber, placed in contact with body to receive the blow, in examination by mediate percussion. [Written also plexometer.]

Plex"ure (?), n. [See Plexus.] The act or process of weaving together, or interweaving; that which is woven together. H. Brooke.

Plex"us (?), n.; pl. L. Plexus, E. Plexuses (#). [L., a twining, braid, fr. plectere, plexum, to twine, braid.] 1. (Anat.) A network of vessels, nerves, or fibers.

2. (Math.) The system of equations required for the complete expression of the relations which exist between a set of quantities. Brande & C.

Pley (?), v. & n. See Play. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Pley (?), a. Full See Plein. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Pleyt (?), n. (Naut.) An old term for a river boat.

Pli`a*bil"i*ty (?), n. The quality or state of being pliable; flexibility; as, pliability of disposition. "Pliability of movement." Sir W. Scott.

Pli"a*ble (?), a. [F., fr. plier to bend, to fold. See Ply, v.] 1. Capable of being plied, turned, or bent; easy to be bent; flexible; pliant; supple; limber; yielding; as, willow is a pliable plant.

2. Flexible in disposition; readily yielding to influence, arguments, persuasion, or discipline; easy to be persuaded; -- sometimes in a bad sense; as, a pliable youth. "Pliable she promised to be." Dr. H. More.

-- Pli"a*ble*ness, n. -- Pli"a*bly, adv.

Pli"an*cy (?), n. The quality or state of being pliant in sense; as, the pliancy of a rod. "Avaunt all specious pliancy of mind." Wordsworth.

Pli"ant (?), a. [F. pliant, p. pr. of plier to bend. See Ply, v.] 1. Capable of plying or bending; readily yielding to force or pressure without breaking; flexible; pliable; lithe; limber; plastic; as, a pliant thread; pliant wax. Also used figuratively: Easily influenced for good or evil; tractable; as, a pliant heart.

The will was then ductile and pliant to right reason.

South.

2. Favorable to pliancy. [R.] "A pliant hour." Shak. -- Pli"ant*ly, adv. -- Pli"ant*ness, n.

||Pli"ca (?), n. [LL., a fold, fr. L. plicare to fold. See Ply, v.] 1. ||(Med.) A disease of the hair (Plica polonica), in which it becomes ||twisted and matted together. The disease is of Polish origin, and is ||hence called also Polish plait. Dunglison.

2. (Bot.) A diseased state in plants in which there is an excessive development of small entangled twigs, instead of ordinary branches.

3. (Zoˆl.) The bend of the wing of a bird.

{ Pli"cate (?), Pli"ca*ted (?), } a. [L. plicatus, p. p. of plicare to fold.] Plaited; folded like a fan; as, a plicate leaf. -- Pli"cate*ly (#), adv.

Pli*ca"tion (?), n. A folding or fold; a plait. Richardson.

Plic"a*ture (?), n. [L. plicatura, fr. plicare to fold.] A fold; a doubling; a plication. Dr. H. More.

Plic`i*den"tine (?), n. [LL. plica fold + E. dentine.] (Anat.) A form of dentine which shows sinuous lines of structure in a transverse section of the tooth.

Plied (?), imp. & p. p. of Ply.

Pli"ers (?), n. pl. [From Ply to bend, fold.] A kind of small pinchers with long jaws, -- used for bending or cutting metal rods or wire, for handling small objects such as the parts of a watch, etc.

Pli"form (?), a. [Ply a fold + -form.] In the form of a ply, fold, or doubling. [Obs.] Pennant.

Plight (?), obs. imp. & p. p. of Plight, to pledge. Chaucer.

Plight, obs. imp. & p. p. of Pluck. Chaucer.

Plight, v. t. [OE. pliten; probably through Old French, fr. LL. plectare, L. plectere. See Plait, Ply.] To weave; to braid; to fold; to plait.[Obs.] "To sew and plight." Chaucer.

A plighted garment of divers colors.

Milton.

Plight (?), n. A network; a plait; a fold; rarely a garment. [Obs.] "Many a folded plight." Spenser.

Plight, n. [OE. pliht danger, engagement, AS. pliht danger, fr. pleÛn to risk; akin to D. plicht duty, G. pflicht, Dan. pligt. &radic;28. Cf. Play.] 1. That which is exposed to risk; that which is plighted or pledged; security; a gage; a pledge. "That lord whose hand must take my plight." Shak.

2. [Perh. the same word as plight a pledge, but at least influenced by OF. plite, pliste, ploit, ploi, a condition, state; cf. E. plight to fold, and F. pli a fold, habit, plier to fold, E. ply.] Condition; state; -- risk, or exposure to danger, often being implied; as, a luckless plight. "Your plight is pitied." Shak.

To bring our craft all in another plight

Chaucer.

Plight, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plighted; p. pr. & vb. n. Plighting.] [AS. plihtan to expose to danger, pliht danger;cf. D. verplichten to oblige, engage, impose a duty, G. verpflichten, Sw. fˆrplikta, Dan. forpligte. See Plight, n.] 1. To pledge; to give as a pledge for the performance of some act; as, to plight faith, honor, word; -- never applied to property or goods. " To do them plighte their troth." Piers Plowman.

He plighted his right hand Unto another love, and to another land.

Spenser.

Here my inviolable faith I plight.

Dryden.

2. To promise; to engage; to betroth.

Before its setting hour, divide The bridegroom from the plighted bride.

Sir W. Scott.

Plight"er (?), n. One who, or that which, plights.

Plim (?), v. i. [Cf. Plump.] To swell, as grain or wood with water. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.

Plim"soll's mark` (?). (Naut.) A mark conspicuously painted on the port side of all British sea-going merchant vessels, to indicate the limit of submergence allowed by law; -- so called from Samuel Plimsoll, by whose efforts the act of Parliament to prevent overloading was procured.

Plinth (?), n. [L. plinthus, Gr. &?; a brick or tile, a plinth, perh. akin to E. flint: cf. F. plinthe.] (Arch.) In classical architecture, a vertically faced member immediately below the circular base of a column; also, the lowest member of a pedestal; hence, in general, the lowest member of a base; a sub-base; a block upon which the moldings of an architrave or trim are stopped at the bottom. See Illust. of Column.

Pli"o*cene (?), a. [Written also pleiocene.] [Gr. &?; more + &?; new, recent.] (Geol.) Of, pertaining to, or characterizing, the most recent division of the Tertiary age.

Pli"o*cene, n. (Geol.) The Pliocene period or deposits.

||Pli`o*hip"pus (?), n. [NL., fr. E. pliocene + Gr. &?; horse.] ||(Paleon.) An extinct genus of horses from the Pliocene deposits. Each ||foot had a single toe (or hoof), as in the common horse.

||Pli`o*sau"rus (?), n. [NL., from Gr. &?; greater + &?; lizard.] ||(Paleon.) An extinct genus of marine reptiles allied to Plesiosaurus, ||but having a much shorter neck.

Plitt (?), n. [Russ. plete.] An instrument of punishment or torture resembling the knout, used in Russia.

Ploc (?), n. [F.] (Naut.) A mixture of hair and tar for covering the bottom of a ship.

||Plo"ce (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?; complication, fr. &?; to entwine.] ||(Rhet.) A figure in which a word is separated or repeated by way of ||emphasis, so as not only to signify the individual thing denoted by ||it, but also its peculiar attribute or quality; as, "His wife's a ||wife indeed." Bailey.

Plod (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Plodded (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Plodding.] [Gf. Gael. plod a clod, a pool; also, to strike or pelt with a clod or clods.] 1. To travel slowly but steadily; to trudge. Shak.

2. To toil; to drudge; especially, to study laboriously and patiently. "Plodding schoolmen." Drayton.

Plod, v. t. To walk on slowly or heavily.

The ploughman homeward plods his weary way.

Gray.

Plod"der (?), n. One who plods; a drudge.

Plod"ding (?), a. Progressing in a slow, toilsome manner; characterized by laborious diligence; as, a plodding peddler; a plodding student; a man of plodding habits. --Plod"ding*ly, adv.

Plonge (?), v. t. [See Plunge.] To cleanse, as open drains which are entered by the tide, by stirring up the sediment when the tide ebbs.

||Plon`gÈe" (?), n. [F. See Plunge.] (Mil.) A slope or sloping toward ||the front; as, the plongÈe of a parapet; the plongÈe of a shell in ||its course. [Sometimes written plonge.]

Plot (?), n. [AS. plot; cf. Goth. plats a patch. Cf. Plat a piece of ground.] 1. A small extent of ground; a plat; as, a garden plot. Shak.

2. A plantation laid out. [Obs.] Sir P. Sidney.

3. (Surv.) A plan or draught of a field, farm, estate, etc., drawn to a scale.

Plot, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plotted (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Plotting.] To make a plot, map, pr plan, of; to mark the position of on a plan; to delineate.

This treatise plotteth down Cornwall as it now standeth.

Carew.

Plot, n. [Abbrev. from complot.] 1. Any scheme, stratagem, secret design, or plan, of a complicated nature, adapted to the accomplishment of some purpose, usually a treacherous and mischievous one; a conspiracy; an intrigue; as, the Rye-house Plot.

I have overheard a plot of death.

Shak.

O, think what anxious moments pass between The birth of plots and their last fatal periods!

Addison.

2. A share in such a plot or scheme; a participation in any stratagem or conspiracy. [Obs.]

And when Christ saith, Who marries the divorced commits adultery, it is to be understood, if he had any plot in the divorce.

Milton.

3. Contrivance; deep reach of thought; ability to plot or intrigue. [Obs.] "A man of much plot." Denham.

4. A plan; a purpose. "No other plot in their religion but serve God and save their souls." Jer. Taylor.

5. In fiction, the story of a play, novel, romance, or poem, comprising a complication of incidents which are gradually unfolded, sometimes by unexpected means.

If the plot or intrigue must be natural, and such as springs from the subject, then the winding up of the plot must be a probable consequence of all that went before.

Pope.

Syn. -- Intrigue; stratagem; conspiracy; cabal; combination; contrivance.

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Plot (plt), v. i. 1. To form a scheme of mischief against another, especially against a government or those who administer it; to conspire. Shak.

The wicked plotteth against the just.

Ps. xxxvii. 12.

2. To contrive a plan or stratagem; to scheme.

The prince did plot to be secretly gone.

Sir H. Wotton.

Plot, v. t. To plan; to scheme; to devise; to contrive secretly. "Plotting an unprofitable crime." Dryden. "Plotting now the fall of others." Milton

Plot"ful (?), a. Abounding with plots.

Plo*tin"i*an (?), a.Of pertaining to the Plotinists or their doctrines.

Plo*ti"nist (?), n. (Eccl. Hist.) A disciple of Plotinus, a celebrated Platonic philosopher of the third century, who taught that the human soul emanates from the divine Being, to whom it reunited at death.

Plot"-proof` (?), a. Secure against harm by plots. Shak.

Plot"ter (?), n. One who plots or schemes; a contriver; a conspirator; a schemer. Dryden.

Plough (?), n. & v. See Plow.

Plov"er (?), n. [OF. plovier, F. pluvier, prop., the rain bird, fr. LL. (assumed) pluviarius, fr. L. pluvia rain, from pluere to rain; akin to E. float, G. fliessen to flow. See Float.] 1. (Zoˆl.) Any one of numerous species of limicoline birds belonging to the family CharadridÊ, and especially those belonging to the subfamily CharadrinsÊ. They are prized as game birds.

2. (Zoˆl.) Any grallatorial bird allied to, or resembling, the true plovers, as the crab plover (Dromas ardeola); the American upland, plover (Bartramia longicauda); and other species of sandpipers.

Among the more important species are the blackbellied, or blackbreasted, plover (Charadrius squatarola) of America and Europe; -- called also gray plover, bull-head plover, Swiss plover, sea plover, and oxeye; the golden plover (see under Golden); the ring or ringed plover (∆gialitis hiaticula). See Ringneck. The piping plover (∆gialitis meloda); Wilson's plover (∆. Wilsonia); the mountain plover (∆. montana); and the semipalmated plover (∆. semipalmata), are all small American species.

Bastard plover (Zoˆl.), the lapwing. -- Long-legged, or yellow- legged, plover. See Tattler. -- Plover's page, the dunlin. [Prov. Eng.] -- Rock plover, or Stone plover, the black-bellied plover. [Prov. Eng.] -- Whistling plover. (a) The golden plover. (b) The black-bellied plover.

{ Plow, Plough } (plou), n. [OE. plouh, plou, AS. plh; akin to D. ploeg, G. pflug, OHG. pfluog, pfluoh, Icel. plgr, Sw. plog, Dan. ploug, plov, Russ. plug', Lith. plugas.] 1. A well-known implement, drawn by horses, mules, oxen, or other power, for turning up the soil to prepare it for bearing crops; also used to furrow or break up the soil for other purposes; as, the subsoil plow; the draining plow.

Where fern succeeds ungrateful to the plow.

Dryden.

2. Fig.: Agriculture; husbandry. Johnson.

3. A carucate of land; a plowland. [Obs.] [Eng.]

Johan, mine eldest son, shall have plowes five.

Tale of Gamelyn.

4. A joiner's plane for making grooves; a grooving plane.

5. (Bookbinding) An implement for trimming or shaving off the edges of books.

6. (Astron.) Same as Charles's Wain.

Ice plow, a plow used for cutting ice on rivers, ponds, etc., into cakes suitable for storing. [U. S.] -- Mackerel plow. See under Mackerel. - - Plow alms, a penny formerly paid by every plowland to the church. Cowell. -- Plow beam, that part of the frame of a plow to which the draught is applied. See Beam, n., 9. -- Plow Monday, the Monday after Twelth Day, or the end of Christmas holidays. -- Plow staff. (a) A kind of long-handled spade or paddle for cleaning the plowshare; a paddle staff. (b) A plow handle. -- Snow plow, a structure, usually -shaped, for removing snow from sidewalks, railroads, etc., -- drawn or driven by a horse or a locomotive.

{ Plow, Plough, } v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plowed (ploud) or Ploughed; p. pr. & vb. n. Plowing or Ploughing.] 1. To turn up, break up, or trench, with a plow; to till with, or as with, a plow; as, to plow the ground; to plow a field.

2. To furrow; to make furrows, grooves, or ridges in; to run through, as in sailing.

Let patient Octavia plow thy visage up With her prepared nails.

Shak.

With speed we plow the watery way.

Pope.

3. (Bookbinding) To trim, or shave off the edges of, as a book or paper, with a plow. See Plow, n., 5.

4. (Joinery) To cut a groove in, as in a plank, or the edge of a board; especially, a rectangular groove to receive the end of a shelf or tread, the edge of a panel, a tongue, etc.

To plow in, to cover by plowing; as, to plow in wheat. -- To plow up, to turn out of the ground by plowing.

{ Plow, Plough } (plou), v. i. To labor with, or as with, a plow; to till or turn up the soil with a plow; to prepare the soil or bed for anything. Shak.

Doth the plowman plow all day to sow ?

Isa. xxviii. 24.

{ Plow"a*ble, Plough"a*ble } (?), a. Capable of being plowed; arable.

{ Plow"bote`, Plough"bote` } (?), n. (Eng. Law) Wood or timber allowed to a tenant for the repair of instruments of husbandry. See Bote.

{ Plow"boy`, Plough"boy` }, n. A boy that drives or guides a team in plowing; a young rustic.

{ Plow"er, Plough"er } (?), n. One who plows; a plowman; a cultivator.

{ Plow"foot`, Plough"foot` } (?), n. An adjustable staff formerly attached to the plow beam to determine the depth of the furrow. Piers Plowman.

{ Plow"gang`, Plough"gang` } (?), n. Same as Plowgate.

{ Plow"gate`, Plough"gate` } (?), n. The Scotch equivalent of the English word plowland.

Not having one plowgate of land.

Sir W. Scott.

{ Plow"head`, Plough"head` } (?), n. The clevis or draught iron of a plow.

{ Plow"land`, Ploug"land` } (?), n. 1. Land that is plowed, or suitable for tillage.

2. (O. Eng. Law) the quantity of land allotted for the work of one plow; a hide.

{ Plow"man, Plough"man } (?), n.; pl. -men (&?;). 1. One who plows, or who holds and guides a plow; hence, a husbandman. Chaucer. Macaulay.

2. A rustic; a countryman; a field laborer.

Plowman's spikenard (Bot.), a European composite weed (Conyza squarrosa), having fragrant roots. Dr. Prior.

{ Plow"point`, Plough"point` } (?), n. A detachable share at the extreme front end of the plow body.

{ Plow"share`, Plough"share" } (?), n. The share of a plow, or that part which cuts the slice of earth or sod at the bottom of the furrow.

Plowshare bone (Anat.), the pygostyle.

{ Plow"tail`, Plough"tail` } (?), n. The hind part or handle of a plow.

{ Plow"wright`, Plough"wright` } (?), n. One who makes or repairs plows.

Ploy (?), n. Sport; frolic. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Ploy, v. i. [Prob. abbrev. fr. deploy.] (Mil.) To form a column from a line of troops on some designated subdivision; -- the opposite of deploy. Wilhelm.

Ploy"ment (?), n. (Mil.) The act or movement of forming a column from a line of troops on some designated subdivision; -- the opposite of deployment.

Pluck (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plucked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Plucking.] [AS. pluccian; akin to LG. & D. plukken, G. pfl¸cken, Icel. plokka, plukka, Dan. plukke, Sw. plocka. &?;27.] 1. To pull; to draw.

Its own nature . . . plucks on its own dissolution.

Je&?;. Taylor.

2. Especially, to pull with sudden force or effort, or to pull off or out from something, with a twitch; to twitch; also, to gather, to pick; as, to pluck feathers from a fowl; to pluck hair or wool from a skin; to pluck grapes.

I come to pluck your berries harsh and crude.

Milton.