The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section P and Q

Chapter 49

Chapter 493,958 wordsPublic domain

2. (Eccl.) To hold more than one benefice at the same time. [Eng.]

Plu"ral*i`zer (?), n. (Eccl.) A pluralist. [R.]

Plu"ral*ly, adv. In a plural manner or sense.

Plu"ri- (?). [See Plus.] A combining form from L. plus, pluris, more, many; as pluriliteral.

||Plu"ri*es (?), n. [So called from L. pluries many times, often, which ||occurs in the first clause.] (Law) A writ issued in the third place, ||after two former writs have been disregarded. Mozley & W.

Plu`ri*fa"ri*ous (?), a. [L. plurifarius, fr. L. plus, pluris, many. Cf. Bifarious.] Of many kinds or fashions; multifarious.

Plu`ri*fo"li*o*late (?), a. [Pluri- + foliolate.] (Bot.) Having several or many leaflets.

Plu`ri*lit"er*al (?), a. [Pluri- + literal.] Consisting of more letters than three. - - n. A pluriliteral word.

Plu`ri*loc"u*lar (?), a. [Pluri- + locular.] Having several cells or loculi; specifically (Bot.), having several divisions containing seeds; as, the lemon and the orange are plurilocular fruits.

Plurilocular sporangia (Bot.), many- celled sporangia, each cell containing a single spore, as in many algÊ.

Plu*rip"a*rous (?), a. [Pluri- + L. parere to bring forth.] Producing several young at a birth; as, a pluriparous animal.

Plu`ri*par"tite (?), a. [Pluri- + partite.] (Bot.) Deeply divided into several portions.

Plu`ri*pres"ence (?), n. [Pluri- + presence.] Presence in more places than one. [R.] Johnson.

Plu"ri*sy (?), n. [L. plus, pluris, more.] Superabundance; excess; plethora. [Obs.] Shak.

Plus (?), a. [L., more; akin to Gr. &?;, &?;, and E. full. See Full, a., and cf. Pi˘, Pleonasm.]

1. (Math.) More, required to be added; positive, as distinguished from negative; -- opposed to minus.

2. Hence, in a literary sense, additional; real; actual.

Success goes invariably with a certain plus or positive power.

Emerson.

Plus sign (Math.), the sign (+) which denotes addition, or a positive quantity.

Plush (?), n. [F. pluche, peluche (cf. It. peluzzo), fr. L. pilus hair. See pile hair, and cf. Peruke.] A textile fabric with a nap or shag on one side, longer and softer than the nap of velvet. Cowper.

Plush"y (?), a. Like plush; soft and shaggy. H. Kingsley.

Plu"tar*chy (?), n. [Gr. &?; wealth + -archy.] Plutocracy; the rule of wealth. [R.]

Plu"te*al (?), a. (Zoˆl.) Of or pertaining to a pluteus.

||Plu"te*us (?), n.; pl. L. Plutei (#), E. Pluteuses (#). [L., a shed.] ||(Zoˆl.) The free-swimming larva of sea urchins and ophiurans, having ||several long stiff processes inclosing calcareous rods.

Plu"to (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;.] (Class. Myth.) The son of Saturn and Rhea, brother of Jupiter and Neptune; the dark and gloomy god of the Lower World.

Pluto monkey (Zoˆl.), a long- tailed African monkey (Cercopithecus pluto), having side whiskers. The general color is black, more or less grizzled; the frontal band is white.

Plu*toc"ra*cy (?), n. [Gr. &?;; &?; wealth + &?; to be strong, to rule, fr.&?; strength: cf. F. plutocratie.] A form of government in which the supreme power is lodged in the hands of the wealthy classes; government by the rich; also, a controlling or influential class of rich men.

Plu"to*crat (?), n. One whose wealth gives him power or influence; one of the plutocracy.

Plu`to*crat"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to plutocracy; as, plutocratic ideas. Bagehot.

Plu*tol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. &?; wealth + -logy.] The science which treats of wealth.

Plu*to"ni*an (?), a. [L. Plutonius, Gr. &?;: cf. F. plutonien.] Plutonic. Poe.

Plu*to"ni*an (?), n. (Geol.) A Plutonist.

Plu*ton"ic (?), a. [Cf. F. plutonique. See Pluto.] 1. Of or pertaining to Pluto; Plutonian; hence, pertaining to the interior of the earth; subterranean.

2. Of, pertaining to, or designating, the system of the Plutonists; igneous; as, the Plutonic theory.

Plutonic action (Geol.), the influence of volcanic heat and other subterranean forces under pressure. -- Plutonic rocks (Geol.), granite, porphyry, and some other igneous rocks, supposed to have consolidated from a melted state at a great depth from the surface. Cf. Intrusive rocks, under Intrusive. -- Plutonic theory. (Geol.) See Plutonism.

Plu"to*nism (?), n. [Cf. F. plutonisme.] The theory, early advanced in geology, that the successive rocks of the earth\'b6s crust were formed by igneous fusion; -- opposed to the Neptunian theory.

Plu"to*nist (?), n. [Cf. F. plutoniste.] One who adopts the geological theory of igneous fusion; a Plutonian. See Plutonism.

Plu"tus (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;.] (Class. Myth.) The son of Jason and Ceres, and the god of wealth. He was represented as bearing a cornucopia, and as blind, because his gifts were bestowed without discrimination of merit.

Plu"vi*al, a. [L. pluvialis, fr. pluvia rain: cf. F. pluvial. See Plover.] 1. Of or pertaining to rain; rainy. [R.]

2. (Geol.) Produced by the action of rain.

Plu"vi*al, n. [LL. pluviale a garment which keeps off the rain: cf. F. pluvial.] A priest's cope.

Plu`vi*am"e*ter (?), n. See Pluviometer.

Plu`vi*a*met"ric*al (?), a. See Pluviometrical.

Plu"vi*an (?), n. (Zoˆl.) The crocodile bird.

Plu`vi*om"e*ter (?), n. [L. pluvia rain + -meter: cf. F. pluviomËtre.] An instrument for ascertaining the amount of rainfall at any place in a given time; a rain gauge.

Plu`vi*o*met"ric*al (?), a. [Cf. F. pluviomÈtrique.] Of or pertaining to a pluviometer; determined by a pluviometer.

||Plu`vi`Ùse" (?), n. [F. See Pluvious.] The fifth month of the French ||republican calendar adopted in 1793. It began January 20, and ended ||February 18. See VendÈmiaire.

Plu"vi*ous (?), a. [L. pluviosus, pluvius, fr. pluvia rain: cf. F. pluvieux. See Pluvial, a.] Abounding in rain; rainy; pluvial. Sir T. Browne.

Ply (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plied (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Plying (?).] [OE. plien, F. plier to fold, to bend, fr. L. plicare; akin to Gr. &?;, G. flechten. Cf. Apply, Complex, Display, Duplicity, Employ, Exploit, Implicate, Plait, Pliant, Flax.] 1. To bend. [Obs.]

As men may warm wax with handes plie.

Chaucer.

2. To lay on closely, or in folds; to work upon steadily, or with repeated acts; to press upon; to urge importunately; as, to ply one with questions, with solicitations, or with drink.

And plies him with redoubled strokes

Dryden.

He plies the duke at morning and at night.

Shak.

3. To employ diligently; to use steadily.

Go ply thy needle; meddle not.

Shak.

4. To practice or perform with diligence; to work at.

Their bloody task, unwearied, still they ply.

Waller.

Ply, v. i. 1. To bend; to yield. [Obs.]

It would rather burst atwo than plye.

Chaucer.

The willow plied, and gave way to the gust.

L'Estrange.

2. To act, go, or work diligently and steadily; especially, to do something by repeated actions; to go back and forth; as, a steamer plies between certain ports.

Ere half these authors be read (which will soon be with plying hard and daily).

Milton.

He was forced to ply in the streets as a porter.

Addison.

The heavy hammers and mallets plied.

Longfellow.

3. (Naut.) To work to windward; to beat.

Ply, n. [Cf. F. pli, fr. plier. See Ply, v.] 1. A fold; a plait; a turn or twist, as of a cord. Arbuthnot.

2. Bent; turn; direction; bias.

The late learners can not so well take the ply.

Bacon.

Boswell, and others of Goldsmith's contemporaries, . . . did not understand the secret plies of his character.

W. Irving.

The czar's mind had taken a strange ply, which it retained to the last.

Macaulay.

Ply is used in composition to designate folds, or the number of webs interwoven; as, a three-ply carpet.

Ply"er (?), n. One who, or that which, plies; specifically: (a) pl. A kind of balance used in raising and letting down a drawbridge. It consists of timbers joined in the form of a St. Andrew's cross. (b) pl. See Pliers.

Plyght (?), v. & n. See Plight. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Plym"outh Breth"ren (?). The members of a religious sect which first appeared at Plymouth, England, about 1830. They protest against sectarianism, and reject all official ministry or clergy. Also called Brethren, Christian Brethren, Plymouthists, etc. The Darbyites are a division of the Brethren.

Pne*om"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. &?; to breathe + -meter.] (Physiol.) A spirometer.

{ Pneu*mat"ic (?), Pneu*mat"ic*al (?), } a. [L. pneumaticus, Gr. &?;, fr. &?;, &?;, wind, air, &?; to blow, breathe; cf. OHG. fnehan: cf. F. pneumatique. Cf. Pneumonia.] 1. Consisting of, or resembling, air; having the properties of an elastic fluid; gaseous; opposed to dense or solid.

The pneumatical substance being, in some bodies, the native spirit of the body.

Bacon.

2. Of or pertaining to air, or to elastic fluids or their properties; pertaining to pneumatics; as, pneumatic experiments. "Pneumatical discoveries." Stewart.

3. Moved or worked by pressure or flow of air; as, a pneumatic instrument; a pneumatic engine.

4. (Biol.) Fitted to contain air; Having cavities filled with air; as, pneumatic cells; pneumatic bones.

Pneumatic action, or Pneumatic lever (Mus.), a contrivance for overcoming the resistance of the keys and other movable parts in an organ, by causing compressed air from the wind chest to move them. -- Pneumatic dispatch, a system of tubes, leading to various points, through which letters, packages, etc., are sent, by the flow and pressure of air. -- Pneumatic elevator, a hoisting machine worked by compressed air. -- Pneumatic pile, a tubular pile or cylinder of large diameter sunk by atmospheric pressure. -- Pneumatic pump, an air-exhausting or forcing pump. -- Pneumatic railway. See Atmospheric railway, under Atmospheric. -- Pneumatic syringe, a stout tube closed at one end, and provided with a piston, for showing that the heat produced by compressing a gas will ignite substances. -- Pneumatic trough, a trough, generally made of wood or sheet metal, having a perforated shelf, and used, when filled with water or mercury, for collecting gases in chemical operations. -- Pneumatic tube. See Pneumatic dispatch, above.

Pneu`ma*tic"i*ty (?), n. (Biol.) The state of being pneumatic, or of having a cavity or cavities filled with air; as, the pneumaticity of the bones of birds.

Pneu*mat"ics (?), n. [Cf. F. pneumatique.]

1. That branch of science which treats of the mechanical properties of air and other elastic fluids, as of their weight, pressure, elasticity, etc. See Mechanics.

2. (Philos. & Theol.) The scientific study or knowledge of spiritual beings and their relations to God, angels, and men.

Pneu"ma*to- (n"m*t- or n*mt"-). A combining form from Gr. pney^ma, pney`matos, wind, air, breath, respiration; as, pneumatograph, pneumatology. [1913 Webster]

Pneu*mat"o*cele (?), n. [Pneumato- + Gr. &?; a tumor; cf. F. pneumatocËle.] (Med.) A distention of the scrotum by air; also, hernia of the lungs.

Pneu*mat"o*cyst (?), n. [Pneumato- + cyst.] (Zoˆl.) A cyst or sac of a siphonophore, containing air, and serving as a float, as in Physalia.

Pneu*mat"o*garm (?), n. [Pneumato- + -gram.] (Physiol.) A tracing of the respiratory movements, obtained by a pneumatograph or stethograph.

Pneu*mat"o*graph (?), n. [Pneumato- + -graph.] (Physiol.) An instrument for recording the movements of the thorax or chest wall during respiration; -- also called stethograph.

Pneu`ma*to*log"ic*al (?), a. [Cf. F. pneumatologique.] Of or pertaining to pneumatology.

Pneu`ma*tol"o*gist (?), n. [Cf. F. pneumatologiste.] One versed in pneumatology.

Pneu`ma*tol"o*gy (?), n. [Pneumato- + -logy: cf. F. pneumatologie.] 1. The doctrine of, or a treatise on, air and other elastic fluids. See Pneumatics, 1.

2. (Philos. & Theol.) The science of spiritual being or phenomena of any description.

Pneu`ma*tom"e*ter (?), n. [Pneumato- + -meter.] (Physiol.) An instrument for measuring the amount of force exerted by the lungs in respiration.

Pneu`ma*tom"e*try (?), n. See Spirometry.

Pneu*mat"o*phore (?), n. [Pneumato- + Gr. &?; to bear.] (Zoˆl.) One of the Pneumonophora.

Pneu`ma*to*tho"rax (?), n. [Pneumato- + thorax.] (Med.) See Pneumothorax.

Pneu"mo- (?). A combining form from Gr. pney`mwn, pney`monos, a lung; as, pneumogastric, pneumology.

Pneu`mo*coc"cus (?), n. [See Pneumo- , and Coccus.] (Biol.) A form of micrococcus found in the sputum (and elsewhere) of persons suffering with pneumonia, and thought to be the cause of this disease.

Pneu`mo*gas"tric (?), a. [Pneumo- + gastric.] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the lungs and the stomach. -- n. The pneumogastric nerve.

Pneumogastric nerve (Anat.), one of the tenth pair of cranial nerves which are distributed to the pharynx, esophagus, larynx, lungs, heart, stomach, liver, and spleen, and, in fishes and many amphibia, to the branchial apparatus and also to the sides of the body.

Pneu"mo*graph (?), n. Same as Pneumatograph.

Pneu*mog"ra*phy (?), n. [Pneumo- + -graphy.] A description of the lungs. Dunglison.

Pneu*mol"o*gy (?), n. [Pneumo- + -logy.] (Anat.) The science which treats of the lungs.

Pneu*mom"e*ter (?), n. [Pneumo- + -meter.] (Physiol.) A spirometer.

Pneu*mom"e*try (?), n. Measurement of the capacity of the lungs for air. Dunglison.

Pneu*mo"ni*a (n*m"n*), n. [NL., fr. Gr. pneymoni`a, fr. pney`mwn, pl. pney`mones the lungs, also, pley`mwn, which is perh. the original form. Cf. Pneumatio, Pulmonary.] (Med.) Inflammation of the lungs.

Catarrhal pneumonia, or Broncho- pneumonia, is inflammation of the lung tissue, associated with catarrh and with marked evidences of inflammation of bronchial membranes, often chronic; -- also called lobular pneumonia, from its affecting single lobules at a time. -- Croupous pneumonia, or ordinary pneumonia, is an acute affection characterized by sudden onset with a chill, high fever, rapid course, and sudden decline; -- also called lobar pneumonia, from its affecting a whole lobe of the lung at once. See under Croupous. -- Fibroid pneumonia is an inflammation of the interstitial connective tissue lying between the lobules of the lungs, and is very slow in its course, producing shrinking and atrophy of the lungs.

Pneu*mon"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?;: cf. F. pneumonique.] (a) Of or pertaining to the lungs; pulmonic. (b) Of or pertaining to pneumonia; as, pneumonic symptoms.

Pneu*mon"ic, n. (Med.) A medicine for affections of the lungs.

Pneu`mo*nit"ic (?), a. (Med.) Of or pertaining to pneumonitis.

||Pneu`mo*ni"tis (?), n. [NL. See Pneumo-, and -itis.] (Med.) ||Inflammation of the lungs; pneumonia.

<! p. 1104 !>

Pneu`mo*nom"e*ter (?), n. [See Pneumo-, and -meter.] (Physiol.) A spirometer; a pneumometer.

||Pneu`mo*noph"o*ra (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; a lung + &?; to ||bear.] (Zoˆl.) The division of Siphonophora which includes the ||Physalia and allied genera; -- called also PneumatophorÊ.

Pneu"mo*ny (?), n. [Cf. F. pneumonie.] See Pneumonia.

||Pneu`mo*ˆt"o*ka (?), n. pl. [NL. See Pneumo-, and Oˆticoid.] (Zoˆl.) ||Same as Sauropsida.

||Pneu*moph"o*ra (?), n. pl. [NL. See Pneumonophora.] (Zoˆl.) (Zoˆl.) A ||division of holothurians having an internal gill, or respiratory ||tree.

Pneu`mo*skel"e*ton (?), n. [Pneumo- + skeleton.] (Zoˆl.) A chitinous structure which supports the gill in some invertebrates.

Pneu`mo*ther"a*py (?), n. [Gr. &?; air + therapy.] (Med.) The treatment of disease by inhalations of compressed or rarefied air.

Pneu`mo*tho"rax (?), n. [Gr. &?; air + E. thorax.] (Med.) A condition in which air or other gas is present in the cavity of the chest; -- called also pneumatothorax.

||Pni*ga"li*on (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; nightmare, fr. &?; to ||throttle.] (Med.) Nightmare.

Pnyx (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;.] (Gr. Antiq.) The place at Athens where the meetings of the people were held for making decrees, etc.

Po"a (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; grass.] (Bot.) A genus of grasses, including a great number of species, as the kinds called meadow grass, Kentucky blue grass, June grass, and spear grass (which see).

Poach (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poached (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Poaching.] [F. pocher to place in a pocket, to poach eggs (the yolk of the egg being as it were pouched in the white), from poche pocket, pouch. See Pouch, v. & n.] 1. To cook, as eggs, by breaking them into boiling water; also, to cook with butter after breaking in a vessel. Bacon.

2. To rob of game; to pocket and convey away by stealth, as game; hence, to plunder. Garth.

Poach, v. i. To steal or pocket game, or to carry it away privately, as in a bag; to kill or destroy game contrary to law, especially by night; to hunt or fish unlawfully; as, to poach for rabbits or for salmon.

Poach, v. t. [Cf. OF. pocher to thrust or dig out with the fingers, to bruise (the eyes), F. pouce thumb, L. pollex, and also E. poach to cook eggs, to plunder, and poke to thrust against.] 1. To stab; to pierce; to spear, \as fish. [Obs.] Carew.

2. To force, drive, or plunge into anything. [Obs.]

His horse poching one of his legs into some hollow ground.

Sir W. Temple.

3. To make soft or muddy by trampling Tennyson.

4. To begin and not complete. [Obs.] Bacon.

Poach, v. i. To become soft or muddy.

Chalky and clay lands . . . chap in summer, and poach in winter.

Mortimer.

Poach"ard (?), n. [From Poach to stab.] [Written also pocard, pochard.] (Zoˆl.) (a) A common European duck (Aythya ferina); -- called also goldhead, poker, and fresh-water, or red-headed, widgeon. (b) The American redhead, which is closely allied to the European poachard.

Red-crested poachard (Zoˆl.), an Old World duck (Branta rufina). -- Scaup poachard, the scaup duck. -- Tufted poachard, a scaup duck (Aythya, or Fuligula cristata), native of Europe and Asia.

Poach"er (?), n. 1. One who poaches; one who kills or catches game or fish contrary to law.

2. (Zoˆl.) The American widgeon. [Local, U.S.]

Sea poacher (Zoˆl.), the lyrie.

Poach"i*ness (?), n. The state of being poachy; marshiness.

Poach"y (?), a. [See Poach to stab.] Wet and soft; easily penetrated by the feet of cattle; -- said of land

{ Poak, Poake } (?), n. Waste matter from the preparation of skins, consisting of hair, lime, oil, etc.

Po"can (?), n. (Bot.) The poke (Phytolacca decandra); -- called also pocan bush.

Po"chard (?), n. (Zoˆl.) See Poachard.

Pock (?), n. [OE. pokke, AS. pocc, poc; akin to D. pok, G. pocke, and perh. to E. poke a pocket. Cf. Pox.] (Med.) A pustule raised on the surface of the body in variolous and vaccine diseases.

Of pokkes and of scab every sore.

Chaucer.

Pock"arred (?), a. See Pockmarked. [Obs.]

Pock"-bro`ken (?), a. Broken out, or marked, with smallpox; pock-fretten.

Pock"et (?), n. [OE. poket, Prov. F. & OF. poquette, F. pochette, dim. fr. poque, pouque, F. poche; probably of Teutonic origin. See Poke a pocket, and cf. Poach to cook eggs, to plunder, and Pouch.] 1. A bag or pouch; especially; a small bag inserted in a garment for carrying small articles, particularly money; hence, figuratively, money; wealth.

2. One of several bags attached to a billiard table, into which the balls are driven.

3. A large bag or sack used in packing various articles, as ginger, hops, cowries, etc.

In the wool or hop trade, the pocket contains half a sack, or about 168 Ibs.; but it is a variable quantity, the articles being sold by actual weight.

4. (Arch.) A hole or space covered by a movable piece of board, as in a floor, boxing, partitions, or the like.

5. (Mining.) (a) A cavity in a rock containing a nugget of gold, or other mineral; a small body of ore contained in such a cavity. (b) A hole containing water.

6. (Nat.) A strip of canvas, sewn upon a sail so that a batten or a light spar can placed in the interspace.

7. (Zoˆl.) Same as Pouch.

Pocket is often used adjectively, or in the formation of compound words usually of obvious signification; as, pocket comb, pocket compass, pocket edition, pocket handkerchief, pocket money, pocket picking, or pocket-picking, etc.

Out of pocket. See under Out, prep. -- Pocket borough, a borough "owned" by some person. See under Borough. [Eng.] -- Pocket gopher (Zoˆl.), any one of several species of American rodents of the genera Geomys, and Thomomys, family GeomydÊ. They have large external cheek pouches, and are fossorial in their habits. they inhabit North America, from the Mississippi Valley west to the Pacific. Called also pouched gopher. -- Pocket mouse (Zoˆl.), any species of American mice of the family SaccomyidÊ. They have external cheek pouches. Some of them are adapted for leaping (genus Dipadomys), and are called kangaroo mice. They are native of the Southwestern United States, Mexico, etc. -- Pocket piece, a piece of money kept in the pocket and not spent. -- Pocket pistol, a pistol to be carried in the pocket. -- Pocket sheriff (Eng. Law), a sheriff appointed by the sole authority of the crown, without a nomination by the judges in the exchequer. Burrill.

Pock"et (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pocketed; p. pr. & vb. n. Pocketing.] 1. To put, or conceal, in the pocket; as, to pocket the change.

He would pocket the expense of the license.

Sterne.

2. To take clandestinely or fraudulently.

He pocketed pay in the names of men who had long been dead.

Macaulay.

To pocket a ball (Billiards), to drive a ball into a pocket of the table. -- To pocket an insult, affront, etc., to receive an affront without open resentment, or without seeking redress. "I must pocket up these wrongs." Shak.

Pock"et*book` (?), n. A small book or case for carrying papers, money, etc., in the pocket; also, a notebook for the pocket.

Pock"et*ful (?), n.; pl. Pocketfuls (&?;). As much as a pocket will hold; enough to fill a pocket; as, pocketfuls of chestnuts.

Pock"et*knife` (?), n.; pl. -knives (&?;). A knife with one or more blades, which fold into the handle so as to admit of being carried in the pocket.

Pock"-fret`ten (?), a. See Pockmarked.

Pock"i*ness (?), n. The state of being pocky.

Pock"mark (?), n. A mark or pit made by smallpox.

Pock"marked` (?), a. Marked by smallpox; pitted.

Pock"-pit`ted (?), a. Pockmarked; pitted.

Pock"-pud`ding (?), n. A bag pudding; a name of reproach or ridicule formerly applied by the Scotch to the English.

Pock"wood` (?), n. [So called because formerly used as a specific for the pock.] (Bot.) Lignum- vitÊ.

Pock"y (?), a. [Compar. Pockier (?); superl. Pockiest.] Full of pocks; affected with smallpox or other eruptive disease. Bp. Hall.

||Po"co (?), adv. [It.] (Mus.) A little; -- used chiefly in phrases ||indicating the time or movement; as, poco pi˘ allegro, a little ||faster; poco largo, rather slow.

||Poco a poco [It.] (Mus.) Little by little; as, poco a poco crescendo, ||gradually increasing in loudness.

Po"cock (?), n. Peacock. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Po`co*cu*ran"te (?), n. [It. poco curante caring little.] A careless person; a trifler. [R.]

Po`co*cu*ran"tism (?). n. Carelessness; apathy; indifference. [R.] Carlyle.

Po*co"son (?), n. Low, wooded grounds or swamps in Eastern Maryland and Virginia. [Written also poquoson.] Washington.

Poc"u*lent (?), a. [L. poculentus, fr. poculum a cup.] Fit for drink. [Obs.] "Some those herbs which are not esculent, are . . . poculent." Bacon.

Poc"u*li*form (?), a. [L. poculum a cup + -form: cf. F. poculiforme.] Having the shape of a goblet or drinking cup.

-pod (?). [See Foot.] A combining form or suffix from Gr. poy`s, podo`s, foot; as, decapod, an animal having ten feet; phyllopod, an animal having leaflike feet; myriapod, hexapod.

Pod (?), n. [Probably akin to pudding, and perhaps the same word as pad a cushion; cf. also Dan. pude pillow, cushion, and also E. cod a husk, pod.] 1. A bag; a pouch. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Tusser.

2. (Bot.) A capsule of plant, especially a legume; a dry dehiscent fruit. See Illust. of Angiospermous.

3. (Zoˆl.) A considerable number of animals closely clustered together; -- said of seals.

Pod auger, or pod bit, an auger or bit the channel of which is straight instead of twisted.

Pod, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Podded; p. pr. & vb. n. Podding.] To swell; to fill; also, to produce pods.