Chapter 51

Thus he grew up, in logic point-devise, Perfect in grammar, and in rhetoric nice.

Longfellow.

{ Point`-de*vice", Point`-de*vise", } adv. Exactly. [Obs.] Shak.

Point"ed (?), a. 1. Sharp; having a sharp point; as, a pointed rock.

2. Characterized by sharpness, directness, or pithiness of expression; terse; epigrammatic; especially, directed to a particular person or thing.

His moral pleases, not his pointed wit.

Pope.

Pointed arch (Arch.), an arch with a pointed crown. -- Pointed style (Arch.), a name given to that style of architecture in which the pointed arch is the predominant feature; -- more commonly called Gothic.

-- Point"ed*ly, adv. -- Point"ed*ness, n.

Point"el (?), n. [From Point. Cf. Pointal.] See Pointal.

Point"er (?), n. One who, or that which, points. Specifically: (a) The hand of a timepiece. (b) (Zoˆl.) One of a breed of dogs trained to stop at scent of game, and with the nose point it out to sportsmen. (c) pl. (Astron.) The two stars (Merak and Dubhe) in the Great Bear, the line between which points nearly in the direction of the north star. See Illust. of Ursa Major. (b) pl. (Naut.) Diagonal braces sometimes fixed across the hold.

Point"ing, n. 1. The act of sharpening.

2. The act of designating, as a position or direction, by means of something pointed, as a finger or a rod.

3. The act or art of punctuating; punctuation.

4. The act of filling and finishing the joints in masonry with mortar, cement, etc.; also, the material so used.

5. The rubbing off of the point of the wheat grain in the first process of high milling.

6. (Sculpt.) The act or process of measuring, at the various distances from the surface of a block of marble, the surface of a future piece of statuary; also, a process used in cutting the statue from the artist's model.

Point`ing*stock` (?), n. An object of ridicule or scorn; a laughingstock. Shak.

Point"less, a. Having no point; blunt; wanting keenness; obtuse; as, a pointless sword; a pointless remark.

Syn. -- Blunt; obtuse, dull; stupid.

Point"less*ly, adv. Without point.

Point"let*ed (?), a. (Bot.) Having a small, distinct point; apiculate. Henslow.

Poin"trel (?), n. A graving tool. Knight.

Points"man (?), n.; pl. - men (-men). A man who has charge of railroad points or switches. [Eng.]

Poise (?), n. [OE. pois, peis, OF. pois, peis, F. poids, fr. L. pensum a portion weighed out, pendere to weigh, weigh out. Cf. Avoirdupois, Pendant, Poise, v.] [Formerly written also peise.] 1. Weight; gravity; that which causes a body to descend; heaviness. "Weights of an extraordinary poise." Evelyn.

2. The weight, or mass of metal, used in weighing, to balance the substance weighed.

3. The state of being balanced by equal weight or power; equipoise; balance; equilibrium; rest. Bentley.

4. That which causes a balance; a counterweight.

Men of unbounded imagination often want the poise of judgment.

Dryden.

Poise (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poised, (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Poising.] [OE. poisen, peisen, OF. & F. peser, to weigh, balance, OF. il peise, il poise, he weighs, F. il pËse, fr. L. pensare, v. intens. fr. pendere to weigh. See Poise, n., and cf. Pensive.] [Formerly written also peise.] 1. To balance; to make of equal weight; as, to poise the scales of a balance.

2. To hold or place in equilibrium or equiponderance.

Nor yet was earth suspended in the sky; Nor poised, did on her own foundation lie.

Dryden.

3. To counterpoise; to counterbalance.

One scale of reason to poise another of sensuality.

Shak.

To poise with solid sense a sprightly wit.

Dryden.

4. To ascertain, as by the balance; to weigh.

He can not sincerely consider the strength, poise the weight, and discern the evidence.

South.

5. To weigh (down); to oppress. [Obs.]

Lest leaden slumber peise me down to- morrow.

Shak.

Poise, v. i. To hang in equilibrium; to be balanced or suspended; hence, to be in suspense or doubt.

The slender, graceful spars Poise aloft in air.

Longfellow.

Pois"er (?), n. (Zoˆl.) The balancer of dipterous insects.

Poi"son (?), n. [F. poison, in Old French also, a potion, fr. L. potio a drink, draught, potion, a poisonous draught, fr. potare to drink. See Potable, and cf. Potion.] 1. Any agent which, when introduced into the animal organism, is capable of producing a morbid, noxious, or deadly effect upon it; as, morphine is a deadly poison; the poison of pestilential diseases.

2. That which taints or destroys moral purity or health; as, the poison of evil example; the poison of sin.

Poison ash. (Bot.) (a) A tree of the genus Amyris (A. balsamifera) found in the West Indies, from the trunk of which a black liquor distills, supposed to have poisonous qualities. (b) The poison sumac (Rhus venenata). [U. S.] -- Poison dogwood (Bot.), poison sumac. -- Poison fang (Zoˆl.), one of the superior maxillary teeth of some species of serpents, which, besides having the cavity for the pulp, is either perforated or grooved by a longitudinal canal, at the lower end of which the duct of the poison gland terminates. See Illust. under Fang. -- Poison gland (Biol.), a gland, in animals or plants, which secretes an acrid or venomous matter, that is conveyed along an organ capable of inflicting a wound. -- Poison hemlock (Bot.), a poisonous umbelliferous plant (Conium maculatum). See Hemlock. -- Poison ivy (Bot.), a poisonous climbing plant (Rhus Toxicodendron) of North America. It is common on stone walls and on the trunks of trees, and has trifoliate, rhombic-ovate, variously notched leaves. Many people are poisoned by it, if they touch the leaves. See Poison sumac. Called also poison oak, and mercury. -- Poison nut. (Bot.) (a) Nux vomica. (b) The tree which yields this seed (Strychnos Nuxvomica). It is found on the Malabar and Coromandel coasts. -- Poison oak (Bot.), the poison ivy; also, the more shrubby Rhus diversiloba of California and Oregon. -- Poison sac. (Zoˆl.) Same as Poison gland, above. See Illust. under Fang. -- Poison sumac (Bot.), a poisonous shrub of the genus Rhus (R. venenata); -- also called poison ash, poison dogwood, and poison elder. It has pinnate leaves on graceful and slender common petioles, and usually grows in swampy places. Both this plant and the poison ivy (Rhus Toxicodendron) have clusters of smooth greenish white berries, while the red-fruited species of this genus are harmless. The tree (Rhus vernicifera) which yields the celebrated Japan lacquer is almost identical with the poison sumac, and is also very poisonous. The juice of the poison sumac also forms a lacquer similar to that of Japan.

Syn. -- Venom; virus; bane; pest; malignity. -- Poison, Venom. Poison usually denotes something received into the system by the mouth, breath, etc. Venom is something discharged from animals and received by means of a wound, as by the bite or sting of serpents, scorpions, etc. Hence, venom specifically implies some malignity of nature or purpose.

Poi"son, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poisoned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Poisoning.] [Cf. OF. poisonner, F. empoissoner, L. potionare to give to drink. See Poison, n.]

1. To put poison upon or into; to infect with poison; as, to poison an arrow; to poison food or drink. "The ingredients of our poisoned chalice." Shak.

2. To injure or kill by poison; to administer poison to.

If you poison us, do we not die ?

Shak.

3. To taint; to corrupt; to vitiate; as, vice poisons happiness; slander poisoned his mind.

Whispering tongues can poison truth.

Coleridge.

Poi"son, v. i. To act as, or convey, a poison.

Tooth that poisons if it bite.

Shak.

Poi"son*a*ble (?), a. 1. Capable of poisoning; poisonous. [Obs.] "Poisonable heresies." Tooker.

2. Capable of being poisoned.

Poi"son*er (?), n. One who poisons. Shak.

Poi"son*ous (?), a. Having the qualities or effects of poison; venomous; baneful; corrupting; noxious. Shak. -- Poi"son*ous*ly, adv. -- Poi"son*ous*ness, n.

Poi"son*some (?), a. Poisonous.[Obs.] Holland.

Poi"sure (?), n. [See Poise.] Weight. [Obs.]

Poi"trel (?), n. [OE. poitrel, F. poitrail, fr. L. pectorale a breastplate, fr. pectoralis, a. See Pectoral, a.] (Anc. Armor) The breastplate of the armor of a horse. See Peytrel. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Poize (?), n. See Poise. [Obs.]

Po*kal" (?), n. [G.] A tall drinking cup.

Poke (?), n. (Bot.) A large North American herb of the genus Phytolacca (P. decandra), bearing dark purple juicy berries; -- called also garget, pigeon berry, pocan, and pokeweed. The root and berries have emetic and purgative properties, and are used in medicine. The young shoots are sometimes eaten as a substitute for asparagus, and the berries are said to be used in Europe to color wine.

Poke, n. [AS. poca, poha, pohha; akin to Icel. poki, OD. poke, and perh. to E. pock; cf. also Gael. poca, and OF. poque. Cf. Pock, Pocket, Pouch.] 1. A bag; a sack; a pocket. "He drew a dial from his poke." Shak.

They wallowed as pigs in a poke.

Chaucer.

2. A long, wide sleeve; -- called also poke sleeve.

To boy a pig a poke (that is, in a bag), to buy a thing without knowledge or examination of it. Camden.

Poke, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Poking.] [Cf. LG. poken to prick, pierce, thrust, pok a dagger, knife, D. pook, G. pocken to beat, also Ir. poc a blow, Gael. puc to push.] 1. To thrust or push against or into with anything pointed; hence, to stir up; to excite; as, to poke a fire.

He poked John, and said "Sleepest thou ?"

Chaucer.

2. To thrust with the horns; to gore.

3. [From 5th Poke, 3.] To put a poke on; as, to poke an ox. [Colloq. U. S.]

To poke fun, to excite fun; to joke; to jest. [Colloq.] -- To poke fun at, to make a butt of; to ridicule. [Colloq.]

Poke, v. i. To search; to feel one's way, as in the dark; to grope; as, to poke about.

A man must have poked into Latin and Greek.

Prior.

Poke, n. 1. The act of poking; a thrust; a jog; as, a poke in the ribs. Ld. Lytton.

2. A lazy person; a dawdler; also, a stupid or uninteresting person. [Slang, U.S.] Bartlett.

3. A contrivance to prevent an animal from leaping or breaking through fences. It consists of a yoke with a pole inserted, pointed forward. [U.S.]

Poke bonnet, a bonnet with a straight, projecting front.

Poke"bag` (?), n. [So called in allusion to its baglike nest.] (Zoˆl.) The European long- tailed titmouse; -- called also poke-pudding. [Prov. Eng.]

Pok"er (?), n. [From Poke to push.] 1. One who pokes.

2. That which pokes or is used in poking, especially a metal bar or rod used in stirring a fire of coals.

3. A poking-stick. Decker.

4. (Zoˆl.) The poachard. [Prov. Eng.]

Poker picture, a picture formed in imitation of bisterwashed drawings, by singeing the surface of wood with a heated poker or other iron. Fairholt.

Pok"er, n. [Of uncertain etymol.] A game at cards derived from brag, and first played about 1835 in the Southwestern United States. Johnson's Cyc.

Pok"er, n. [Cf. Dan. pokker the deuce, devil, also W. pwci, a hobgoblin, bugbear, and E. puck.] Any imagined frightful object, especially one supposed to haunt the darkness; a bugbear. [Colloq. U. S.]

Pok"er*ish, a. Infested by pokers; adapted to excite fear; as, a pokerish place. [Colloq. U. S.]

There is something pokerish about a deserted dwelling.

Lowell.

Pok"er*ish, a. Stiff like a poker. [Colloq.]

Pok"et (?), n. A pocket. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Poke"weed` (?), n. (Bot.) See Poke, the plant.

Pok"ey (?), a. See Poky.

Pok"ing (?), a. Drudging; servile. [Colloq.]

Bred to some poking profession.

Gray.

Pok"ing-stick` (?), n. A small stick or rod of steel, formerly used in adjusting the plaits of ruffs. Shak.

Pok"y (?), a. [Written also pokey.] 1. Confined; cramped. [Prov. Eng.]

2. Dull; tedious; uninteresting. [Colloq.]

Po*lac"ca (?), n. [It. polacca, polaccra, polacra; cf. F. polaque, polacre, Sp. polacre,] [Written also polacre.] 1. (Naut.) A vessel with two or three masts, used in the Mediterranean. The masts are usually of one piece, and without tops, caps, or crosstrees.

2. (Mus.) See Polonaise.

Po"lack (?), n. A Polander. Shak.

Po*la"cre (?), n. Same as Polacca, 1.

Po"land*er (?), n. A native or inhabitant of Poland; a Pole.

Po"lar (?), a. [Cf. F. polaire. See Pole of the earth.] 1. Of or pertaining to one of the poles of the earth, or of a sphere; situated near, or proceeding from, one of the poles; as, polar regions; polar seas; polar winds.

2. Of or pertaining to the magnetic pole, or to the point to which the magnetic needle is directed.

3. (Geom.) Pertaining to, reckoned from, or having a common radiating point; as, polar coˆrdinates.

Polar axis, that axis of an astronomical instrument, as an equatorial, which is parallel to the earths axis. -- Polar bear (Zoˆl.), a large bear (Ursus, or Thalarctos, maritimus) inhabiting the arctic regions. It sometimes measures nearly nine feet in length and weighs 1,600 pounds. It is partially amphibious, very powerful, and the most carnivorous of all the bears. The fur is white, tinged with yellow. Called also White bear. See Bear. -- Polar body, cell, or globule (Biol.), a minute cell which separates by karyokinesis from the ovum during its maturation. In the maturation of ordinary ova two polar bodies are formed, but in parthogenetic ova only one. The first polar body formed is usually larger than the second one, and often divides into two after its separation from the ovum. Each of the polar bodies removes maternal chromatin from the ovum to make room for the chromatin of the fertilizing spermatozoˆn; but their functions are not fully understood. -- Polar circles (Astron. & Geog.), two circles, each at a distance from a pole of the earth equal to the obliquity of the ecliptic, or about 23∞ 28′, the northern called the arctic circle, and the southern the antarctic circle. -- Polar clock, a tube, containing a polarizing apparatus, turning on an axis parallel to that of the earth, and indicating the hour of the day on an hour circle, by being turned toward the plane of maximum polarization of the light of the sky, which is always 90∞ from the sun. -- Polar coˆrdinates. See under 3d Coˆrdinate. -- Polar dial, a dial whose plane is parallel to a great circle passing through the poles of the earth. Math. Dict. -- Polar distance, the angular distance of any point on a sphere from one of its poles, particularly of a heavenly body from the north pole of the heavens. -- Polar equation of a line or surface, an equation which expresses the relation between the polar coˆrdinates of every point of the line or surface. -- Polar forces (Physics), forces that are developed and act in pairs, with opposite tendencies or properties in the two elements, as magnetism, electricity, etc. -- Polar hare (Zoˆl.), a large hare of Arctic America (Lepus arcticus), which turns pure white in winter. It is probably a variety of the common European hare (L. timidus). -- Polar lights, the aurora borealis or australis. -- Polar, or Polaric, opposition or contrast (Logic), an opposition or contrast made by the existence of two opposite conceptions which are the extremes in a species, as white and black in colors; hence, as great an opposition or contrast as possible. -- Polar projection. See under Projection. -- Polar spherical triangle (Spherics), a spherical triangle whose three angular points are poles of the sides of a given triangle. See 4th Pole, 2. -- Polar whale (Zoˆl.), the right whale, or bowhead. See Whale.

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Po"lar (?), n. (Conic Sections) The right line drawn through the two points of contact of the two tangents drawn from a given point to a given conic section. The given point is called the pole of the line. If the given point lies within the curve so that the two tangents become imaginary, there is still a real polar line which does not meet the curve, but which possesses other properties of the polar. Thus the focus and directrix are pole and polar. There are also poles and polar curves to curves of higher degree than the second, and poles and polar planes to surfaces of the second degree.

Pol"ar*chy (?), n. See Polyarchy.

Po*lar"ic (?), a. See Polar. [R.]

Po"lar*i*ly (?), adv. In a polary manner; with polarity. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

Po`lar*im"e*ter (?), n. [Polar + -meter.] (Opt.) An instrument for determining the amount of polarization of light, or the proportion of polarized light, in a partially polarized ray.

Po`lar*im"e*try (?), n. (Opt.) The art or process of measuring the polarization of light.

||Po*la"ris (?), n. [NL. See Polar.] (Astron.) The polestar. See North ||star, under North.

Po*lar"i*scope (?), n. [Polar + -scope.] (Opt.) An instrument consisting essentially of a polarizer and an analyzer, used for polarizing light, and analyzing its properties.

Po*lar`i*scop"ic (?), a. (Opt.) Of or pertaining to the polariscope; obtained by the use of a polariscope; as, polariscopic observations.

Po`lar*is"co*py (?), n. (Opt.) The art or rocess of making observations with the polariscope.

Po`lar*is"tic (?), a. Pertaining to, or exhibiting, poles; having a polar arrangement or disposition; arising from, or dependent upon, the possession of poles or polar characteristics; as, polaristic antagonism.

Po*lar"i*ty (?), n. [Cf. F. polaritÈ.] 1. (Physics) That quality or condition of a body in virtue of which it exhibits opposite, or contrasted, properties or powers, in opposite, or contrasted, parts or directions; or a condition giving rise to a contrast of properties corresponding to a contrast of positions, as, for example, attraction and repulsion in the opposite parts of a magnet, the dissimilar phenomena corresponding to the different sides of a polarized ray of light, etc.

2. (Geom.) A property of the conic sections by virtue of which a given point determines a corresponding right line and a given right line determines a corresponding point. See Polar, n.

Po"lar*i`za*ble (?), a. Susceptible of polarization.

Po`lar*i*za"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. polarisation.]

1. The act of polarizing; the state of being polarized, or of having polarity.

2. (Opt.) A peculiar affection or condition of the rays of light or heat, in consequence of which they exhibit different properties in different directions.

If a beam of light, which has been reflected from a plate of unsilvered glass at an angle of about 56∞, be received upon a second plate of glass similar to the former, and at the same angle of incidence, the light will be readily reflected when the two planes of incidence are parallel to each other, but will not be reflected when the two planes of incidence are perpendicular to each other. The light has, therefore, acquired new properties by reflection from the first plate of glass, and is called polarized light, while the modification which the light has experienced by this reflection is called polarization. The plane in which the beam of light is reflected from the first mirror is called the plane of polarization. The angle of polarization is the angle at which a beam of light must be reflected, in order that the polarization may be the most complete. The term polarization was derived from the theory of emission, and it was conceived that each luminous molecule has two poles analogous to the poles of a magnet; but this view is not now held. According to the undulatory theory, ordinary light is produced by vibrations transverse or perpendicular to the direction of the ray, and distributed as to show no distinction as to any particular direction. But when, by any means, these, vibrations are made to take place in one plane, the light is said to be plane polarized. If only a portion of the vibrations lie in one plane the ray is said to be partially polarized. Light may be polarized by several methods other than by reflection, as by refraction through most crystalline media, or by being transmitted obliquely through several plates of glass with parallel faces. If a beam of polarized light be transmitted through a crystal of quartz in the direction of its axis, the plane of polarization will be changed by an angle proportional to the thickness of the crystal. This phenomenon is called rotatory polarization. A beam of light reflected from a metallic surface, or from glass surfaces under certain peculiar conditions, acquires properties still more complex, its vibrations being no longer rectilinear, but circular, or elliptical. This phenomenon is called circular or elliptical polarization.

3. (Elec.) An effect produced upon the plates of a voltaic battery, or the electrodes in an electrolytic cell, by the deposition upon them of the gases liberated by the action of the current. It is chiefly due to the hydrogen, and results in an increase of the resistance, and the setting up of an opposing electro- motive force, both of which tend materially to weaken the current of the battery, or that passing through the cell.

Po"lar*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Polarized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Polarizing (?).] [Cf. F. polariser.] To communicate polarity to.

Po"lar*i`zer (?), n. (Physics) That which polarizes; especially, the part of a polariscope which receives and polarizes the light. It is usually a reflecting plate, or a plate of some crystal, as tourmaline, or a doubly refracting crystal.

Po"lar*y (?), a. Tending to a pole; having a direction toward a pole. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

||Po`la`touche" (?), n. [F.] (Zoˆl.) A flying squirrel (Sciuropterus ||volans) native of Northern Europe and Siberia; -- called also minene.

Pol"der (?), n. [D.] A tract of low land reclaimed from the sea by of high embankments. [Holland & Belgium]

Pold"way` (?), n. [Cf. Poledavy.] A kind of coarse bagging, -- used for coal sacks. Weale.

Pole (?), n. [Cf. G. Pole a Pole, Polen Poland.] A native or inhabitant of Poland; a Polander.

Pole, n. [As. pl, L. palus, akin to pangere to make fast. Cf. Pale a stake, Pact.] 1. A long, slender piece of wood; a tall, slender piece of timber; the stem of a small tree whose branches have been removed; as, specifically: (a) A carriage pole, a wooden bar extending from the front axle of a carriage between the wheel horses, by which the carriage is guided and held back. (b) A flag pole, a pole on which a flag is supported. (c) A Maypole. See Maypole. (d) A barber's pole, a pole painted in stripes, used as a sign by barbers and hairdressers. (e) A pole on which climbing beans, hops, or other vines, are trained.

2. A measuring stick; also, a measure of length equal to 5&?; yards, or a square measure equal to 30&?; square yards; a rod; a perch. Bacon.

Pole bean (Bot.), any kind of bean which is customarily trained on poles, as the scarlet runner or the Lima bean. -- Pole flounder (Zoˆl.), a large deep-water flounder (Glyptocephalus cynoglossus), native of the northern coasts of Europe and America, and much esteemed as a food fish; -- called also craig flounder, and pole fluke. -- Pole lathe, a simple form of lathe, or a substitute for a lathe, in which the work is turned by means of a cord passing around it, one end being fastened to the treadle, and the other to an elastic pole above. -- Pole mast (Naut.), a mast formed from a single piece or from a single tree. -- Pole of a lens (Opt.), the point where the principal axis meets the surface. -- Pole plate (Arch.), a horizontal timber resting on the tiebeams of a roof and receiving the ends of the rafters. It differs from the plate in not resting on the wall.

Pole, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Poling.] 1. To furnish with poles for support; as, to pole beans or hops.

2. To convey on poles; as, to pole hay into a barn.

3. To impel by a pole or poles, as a boat.

4. To stir, as molten glass, with a pole.

Pole, n. [L. polus, Gr. &?; a pivot or hinge on which anything turns, an axis, a pole; akin to &?; to move: cf. F. pÙle.] 1. Either extremity of an axis of a sphere; especially, one of the extremities of the earth's axis; as, the north pole.