Chapter 36

||Plank"ton (plk"tn), n. [NL., fr. Gr. plagto`n, neut. of plagto`s wandering, pla`zesqai to wander.] (Biol.) All the animals and plants, taken collectively, which live at or near the surface of salt or fresh waters. -- Plank*ton"ic (#), a.

Plan"o*ga*mete` (?), n. [Gr. &?; wandering + E. gamete.] (Bot.) One of the motile ciliated gametes, or zoögametes, found in isogamous plants, as many green algæ (Chlorophyceæ).

||Pla`quette" (?), n. [F., dim. of plaque plate, plaque. See Plaque.] A small plaque, esp., in modern medal engraving, a small and delicate bas-relief, whether cast or struck from a die, or of form other than circular.

Plas"mon (?), n. [Cf. Plasma.] A flourlike food preparation made from skim milk, and consisting essentially of the unaltered proteid of milk. It is also used in making biscuits and crackers, for mixing with cocoa, etc. A mixture of this with butter, water, and salt is called Plasmon butter, and resembles clotted cream in appearance.

Plate (?), n. 1. (Baseball) A small five-sided area (enveloping a diamond- shaped area one foot square) beside which the batter stands and which must be touched by some part of a player on completing a run; -- called also home base, or home plate.

2. One of the thin parts of the bricket of an animal.

3. A very light steel racing horsehoe.

4. Loosely, a sporting contest for a prize; specif., in horse racing, a race for a prize, the contestants not making a stake.

5. Skins for fur linings of garments, sewed together and roughly shaped, but not finally cut or fitted. [Furrier's Cant]

6. (Hat Making) The fine nap (as of beaver, hare's wool, musquash, nutria, or English black wool) on a hat the body of which is of an inferior substance.

Plat"er (?), n. (Horse Racing) A horse that runs chiefly in plate, esp. selling-plate, races; hence, an inferior race horse.

Play, v. t. -- To play hob, to play the part of a mischievous spirit; to work mischief.

||Plebs (plbz), n. [L. Cf. Plebe.] 1. The commonalty of ancient Rome who were citizens without the usual political rights; the plebeians; - - distinguished from the patricians.

2. Hence, the common people; the populace; -- construed as a pl.

||Ple"num, n. (Ventilation) A condition, as in an occupied room, in which the pressure of the air is greater than that of the outside atmosphere; as, a plenum may exist in a hall ventilated by a fan blower.

Plex"us (?), n. A network; an intricate or interwoven combination of elements or parts in a coherent structure.

In the perception of a tree the reference to an object is circumscribed and directed by a plexus of visual and other presentations.

G. F. Stout.

Plop (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Plopped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Plopping.] [Imitative.] To fall, drop, or move in any way, with a sudden splash or slap, as on the surface of water.

The body plopped up, turning on its side.

Kipling.

Plop, n. Act of plopping; the sound made in plopping.

Plout"er (?), v. i. [Also plowter, plotter.] [Perh. imitative.] To wade or move about with splashing; to dabble; also, to potter; trifle; idle. [Scot. & Dial. Eng.]

I did not want to plowter about any more.

Kipling.

Plout"er, n. [Also plowter.] Act of ploutering; floundering; act or sound of splashing. [Scot. & Dial.Eng.]

Plück"er tube (?). [So named after Julius Plücker, a German physicist.] (Physics) (a) A vacuum tube, used in spectrum analysis, in which the part through which the discharge takes place is a capillary tube, thus producing intense incandescence of the contained gases. (b) Crookes tube.

Plug, n. -- Breech plug (Gun.), in breech-loading guns, the metal plug or cylinder which closes the aperture in the breech, through which the gun is loaded.

Plug board. (Elec.) A switchboard in which connections are made by means of plugs.

Plum, n. Something likened to a plum in desirableness; a good or choice thing of its kind, as among appointments, positions, parts of a book, etc.

Plum"cot (?), n. [Plum + apricot.] (Hort.) A cross between the plum and apricot.

Plump (?), a. Done or made plump, or suddenly and without reservation; blunt; unreserved; direct; downright.

After the plump statement that the author was at Erceldoune and spake with Thomas.

Saintsbury.

Plunk (?), v. t. [Imitative.] [Chiefly Colloq.] 1. To pluck and release quickly (a musical string); to twang.

2. To throw, push, drive heavily, plumply, or suddenly; as, to plunk down a dollar; also, to hit or strike.

3. To be a truant from (school). [Scot.]

Plunk, v. i. [Chiefly Colloq.] 1. To make a quick, hollow, metallic, or harsh sound, as by pulling hard on a taut string and quickly releasing it; of a raven, to croak.

2. To drop or sink down suddenly or heavily; to plump.

3. To play truant, or "hooky". [Scot.]

Plunk, n. 1. Act or sound of plunking. [Colloq.]

2. [Slang] (a) A large sum of money. [Obs.] (b) A dollar. [U. S.]

Plu"vi*o*graph (?), n. [L. pluvia rain + -graph.] A self-registering rain gauge.

Plu`vi*og"ra*phy (?), n. [L. pluvia rain + -graphy.] The branch of meteorology treating of the automatic registration of the precipitation of rain, snow, etc.; also, the graphic presentation of precipitation data.

Plu`vi*om"e*try (?), n. [L. pluvia rain + -metry.] That department of meteorology that treats of the measurement of the precipitation of rain, snow, etc.

Plu"vi*o*scope (?), n. [L. pluvia rain + -scope.] A rain gauge.

Pneu*mat"ic (?), n. A vehicle, as a bicycle, the wheels of which are fitted with pneumatic tires.

{ Pneu*mat"ic, Pneu*mat"ic*al }, a. Adapted for containing compressed air; inflated with air; as, a pneumatic cushion; a pneumatic tire, a tire formed of an annular tube of flexible fabric, as India rubber, suitable for being inflated with air.

Pock"et (?), n. Any hollow place suggestive of a pocket in form or use; specif.: (a) A bin for storing coal, grain, etc. (b) A socket for receiving the foot of a post, stake, etc. (c) A bight on a lee shore.

Pocket veto. The retention by the President of the United States of a bill unsigned so that it does not become a law, in virtue of the following constitutional provision (Const. Art. I., sec. 7, cl. 2): "If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law." Also, an analogous retention of a bill by a State governor.

Po"ets' Cor"ner (?). An angle in the south transept of Westminster Abbey, London; -- so called because it contains the tombs of Chaucer, Spenser, Dryden, Ben Jonson, Gray, Tennyson, Browning, and other English poets, and memorials to many buried elsewhere.

Pog`a*mog"gan (?), n. [North Amer. Indian.] An aboriginal weapon consisting of a stone or piece of antler fastened to the end of a slender wooden handle, used by American Indians from the Great Plains to the Mackenzie River.

Point, n. 1. (Med.) A pointed piece of quill or bone covered at one end with vaccine matter; -- called also vaccine point.

2. One of the raised dots used in certain systems of printing and writing for the blind. The first practical system was that devised by Louis Braille in 1829, and still used in Europe (see Braille). Two modifications of this are current in the United States: New York point founded on three bases of equidistant points arranged in two lines (viz., : :: :::), and a later improvement, American Braille, embodying the Braille base (:::) and the New-York-point principle of using the characters of few points for the commonest letters.

3. In technical senses: (a) In various games, a position of a certain player, or, by extension, the player himself; as: (1) (Lacrosse & Ice Hockey) The position of the player of each side who stands a short distance in front of the goal keeper; also, the player himself. (2) (Baseball) (pl.) The position of the pitcher and catcher. (b) (Hunting) A spot to which a straight run is made; hence, a straight run from point to point; a cross-country run. [Colloq. Oxf. E. D.] (c) (Falconry) The perpendicular rising of a hawk over the place where its prey has gone into cover. (d) Act of pointing, as of the foot downward in certain dance positions.

Point alphabet. An alphabet for the blind with a system of raised points corresponding to letters.

Point appliqué. Lace having a needle-made design applied to a net ground, this ground often being machine- made.

Point switch. (Railroads) A switch made up of a rail from each track, both rails being tapered far back and connected to throw alongside the through rail of either track.

Poison bush. In Australia: (a) Any fabaceous shrub of the genus Gastrolobium, the herbage of which is poisonous to stock; also, any species of several related genera, as Oxylobium, Gompholobium, etc. (b) The plant Myoporum deserti, often distinguished as Ellangowan poison bush or dogwood poison bush. (c) The ulmaceous plant Trema cannabina, which, though not poisonous, is injurious to stock because of its large amount of fiber.

Poison cup. 1. A cup containing poison.

2. A cup that was supposed to break on having poison put into it.

Poker dice. A game played with five dice in which the count is usually made, in order, by pairs, two pairs, three of a kind, full houses, four of a kind, and five of a kind (the highest throw), similar to poker; also, the dice used in this game, esp. when marked with the ace, king, queen, jack, ten, and nine instead of the usual digits.

Police power. (Law) The inherent power of a government to regulate its police affairs. The term police power is not definitely fixed in meaning. In the earlier cases in the United States it was used as including the whole power of internal government, or the powers of government inherent in every sovereignty to the extent of its dominions (11 Peters (U. S.) 102). The later cases have excepted from its domain the development and administration of private law. Modern political science defines the power as a branch of internal administration in the exercise of which the executive should move within the lines of general principles prescribed by the constitution or the legislature, and in the exercise of which the most local governmental organizations should participate as far as possible (Burgess). Under this limitation the police power, as affecting persons, is the power of the state to protect the public against the abuse of individual liberty, that is, to restrain the individual in the exercise of his rights when such exercise becomes a danger to the community. The tendency of judicial and popular usage is towards this narrower definition.

||Po`lis`soir" (?), n. [F.] 1. A polishing or grinding implement or instrument.

2. (Glass Making) A tool consisting of a flat wooden block with a long iron handle, used for flattening out split cylinders of blown glass.

Po"lo, n. A game similar to hockey played by swimmers.

Po"lo (?), n. [Sp., an air or popular song in Andalucia.] A Spanish gypsy dance characterized by energetic movements of the body while the feet merely shuffle or glide, with unison singing and rhythmic clapping of hands.

Po*lo"ni*um (?), n. [NL. So named after Poland, in L. form Polonia, one of the discoverers being a Pole.] (Chem.) A supposed new element, a radioactive substance discovered by M. and MMe. Curie in pitchblende. It is closely related chemically to bismuth. It emits only alpha rays and is perhaps identical with radium F.

Pol"y*phase (?), a. [Poly- + phase.] (Elec.) Having or producing two or more phases; multiphase; as, a polyphase machine, a machine producing two or more pressure waves of electro-motive force, differing in phase; a polyphase current.

Pol"y*phas`er (?), n. (Elec.) A machine generating more than one pressure wave; a multiphaser.

{ Pol`y*pho"tal (?), Pol"y*phote (?) }, a. [Poly- + Gr. &?;, &?;, light.] (Elec.) Pertaining to or designating arc lamps so constructed that more than one can be used on a single circuit.

Pol"y*type (?), n. [Poly- + - type: cf. F. polytype, a.] (Print.) A cast, or facsimile copy, of an engraved block, matter in type, etc. -- Pol"y*type, a.

Pol"y*type, v. t. [imp. & p. p. -typed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. - typing (?).] (Print.) To produce a polytype of; as, to polytype an engraving.

Po"mi*cul`ture (?), n. [L. pomum fruit + cultura culture.] (Hort.) The culture of fruit; pomology as an art.

Pom*pe"ian (?), a. [L. Pompeianus.] Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of, Pompeii, an ancient city of Italy, buried by an eruption of Vesuvius in 79 a. d., and partly uncovered by modern excavations.

Pompeian red. (Art) A brownish red approaching maroon, supposed to be imitated from the color of the wall panels of houses in Pompeii, which were decorated during the last age of the Republic.

Pom"-pom` (?), n. [Imitative.] A Vickers-Maxim one-pounder automatic machine cannon using metallic ammunition fed from a lopped belt attached to the gun; -- popularly so called from its peculiar drumming sound in action. Sometimes, any of other similar automatic cannons.

Pom"pon (?), n. (a) A hardy garden chrysanthemum having buttonlike heads of flowers. (b) Any of several dwarf varieties of the Provence rose.

Ponce"let (?), n. [After Jean Victor Poncelet, French engineer.] (Physics) A unit of power, being the power obtained from an expenditure of one hundred kilogram-meters of energy per second. One poncelet equals g watts, when g is the value of the acceleration of gravity in centimeters.

Po"ne (p"n), n. [L. pone, imper. of ponere to place.] 1. (a) An original writ, now superseded by the writ of certiorari, for removing a case from an inferior court into the Court of Exchequer. (b) An obsolete writ to enforce appearance in court by attaching goods or requiring securities.

2. (pron. pn) (Card Playing) The player who cuts the cards, being usually the player on the dealer's right.

Poo"nah paint`ing (?). [From Poona, in Bombay Province, India.] A style of painting, popular in England in the 19th century, in which a thick opaque color is applied without background and with scarcely any shading, to thin paper, producing flowers, birds, etc., in imitation of Oriental work. Hence: Poonah brush, paper, painter, etc.

Pope's head (?). A long-handled brush for dusting ceilings, etc., also for washing windows. [Cant]

||Po*pov"tsy (?), n. pl. [Russ., prop., those having popes or priests.] See Raskolnik.

Pop"u*lism (?), n. (U. S. Politics) The political doctrines advocated by the People's party.

Pop"u*list (?), n. [L. populus people + -ist.] (U. S. Politics) A member of the People's party. -- Pop`u*lis"tic (#), a.

Por"gy (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous sparoid food fishes, as the jolthead porgy, the sheepshead porgy (Calamus penna) of the West Indies, the grass porgy (Calamus arctifrons) of Florida, and the red porgy (Pagrus pagrus) of Europe.

Po"ro*type (?), n. [See Pore, n., and -type.] A copy of a print, writing, etc., made by placing it upon a chemically prepared paper which is acted upon by a gas which permeates the paper of the print, writing, etc.

{ ||Po`seur" (?), n. masc.; pl. Poseurs (&?;), ||Po`seuse" (?), n. fem.; pl. Poseuses (&?;) }, [F.] A person who poses or attitudizes, esp. mentally.

Pos"i*tive, a. 1. (Mach. & Mech.) (a) Designating, or pertaining to, a motion or device in which the movement derived from a driver, or the grip or hold of a restraining piece, is communicated through an unyielding intermediate piece or pieces; as, a claw clutch is a positive clutch, while a friction clutch is not. (b) Designating, or pertaining to, a device giving a to-and-fro motion; as, a positive dobby.

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2. (Vehicles) Designating a method of steering or turning in which the steering wheels move so that they describe concentric arcs in making a turn, to insure freedom from side slip or harmful resistance.

{ Post`ex*il"i*an (?), Post`ex*il"ic (?) }, a.} After the exile; specif. (Jewish Hist.), belonging to a period subsequent to the Babylonian captivity or exile (b. c. 597 or about 586-about 537).

Post*gla"cial (?), a. (Geol.) (a) Formed or occurring after the last glacial epoch of the Pleistocene period, or at a locality within the area of Pleistocene glaciation after the final disappearance of the glacier from the locality. (b) Of, pertaining to, or designating, an epoch after the last Glacial and before the Terrace epoch. [R.]

Post*grad"u*ate (?), a. [Pref. post- + graduate.] Of, pertaining to, or designating, the studies pursued after graduation, esp., after receiving the bachelor's degree at a college; graduate. -- n. A student who pursues such studies.

Most careful writers consider the word graduate to be the proper word to use in this sense.

Post`-im*pres"sion*ism, n. (Painting) In the broadest sense, the theory or practice of any of several groups of recent painters, or of these groups taken collectively, whose work and theories have in common a tendency to reaction against the scientific and naturalistic character of impressionism and neo-impressionism. In a strict sense the term post- impressionism is used to denote the effort at self-expression, rather than representation, shown in the work of Cézanne, Matisse, etc.; but it is more broadly used to include cubism, the theory or practice of a movement in both painting and sculpture which lays stress upon volume as the important attribute of objects and attempts its expression by the use of geometrical figures or solids only; and futurism, a theory or practice which attempts to place the observer within the picture and to represent simultaneously a number of consecutive movements and impressions. In practice these theories and methods of the post-impressionists change with great rapidity and shade into one another, so that a picture may be both cubist and futurist in character. They tend to, and sometimes reach, a condition in which both representation and traditional decoration are entirely abolished and a work of art becomes a purely subjective expression in an arbitrary and personal language.

Pot, v. t. 1. To shoot for the pot, i.e., cooking; to secure or hit by a pot shot; to shoot when no special skill is needed.

When hunted, it [the jaguar] takes refuge in trees, and this habit is well known to hunters, who pursue it with dogs and pot it when treed.

Encyc. of Sport.

2. To secure; gain; win; bag. [Colloq.]

Pot, v. i. To take a pot shot or shots, as at game or an enemy.

Pot, n. 1. The total of the bets at stake at one time, as in racing or card playing; the pool; also (Racing, Eng.) a horse heavily backed; a favorite. [Slang]

2. (Armor) A plain defensive headpiece; later, and perhaps in a jocose sense, any helmet; -- called also pot helmet.

3. (Card Playing) The total of the bets at one time; the pool.

||Pot`-au`-feu" (?), n. [F., lit., pot on the fire.] (Cookery) A dish of broth, meat, and vegetables prepared by boiling in a pot, -- a dish esp. common among the French. Grant Allen.

{ Po*teen" (?), Po*theen" (?) }, n. [Ir. poitin a small pot, whisky made in private stills; cf. pota pot, fr. E. pot.] Whisky distilled in a small way privately or illicitly by the Irish peasantry.

||Po`tiche" (?), n.; pl. - tiches (#). [F., fr. pot a pot.] (Ceramics) A vase with a separate cover, the body usually rounded or polygonal in plan with nearly vertical sides, a neck of smaller size, and a rounded shoulder.

Pot lace. Lace whose pattern includes one or more representations of baskets or bowls from which flowers spring.

Pot"latch` (?), n. [Chinook potlatch, pahtlatch, fr. Nootka pahchilt, pachalt, a gift.] 1. Among the Kwakiutl, Chimmesyan, and other Indians of the northwestern coast of North America, a ceremonial distribution by a man of gifts to his own and neighboring tribesmen, often, formerly, to his own impoverishment. Feasting, dancing, and public ceremonies accompany it.

2. Hence, a feast given to a large number of persons, often accompanied by gifts. [Colloq., Northwestern America]

Pot lead. Graphite, or black lead, often used on the bottoms of racing vessels to diminish friction.

Pot shot. Lit., a shot fired simply to fill the pot; hence, a shot fired at an animal or person when at rest or within easy range, or fired simply to kill, without reference to the rules of sport; a shot needling no special skill.

{ Pouf Pouffe } (pf), n. [Written also pouff.] [F. pouf. Cf. Puff, n.] Lit., a puff; specif.: (a) A soft cushion, esp. one circular in shape and not, like a pilow, of bag form, or thin at the edges. (b) A piece of furniture like an ottoman, generally circular and affording cushion seats on all sides.

Pou*lard" (p*lärd"), n. [F. poularde pullet, fr. poule hen. See Pullet.] (Zoöl.) A pullet from which the ovaries have been removed to produce fattening; hence, a fat pullet.

||Pousse"-ca`fé" (?), n. [F., fr. pousser to push + café coffee.] A drink served after coffee at dinner, usually one of several liqueurs, or cordials, of different specific gravities poured so as to remain separate in layers; hence, such a drink of cordials served at any time.

||Pou sto (p st; pou st). [Gr. poy^ stw^ where I may stand; -- from the reputed saying of Archimedes, "Give me where I may stand and I will move the whole world with my steelyard."] A place to stand upon; a locus standi; hence, a foundation or basis for operations.

||Prac"ti*co (?), n.; pl. Practicos (#). [Sp., lit., experienced, skilled. Cf. Practical.] A guide. [Cuba & Phil. Islands] D. C. Worcester.

Prai"rie State. Illinois; -- a nickname.

Pra"line (prä"ln), n. [F.] A confection made of nut kernels, usually of almonds, roasted in boiling sugar until brown and crisp.

Bonbons, pralines, . . . saccharine, crystalline substances of all kinds and colors.

Du Maurier.

||Prall"tril`ler (?), n.; G. pl. -triller. [G.] (Music) A melodic embellishment consisting of the quick alternation of a principal tone with an auxiliary tone above it, usually the next of the scale; -- called also the inverted mordente.

Pre`ad*mis"sion (?), n. Lit., previous admission; specif. (Engin.), admission, as of steam, to the engine cylinder before the back stroke is completed, thus increasing the cushioning.

||Pré`cieuse", n. An affected woman of polite society, esp. one of the literary women of the French salons of the 17th century.

Pre`ci*os"i*ty (?), n.; pl. - ties (#). [F. préciosité, OF. also precieuseté.] Fastidious refinement, esp. in language; specif., the affected purism and sententiousness characteristic of the French précieuses of the 17th century.

He had the fastidiousness, the preciosity, the love of archaisms, of your true decadent.

L. Douglas.

Pre"cious (?), a. Particular; fastidious; overnice; overrefined. Cf. Précieuse, Preciosity.

Lest that precious folk be with me wroth.

Chaucer.

Elaborate embroidery of precious language.

Saintsbury.

Pre*cip`i*ta"tion, n. (Meteor.) A deposit on the earth of hail, mist, rain, sleet, or snow; also, the quantity of water deposited.

Deposits of dew, fog, and frost are not regarded by the United States Weather Bureau as precipitation. Sleet and snow are melted, and the record of precipitation shows the depth of the horizontal layers of water in hundredths of an inch or in millimeters.

Preferential voting. (Political Science) A system of voting, as at primaries, in which the voters are allowed to indicate on their ballots their preference (usually their first and second choices) between two or more candidates for an office, so that if no candidate receives a majority of first choices the one receiving the greatest number of first and second choices together in nominated or elected.

Pre`ig*ni"tion (?), n. (Engin.) Ignition in an internal-combustion engine while the inlet valve is open or before compression is completed.