“ Percussion, per-kush′un, n. the forcible striking of one body against another: collision, or the shock produced by it: impression of sound on the ear: (med.) the tapping upon the body to find the condition of an internal organ by the sounds: in the jargon of palmistry, the outer side of the hand.—adjs. ”

“ Natural theology, or Natural religion, the body of theological truths discoverable by reason without revelation.
Nature, nā′tūr, n. the power which creates and which regulates the material world: the power of growth: the established order of things, the universe: the qualities of anything which make it what it is: constitution: species: conformity to nature, truth, or reality: inborn mind, character, instinct, or disposition: vital power, as of man or animal: course of life: nakedness: a primitive undomesticated condition.—adj. ”

“ Persevere, pėr-sē-vēr′, v.i. to persist in anything: to pursue anything steadily: to be constant: not to give over.—n. Persevē′rance, act or state of persevering: continued application to anything which one has begun: a going on till success is met with.—adj. Persevē′ring.—adv. Persevē′ringly.—Perseverance of saints, the Calvinistic doctrine that those who are effectually called by God cannot fall away so as to be finally lost. ”

“ Physiocracy, fiz-i-ok′rā-si, n. the economic doctrine of the physiocrats (François Quesnay, 1694-1744, and his followers) , that society should be governed by a natural order inherent in itself, land and its products the only true source of wealth, direct taxation of land the only proper source of revenue.—n. Phys′iocrat, one who maintains these opinions.—adj. Physiocrat′ic.—n. Physioc′ratism. [Gr. physis, nature, kratein, to rule.] ”

“ Proscribe, prō-skrīb′, v.t. to publish the names of persons to be punished: to put beyond the protection of law: to banish: to prohibit: to denounce, as doctrine.—ns. Prōscrib′er; Prō′script; Proscrip′tion, the act of proscribing or dooming to death or outlawry: utter rejection.—adj. Prōscrip′tive, pertaining to, or consisting in, proscription.—adv. Prōscrip′tively. [L. proscribĕre—pro, before, publicly, scribĕre, scriptum, to write.] ”

“ Pitri, pit′rē, n.pl. the deceased ancestors of a man: in Hindu mythology, an order of divine beings inhabiting celestial regions of their own, and receiving into their society the spirits of those mortals for whom funeral rites have been duly performed. ”

“ Probang, prō′bang, n. an instrument for pushing obstructions down the œsophagus of a choking animal.
Probate, prō′bāt, n. the proof before a competent court that a written paper purporting to be the will of a person who has died is indeed his lawful act: the official copy of a will, with the certificate of its having been proved: the right or jurisdiction of proving wills.—adj. relating to the establishment of wills and testaments.—Probate court, a court created in 1858 to exercise jurisdiction in matters touching the succession to personal estate ”

“ Ragwort, rag′wurt, n. any one of several herbs of genus Senecio: a large coarse weed with a yellow flower.—Golden ragwort, a North American plant; Woolly ragwort, a plant from one to three feet high, found in the United States, and covered with hoary wool. [Rag, and A.S. wyrt, a plant.]
Rahu, rä′hōō, n. in Hindu mythology, the demon who causes eclipses of sun and moon. ”

“ Prince, prins, n. one of the highest rank: a sovereign: son of a king or emperor: a title of nobility, as in Germany: the chief of any body of men:—fem. Prin′cess.—v.i. to play the prince (usually with it) .—ns. Prince′-bish′op, a bishop who was also the civil ruler or prince of his diocese; Prince′-Con′sort, the husband of a reigning queen; Prince′dom, the estate, jurisdiction, sovereignty, or rank of a prince; Prince′hood, rank or quality of a prince ”

“ Nook, nōōk, n. a corner: a narrow place formed by an angle: a recess: a secluded retreat.—adjs. Nook′-shot′ten, full of nooks and corners; Nook′y. [Gael. and Ir. niuc; Scot. neuk.]
Noology, no-ol′o-ji, n. the science of the phenomena of the mind, or of the facts of intellect. [Gr. noos, the mind, logia, discourse.] ”

“ Prefect, prē′fekt, n. one placed in authority over others: a commander: the administrative head of a modern French department.—ns. Prē′fectship, his office or jurisdiction; Prē′fecture, the office or district of a prefect: the house occupied by a prefect. [Fr. préfet—L. præfectus, pa.p. of præficĕre—præ, over, facĕre, to make.]
Prefer, prē-fėr′, v.t. to esteem above another: to regard or hold in higher estimation: to choose or select before others: to promote: to exalt: to offer or present, as a request: to bring forward for consideration: to place in advance:—pr.p. prefer′ring ”

“ Rouleau, rōō-lō′, n. a roll of paper containing a certain number of coins: a large piping or trimming: one of a bundle of fascines to cover besiegers:—pl. Rouleaux′. [Fr.]
Roulette, rōōl-et′, n. a little ball or roller: a game of chance played on an oblong table divided into numbered and coloured spaces, and having in the centre a rotating disc on which a ball is rolled until it drops into one of the spaces, the player winning if he has staked his money on that space or its colour: an engraver's tool: a cylindrical object used to curl hair upon: (geom.) ”

“ Ormuzd, or′muzd, n. the name of the chief god of the ancient Persians: the creator and lord of the whole universe: (later) the good principle, as opposed to Ahriman, the bad. [A corr. of Pers. Ahura-Mazdâh=the Living God or Lord (ahu='the living,' 'life,' or 'spirit,' root ah='to be') , the Great Creator (maz+dâ=Sans. mahâ+dhâ) , or the Wise One.] ”

“ Principle, prin′si-pl, n. a fundamental truth on which others are founded or from which they spring: a law or doctrine from which others are derived: an original faculty of the mind: a settled rule of action: (chem.) a constituent part: (obs.) a beginning.—v.t. to establish in principles: to impress with a doctrine.—adj. Prin′cipled, holding certain principles.—Principle of contradiction, the logical principle that a thing cannot both be and not be; Principle of excluded middle (logic) , the principle that a thing must be either one thing or its contradictory ”

“ Press, pres, n. an instrument for squeezing bodies: a printing-machine: the art or business of printing and publishing: act of urging forward: urgency: strong demand: a crowd: a closet for holding articles.—ns. ”

“ Noddy, nod′i, n. one whose head nods from weakness: a stupid fellow: a sea-fowl—easily taken: a four-wheeled carriage with a door at the back: an upright flat spring with a weight on the top, forming an inverted pendulum, indicating the vibration of any body to which it is attached. [Nod.]
Node, nōd, n. a knot: a knob: a knot or entanglement: (astron.) one of the two points in which the orbit of a planet intersects the plane of the ecliptic: (bot.) the joint of a stem: the plot of a piece in poetry: (math.) ”

“ Rī′ser, a rebel: one who, or that which, rises.—Rise from the ranks, to win a commission; Rise to the occasion, to be equal to an emergency.—Take a rise out of, to take the conceit out of a person by making him ridiculous. ”

“ Primrose, prim′rōz, n. an early spring flower common in woods and meadows: a plant of the genus Primula: (Spens.) the first or earliest flower, the first or choicest.—adj. resembling a primrose in colour: flowery, gay.—Primrose League, a political association for the spread of Conservative opinions—formed in 1883 in memory of Lord Beaconsfield, whose favourite flower is said to have been the primrose. ”

“ Rē′alism, the medieval doctrine that general terms stand for real existences—opp. to Nominalism: the doctrine that in external perception the objects immediately known are real existences: the tendency in art to accept and to represent things as they really are—opp. to Idealism—a method of representation without idealisation, raised by modern French writers into a system, claiming a monopoly of truth in its artistic treatment of the facts of nature and life; Rē′alist, one who holds the doctrine of realism: one who believes in the existence of the external world.—adj. ”

“ Punt, punt, n. a flat-bottomed boat with square ends.—v.t. to propel, as a boat, by pushing with a pole against the bottom of a river: to kick the ball (in football) before it touches the ground, when let fall from the hands: to knock.—v.i. to pursue water-fowl in a punt with a punt-gun.—ns. Punt′er; Punt′-fishing, angling from a punt in a pond, river, or lake; Punt′-gun, a heavy gun of large bore used for shooting water-fowl from a punt; Punts′man, a sportsman who uses a punt. ”

“ Raccoon, Racoon, ra-kōōn′, n. a genus of the bear family of North America, valuable for its fur.—ns. Raccoon′-berr′y, the May apple of the United States; Raccoon′-oys′ter, an oyster growing on the shores of the sea in United States. [Amer. Ind.]
Race, rās, n. the human family: the descendants of a common ancestor: a breed or variety: a tribal or national stock: a line of persons, as of statesmen, or of animals, as the feline race: a herd: peculiar flavour, as of wine, by which its origin may be recognised: (Shak.) ”

“ Position, po-zish′un, n. place, situation: attitude: a place taken or to be taken by troops: state of affairs: the ground taken in argument or in a dispute: principle laid down: place in society: method of finding the value of an unknown quantity by assuming one or more values (single, when one is assumed; double, when two) .—v.t. Posit (poz′it) , to place in right position or relation: to lay down as something true or granted.—adj. Posi′tional.—Strategic position, a position taken up by troops to check the movements of an enemy. [Fr.,—L.—ponĕre, positum, to place.] ”

“ Planodia, plā-nō′di-a, n. a false passage, such as may be made in using a catheter.
Plant, plant, n. a something living and growing, fixed on the ground and drawing food therefrom by means of its root, and developing into a stem, leaves, and seed: a sprout: any vegetable production: the tools or material of any trade or business: (slang) a trick, dodge, hidden plunder.—v.t. to put into the ground for growth: to furnish with plants: to set in the mind, implant: to establish.—v.i. to set shoots in the ground.—adj. ”

“ Pack, pak, n. a bundle made to be carried on the back: a collection, stock, or store: a bundle of some particular kind or quantity, as of wool, 480 or 240 lb.: the quantity of fish packed: a complete set of cards: a number of animals herding together or kept together for hunting: a number of persons combined for bad purposes: any great number: a large extent of floating and broken ice: a wet sheet for folding round the body to allay inflammation, fever, &c.—v.t. to press together and fasten up: to place in order: to crowd: to assort, bring together, select, or manipulate persons, cards, &c. ”

“ Or′thodoxness; Or′thodoxy, soundness of opinion or doctrine: belief in the commonly accepted opinions, esp. in religion. [Through Fr. and Late L. from Gr. orthodoxos—orthos, right, doxa, opinion—dokein, to seem.] ”

“ Public, pub′lik, adj. of or belonging to the people: pertaining to a community or a nation: general: common to or shared in by all: generally known.—n. the people: the general body of mankind: the people, indefinitely: a public-house, tavern.—ns. Pub′lican, the keeper of an inn or public-house: (orig.) a farmer-general of the Roman taxes: a tax-collector; Publicā′tion, the act of publishing or making public: a proclamation: the act of printing and sending out for sale, as a book: that which is published as a book, &c.—ns.pl. ”

“ Poison, poi′zn, n. any substance which, introduced into the living organism, tends to destroy its life or impair its health: anything malignant or infectious: that which taints or destroys moral purity.—v.t. to infect or to kill with poison: to taint: to mar: to embitter: to corrupt.—adj. Poi′sonable.—ns. Poi′soner; Poi′son-fang, one of two large tubular teeth in the upper jaw of venomous serpents, through which poison passes from glands at their roots when the animal bites; Poi′son-gland, a gland which secretes poison; Poi′son-ī′vy, a shrub-vine of North America, causing a cutaneous eruption ”

“ Order, or′dėr, n. regular arrangement, method: degree, rank, or position: rule, regular system or government: command: a class, a society of persons of the same profession, &c.: a religious fraternity: a dignity conferred by a sovereign, &c., giving membership in a body, after the medieval orders of knighthood, also the distinctive insignia thereof: social rank generally: a number of genera having many important points in common: a commission to supply, purchase, or sell something: (archit.) ”

“ Pharyng′oscopy; Pharyngot′omy, the operation of making an incision into the pharynx to remove a tumour. [Late L.,—Gr. pharyngkx, the pharynx.]
Phase, fāz, n. aspect, appearance, at any stage: an era: the form in which an object or a question presents itself to the mind: the appearance at a given time of the illuminated surface exhibited by a planet—also Phā′sis:—pl. Phas′es.—adj. Phase′less, unchanging. [Gr. phasis—phaein, to shine.]
Phasma, fas′mä, n. a genus of gressorial orthopterous insects—walking-stick insects, spectre-insects (Phasma) , and leaf-insects. ”

“ The fundamental principle of all rational spelling is no doubt the representation of every sound by an invariable symbol, but in modern English the usage of pronunciation has drifted far from the conventional forms established by a traditional orthography, with the result that the present spelling of our written speech is to a large extent a mere exercise of memory, full of confusing anomalies and imperfections, and involving an enormous and unnecessary strain on the faculties of learners. ”

“ Nominee, nom-in-ē′, n. one who is nominated by another: one on whose life an annuity or lease depends: one to whom the holder of a copyhold estate surrenders his interest.
Nomistic, nō-mis′tik, adj. pertaining to laws founded on a sacred book. [Gr. nomos, a law.]
Nomocracy, nō-mok′ra-si, n. a government according to a code of laws. [Gr. nomos, law, kratia—kratein, to rule.] ”