Thomas Davidson

“ Plough, plow, n. an instrument for turning up the soil to prepare it for seed: tillage: a joiner's plane for making grooves.—v.t. to turn up with the plough: to make furrows or ridges in: to tear: to divide: to run through, as in sailing: (university slang) to reject in an examination.—v.i. to work with a plough.—adj. Plough′able, capable of being ploughed: arable.—ns. Plough′boy, a boy who drives or guides horses in ploughing; Plough′er; Plough′gate (Scots law) , a quantity of land of the extent of 100 acres Scots; Plough′ing; Plough′-ī′ron, the coulter of a plough ”

“ Plas′mic, pertaining to plasma, protoplasmic.—ns. Plasmō′dium, composite masses of primitive protozoa, in which numerous units are fused, or in rare cases simply combined in close contact; Plas′mogen, true protoplasm; Plasmog′ony, the generation of an organism from plasma ”

“ Points′man, a man who has charge of the points or switches on a railway; Point′-sys′tem, a standard system of sizes for type-bodies, one point being .0138 inch.—Point for point, exactly: all particulars; Point of order, a question raised in a deliberative society as to whether proceedings are according to the rules; Point of view, the position from which one looks at anything ”

“ Plough′man, a man who ploughs: a husbandman: a rustic:—pl. Plough′men; Plough′-Mon′day, the Monday after Twelfth Day when, according to the old usage, the plough should be set to work again after the holidays; Plough′-tail, the end of a plough where the handles are; Plough′-tree, a plough-handle; Plough′wright, one who makes and mends ploughs.—Put one's hand to the plough, to begin an undertaking.—Snow plough, a strong triangular frame of wood for clearing snow off roads, railways, &c., drawn by horses or by a locomotive; Steam plough, a plough driven by a stationary steam-engine ”

“ Plas′tering, the art of covering the internal faces of walls, the partitions and ceiling of a building, with plaster: a covering of plaster: the plasterwork of a building; Plas′ter-stone, gypsum.—adj. Plas′tery, like plaster, containing plaster.—Plaster cast, a copy of an object got by pouring a mixture of plaster of Paris and water into a mould formed from the object; Plaster of Paris, a kind of gypsum, originally found near Paris, used in building and in making casts of figures; Porous plaster, a plaster for application to the body, full of small holes, which prevent it from wrinkling. ”

“ Play up, to make a beginning of playing: to play more vigorously; Play upon, to trifle with: to delude.—A play upon words, a use of words so as to give them a double meaning; Bring into play, to bring into exercise or use; Come into play, to come into use ”

“ Plan′etule, a little planet.—Minor planets, the numerous group of very small planets which is situated in the solar system between Mars and Jupiter. [Fr. planète—Gr. planētēs, wanderer—planān, to make to wander.]
Plane-tree, plān′-trē, n. any one of the several trees constituting the genus Platanus, esp. the oriental or common plane-tree, with its variety the maple-leaved plane-tree, and the American plane-tree, usually called sycamore or buttonwood or buttonball: in Great Britain, the sycamore maple. [Fr. plane—L. platanus—Gr. platanos—platys, broad.] ”

“ Play fast and loose, to act in a tricky, inconstant way: to say one thing and do another; Play fine, at billiards, to strike the object-ball near the edge—opp. to Play full, to strike it nearer the centre than the edge ”

“ Platane, plat′ān, n. the plane-tree.—Also Plat′an. [L. platanus—Gr. platanos—platys, broad.]
Plate, plāt, n. something flat: a thin piece of metal: wrought gold and silver: household utensils in gold and silver: a shallow dish nearly flat: an engraved piece of metal.—v.t. to overlay with a coating of plate or metal: to arm or defend with metal plates: to adorn with metal: to beat into thin plates.—n. Plate′-arm′our, armour of strong metal plates for protecting ships-of-war, &c.—adj. ”

“ Old spelling of plough.
Ploy, ploi, n. employment: (Scot.) a frolic. [Employ.]
Pluck, pluk, v.t. to pull off or away: to snatch: to strip, as a fowl of its feathers: (slang) to reject an examinee as inefficient.—n. a single act of plucking.—n. Pluck′er.—Pluck off (Shak.) , to abate from the rank; Pluck up, to pull out by the roots: to summon up, as courage. [A.S. pluccian; akin to Dut. plukken, Ger. pflücken.]
Pluck, pluk, n. the heart, liver, and lungs of an animal—hence heart, courage, spirit.—adjs. ”

“ Pit′-coal, coal dug from a pit—not charcoal; Pit′-frame, the framework round a mine-shaft; Pit′-head, the ground at the mouth of a pit, and the machinery, &c., on it; Pit′man, a man who works in a coal-pit or a saw-pit, esp. the man who works the pumping machinery in the shaft of a mine: (mach.) a rod connecting a rotary with a reciprocating part.—adj. Pit′ted, marked with small pits.—ns. Pit′ting, the act of digging, or of placing in, a pit: a group of pit-marks: a corrosion of the inside of steam-boilers, &c.; Pit′-vill′age, a group of miners' houses near a pit. ”

“ Plutol′ogy, the science of wealth: political economy. [Gr. ploutokratia—ploutos, wealth, kratia—kratein, to rule.]
Plutonian, plōō-tō′ni-an, adj. infernal: dark: (geol.) formed by the agency of heat at a depth below the surface of the earth, as granite—also Pluton′ic.—ns. Plu′tonism; Plu′tonist.—Plutonic action, the action of volcanic fires under the surface; Plutonic rocks, rocks formed under the surface by the action of fire, as granite, porphyry, &c.; Plutonic theory, the theory that the present state of the earth's crust is the result of the action of fire—opp. ”

“ Pneumatom′eter, Pneumom′eter, an instrument for measuring the quantity of air inhaled into the lungs at a single inspiration.—adj. Pneumogas′tric, pertaining to the lungs and the stomach.—n. Pneumō′nia, inflammation of the tissues of the lungs—also Pneu′monī′tis.—adj. Pneumon′ic, pertaining to the lungs.—n. a medicine for lung diseases.—Pneumatic despatch, a method of sending letters, telegrams, and small parcels through tubes by means of compressed air; Pneumatic railway, a railway along which the carriages are driven by compressed air ”

“ Plan′isher, a thin flat-ended tool used for smoothing tin-plate and brasswork: a workman who planishes, esp. one who prepares copper-plates for engravers; Plan′isphere, a sphere projected on a plane.—adjs. Planispher′ic; Plāno-con′cave, plane on one side and concave on the other; Plā′no-con′ical, plane on one side and conical on the other; Plā′no-con′vex, plane on one side and convex on the other.—n. Planog′raphist, a map-maker.—adj. Plā′no-horizon′tal, having a plane horizontal surface or position.—ns. Planom′eter, a plane surface used in machine-making as a gauge for plane surfaces ”

“ Pochard, pō′chard, n. a genus of diving ducks which are marine during the greater part of the year. [Poacher, the widgeon.]
Pock, pok, n. a small elevation of the skin containing matter, as in smallpox.—adjs. Pocked, Pock′y, infected with, or marked by, smallpox.—ns. Pock′mark, Pock′pit, the mark, pit, or scar left by a pock.—adj. Pock′pitted. [A.S. poc, a pustule; Ger. pocke, Dut. pok. The correct pl. form was pocks, erroneously pox, and treated as singular.] ”

“ Work′ing-plan, a draft on a large scale given to workmen to work from.—Plan of campaign, the method of conducting the struggle of the Irish tenants against the landlords, organised by the National League in 1886, its officers collecting what they considered a fair rent, and offering it to the landlord, and where he refused to accept it spending it on the support of the persons evicted. ”

“ Plumbago, plum-bā′go, n. a mineral composed of carbon, iron, and other materials, used for pencils, &c., popularly called 'blacklead:' graphite: a genus of plants with blue or violet flowers.—adj. Plumbag′inous. [L. plumbum, lead.]
Plumber, plum′ėr, n. one who works in lead, esp. one who fits into buildings the tanks, pipes, and fittings for conveying water, gas, and sewage.—ns. Plumb′er-block, a metal frame or case for holding the end of a revolving shaft: a pillow-block; Plumb′ery, articles of lead: the business of a plumber: a place for plumbing. ”

“ Pleu′risy, inflammation of the pleura, the investing membrane of the lung; Pleu′risy-root, a plant common in the United States, of which the root has medicinal repute, the infusion being used as a diaphoretic and expectorant.—adjs. Pleurit′ic, -al, pertaining to, or affected with, pleurisy: causing pleurisy.—ns. Pleurī′tis, pleurisy; Pleurodyn′ia, neuralgia of the chest-wall, which may simulate closely the pain of pleurisy; Pleu′ro-pneumō′nia, inflammation of the pleura and lungs, a contagious disease peculiar to cattle. ”

“ Plat′inise, to coat with platinum.—ns. Plat′inoid, one of the metals with which platinum is always found associated—palladium iridium, &c.; Plat′inotype, a method of producing photographs by means of paper coated with a preparation of platinum: a picture so produced.—adj. Plat′inous, containing or consisting of platinum. [Sp. platina—plata, plate.]
Platitude, plat′i-tūd, n. flatness: that which exhibits dullness of thought: an empty remark made as if it were important.—n. Platitudinā′rian, one who indulges in platitudes.—adj. Platitū′dinous. ”

“ Pit′yroid, bran-like. [Gr. pityron, bran.]
Più, pū, adv. more.—Più allegro, quicker. [It.]
Pivot, piv′ut, n. the pin on which anything turns: the officer or soldier at the flank upon whom a company wheels: that on which anything depends or turns.—adj. Piv′otal, of the nature of a pivot: acting as a pivot.—n. Piv′ot-bridge, a form of swing-bridge moving on a vertical pivot.—adj. Piv′oted, furnished with a pivot or pivots.—ns. Piv′ot-gear′ing, a system of gearing permitting the driving-shaft to be swivelled so as to set the machine in any direction with relation to the power ”

“ Plē′narty, the state of a benefice when occupied; Plē′nist, one who believes all space to be filled with matter; Plen′itude, fullness: completeness: repletion; Plē′num, space considered as in every part filled with matter.—Plenary inspiration, inspiration which excludes all mixture of error. ”

“ Plā′ted, covered with plates of metal for strength, as ships: covered with a coating of a more precious metal: (zool.) covered with hard scales.—ns. Plate′-fleet (Milt.) , vessels used for carrying precious metals; Plate′ful, as much as a plate will hold; Plate′-glass, a fine kind of glass, cast in thick plates, used for mirrors and large shop-windows; Plate′-lay′er, a workman whose occupation it is to lay the rails of a railway and fix them to the sleepers; Plate′-mark, a mark or stamp on gold or silver plate to indicate its purity and the place where it was made ”

“ Pituitary, pit′ū-i-tā-ri, adj. mucous—also Pit′ūital, Pit′ūitous.—ns. Pitūī′ta, Pit′uite, phlegm.—Pituitary body, a rounded body of the size of a small bean, situated in the sella turcica in the sphenoid bone on the floor of the cavity of the skull. [L. pituitarius—pituita, mucus.]
Pity, pit′i, n. a strong feeling for or with the sufferings of others: sympathy with distress: a cause or source of pity or grief.—v.t. to feel pity with: to sympathise with:—pa.t. and pa.p. pit′ied.—adj. Pit′iable, deserving pity: affecting: wretched.—n. Pit′iableness.—adv. Pit′iably.—n. ”

“ Platform, plat′form, n. a raised level surface: a part of a floor raised above the rest to form a standing-place for speakers, workmen, &c.: (mil.) an elevated floor for cannon: a statement of principles to which a body of men declare their adhesion, and on which they act: (Shak.) a scheme, plan.—v.t. (Milt.) to sketch, plan: (Mrs Browning) to support as on a platform.—ns. Plat′form-bridge (Amer.) , a movable gangway between the platforms of two railway carriages ”

“ Pleuronectidæ, plōō-ro-nek′ti-dē, n.pl. a family of flat-fishes, the flounders. [Gr. pleura, the side, nēktēs, a swimmer.]
Pleximeter, pleks-im′e-tėr, n. a small plate of something hard and elastic, placed on the body, to receive the tap of the fingers or of the hammer in examination by percussion—also Plexom′eter.—adj. Pleximet′ric. [Gr. plēxis, a striking—plēssein, to strike, metron, a measure.] ”

“ Plump′ly, fully, without reserve. [Plumb.]
Plump, plump, adj. fat and rounded: sleek: in good condition.—v.i. to grow fat or plump: to swell.—v.t. to make plump: to fatten.—ns. Plump′er, a ball kept in the mouth to give the cheeks a rounded appearance; Plump′ness.—adj. Plump′y (Shak.) , plump, fat. [Teut.; Dut. plomp, lumpish, Ger. plump.]
Plump, plump, n. a cluster: a clump (of persons or things) .
Plumularia, plōō-mū-lā′ri-a, n. a genus of hydrozoa, belonging to the division hydroidea.—adj. Plumulā′rian. ”