| Words | Parts of Speech | Meaning/Definition/Similar Words |
|---|---|---|
| piano | adjective & adverb | Soft; — a direction to the performer to execute a certain passage softly, and with diminished volume of tone. (Abbrev. p.), Alt. of Pianoforte |
| picea | noun | A genus of coniferous trees of the northen hemisphere, including the Norway spruce and the American black and white spruces. These trees have pendent cones, which do not readily fall to pieces, in this and other respects differing from the firs. |
| picke | noun | A small piece of land inclosed with a hedge; a close. |
| picra | noun | The powder of aloes with canella, formerly officinal, employed as a cathartic. |
| picts | noun pl. | A race of people of uncertain origin, who inhabited Scotland in early times. |
| picul | noun | A commercial weight varying in different countries and for different commodities. In Borneo it is 135/ lbs.; in China and Sumatra, 133/ lbs.; in Japan, 133/ lbs.; but sometimes 130 lbs., etc. Called also, by the Chinese, tan. |
| picus | noun | A genus of woodpeckers, including some of the common American and European species. |
| piece | noun | A fragment or part of anything separated from the whole, in any manner, as by cutting, splitting, breaking, or tearing; a part; a portion; as, a piece of sugar; to break in pieces., A definite portion or quantity, as of goods or work; as, a piece of broadcloth; a piece of wall paper., Any one thing conceived of as apart from other things of the same kind; an individual article; a distinct single effort of a series; a definite performance, A literary or artistic composition; as, a piece of poetry, music, or statuary., A musket, gun, or cannon; as, a battery of six pieces; a following piece., A coin; as, a sixpenny piece; — formerly applied specifically to an English gold coin worth 22 shillings., A fact; an item; as, a piece of news; a piece of knowledge., An individual; — applied to a person as being of a certain nature or quality; often, but not always, used slightingly or in contempt., One of the superior men, distinguished from a pawn., A castle; a fortified building., To make, enlarge, or repair, by the addition of a piece or pieces; to patch; as, to piece a garment; — often with out., To unite; to join; to combine., To unite by a coalescence of parts; to fit together; to join. |
| piend | noun | See Peen. |
| pieno | adjective | Full; having all the instruments. |
| pieta | noun | A representation of the dead Christ, attended by the Virgin Mary or by holy women and angels. |
| piety | noun | Veneration or reverence of the Supreme Being, and love of his character; loving obedience to the will of God, and earnest devotion to his service., Duty; dutifulness; filial reverence and devotion; affectionate reverence and service shown toward parents, relatives, benefactors, country, etc. |
| pight | imp. & past participle | Pitched; fixed; determined. |
| pigmy | noun | See Pygmy. |
| piked | adjective | Furnished with a pike; ending in a point; peaked; pointed. |
| pilau | noun | See Pillau. |
| pilch | noun | A gown or case of skin, or one trimmed or lined with fur. |
| piled | imp. & past participle | of Pile, Having a pile or point; pointed., Having a pile or nap., Formed from a pile or fagot; as, piled iron. |
| piler | noun | One who places things in a pile. |
| piles | noun pl. | The small, troublesome tumors or swellings about the anus and lower part of the rectum which are technically called hemorrhoids. See Hemorrhoids. [The singular pile is sometimes used.] |
| pilei | plural | of Pileus |
| pilot | noun | One employed to steer a vessel; a helmsman; a steersman., Specifically, a person duly qualified, and licensed by authority, to conduct vessels into and out of a port, or in certain waters, for a fixed rate of fees., Figuratively: A guide; a director of another through a difficult or unknown course., An instrument for detecting the compass error., The cowcatcher of a locomotive., To direct the course of, as of a ship, where navigation is dangerous., Figuratively: To guide, as through dangers or difficulties. |
| pilwe | noun | A pillow. |
| pinax | noun | A tablet; a register; hence, a list or scheme inscribed on a tablet. |
| pinch | verb t. | To press hard or squeeze between the ends of the fingers, between teeth or claws, or between the jaws of an instrument; to squeeze or compress, as between any two hard bodies., o seize; to grip; to bite; — said of animals., To plait., Figuratively: To cramp; to straiten; to oppress; to starve; to distress; as, to be pinched for money., To move, as a railroad car, by prying the wheels with a pinch. See Pinch, n., 4., To act with pressing force; to compress; to squeeze; as, the shoe pinches., To take hold; to grip, as a dog does., To spare; to be niggardly; to be covetous., A close compression, as with the ends of the fingers, or with an instrument; a nip., As much as may be taken between the finger and thumb; any very small quantity; as, a pinch of snuff., Pian; pang., A lever having a projection at one end, acting as a fulcrum, — used chiefly to roll heavy wheels, etc. Called also pinch bar. |
| pined | imp. & past participle | of Pine |
| piney | adjective | See Piny., A term used in designating an East Indian tree (the Vateria Indica or piney tree, of the order Dipterocarpeae, which grows in Malabar, etc.) or its products. |
| pinic | adjective | Of or pertaining to the pine; obtained from the pine; formerly, designating an acid which is the chief constituent of common resin, — now called abietic, or sylvic, acid. |
| pinky | noun | See 1st Pink. |
| pinna | noun | A leaflet of a pinnate leaf. See Illust. of Bipinnate leaf, under Bipinnate., One of the primary divisions of a decompound leaf., One of the divisions of a pinnate part or organ., Any species of Pinna, a genus of large bivalve mollusks found in all warm seas. The byssus consists of a large number of long, silky fibers, which have been used in manufacturing woven fabrics, as a curiosity., The auricle of the ear. See Ear. |
| pion | noun | The edible seed of several species of pine; also, the tree producing such seeds, as Pinus Pinea of Southern Europe, and P. Parryana, cembroides, edulis, and monophylla, the nut pines of Western North America., See Monkey’s puzzle. |
| pinus | noun | A large genus of evergreen coniferous trees, mostly found in the northern hemisphere. The genus formerly included the firs, spruces, larches, and hemlocks, but is now limited to those trees which have the primary leaves of the branchlets reduced to mere scales, and the secondary ones (pine needles) acicular, and usually in fascicles of two to seven. See Pine. |
| piony | noun | See Peony. |
| pious | adjective | Of or pertaining to piety; exhibiting piety; reverential; dutiful; religious; devout; godly., Practiced under the pretext of religion; prompted by mistaken piety; as, pious errors; pious frauds. |
| pipas | plural | of Pipa |
| piped | imp. & past participle | of Pipe, Formed with a pipe; having pipe or pipes; tubular. |
| piper | noun | See Pepper., One who plays on a pipe, or the like, esp. on a bagpipe., A common European gurnard (Trigla lyra), having a large head, with prominent nasal projection, and with large, sharp, opercular spines., A sea urchin (Goniocidaris hystrix) having very long spines, native of both the American and European coasts. |
| pipit | noun | Any one of numerous species of small singing birds belonging to Anthus and allied genera, of the family Motacillidae. They strongly resemble the true larks in habits, colors, and the great length of the hind claw. They are, therefore, often called titlarks, and pipit larks. |
| pipra | noun | Any one of numerous species of small clamatorial birds belonging to Pipra and allied genera, of the family Pipridae. The male is usually glossy black, varied with scarlet, yellow, or sky blue. They chiefly inhabit South America. |
| pique | noun | A cotton fabric, figured in the loom, — used as a dress goods for women and children, and for vestings, etc., The jigger. See Jigger., A feeling of hurt, vexation, or resentment, awakened by a social slight or injury; irritation of the feelings, as through wounded pride; stinging vexation., Keenly felt desire; a longing., In piquet, the right of the elder hand to count thirty in hand, or to play before the adversary counts one., To wound the pride of; to sting; to nettle; to irritate; to fret; to offend; to excite to anger., To excite to action by causing resentment or jealousy; to stimulate; to prick; as, to pique ambition, or curiosity., To pride or value; — used reflexively., To cause annoyance or irritation. |
| pirai | noun | Same as Piraya. |
| pirie | noun | See Pirry., A pear tree. |
| pirry | noun | Alt. of Pirrie |
| pisay | noun | See Pise. |
| pishu | noun | The Canada lynx. |
| piste | noun | The track or tread a horseman makes upon the ground he goes over. |
| pitch | noun | A thick, black, lustrous, and sticky substance obtained by boiling down tar. It is used in calking the seams of ships; also in coating rope, canvas, wood, ironwork, etc., to preserve them., See Pitchstone., To cover over or smear with pitch., Fig.: To darken; to blacken; to obscure., To throw, generally with a definite aim or purpose; to cast; to hurl; to toss; as, to pitch quoits; to pitch hay; to pitch a ball., To thrust or plant in the ground, as stakes or poles; hence, to fix firmly, as by means of poles; to establish; to arrange; as, to pitch a tent; to pitch a camp., To set, face, or pave with rubble or undressed stones, as an embankment or a roadway., To fix or set the tone of; as, to pitch a tune., To set or fix, as a price or value., To fix or place a tent or temporary habitation; to encamp., To light; to settle; to come to rest from flight., To fix one’s choise; — with on or upon., To plunge or fall; esp., to fall forward; to decline or slope; as, to pitch from a precipice; the vessel pitches in a heavy sea; the field pitches toward the east., A throw; a toss; a cast, as of something from the hand; as, a good pitch in quoits., That point of the ground on which the ball pitches or lights when bowled., A point or peak; the extreme point or degree of elevation or depression; hence, a limit or bound., Height; stature., A descent; a fall; a thrusting down., The point where a declivity begins; hence, the declivity itself; a descending slope; the degree or rate of descent or slope; slant; as, a steep pitch in the road; the pitch of a roof., The relative acuteness or gravity of a tone, determined by the number of vibrations which produce it; the place of any tone upon a scale of high and low., The limit of ground set to a miner who receives a share of the ore taken out., The distance from center to center of any two adjacent teeth of gearing, measured on the pitch line; — called also circular pitch., The length, measured along the axis, of a complete turn of the thread of a screw, or of the helical lines of the blades of a screw propeller., The distance between the centers of holes, as of rivet holes in boiler plates. |
| pithy | superl. | Consisting wholly, or in part, of pith; abounding in pith; as, a pithy stem; a pithy fruit., Having nervous energy; forceful; cogent. |
| pitta | noun | Any one of a large group of bright-colored clamatorial birds belonging to Pitta, and allied genera of the family Pittidae. Most of the species are varied with three or more colors, such as blue, green, crimson, yellow, purple, and black. They are called also ground thrushes, and Old World ant thrushes; but they are not related to the true thrushes. |
| pivot | noun | A fixed pin or short axis, on the end of which a wheel or other body turns., The end of a shaft or arbor which rests and turns in a support; as, the pivot of an arbor in a watch., Hence, figuratively: A turning point or condition; that on which important results depend; as, the pivot of an enterprise., The officer or soldier who simply turns in his place whike the company or line moves around him in wheeling; — called also pivot man., To place on a pivot. |
| pixie | noun | An old English name for a fairy; an elf., A low creeping evergreen plant (Pyxidanthera barbulata), with mosslike leaves and little white blossoms, found in New Jersey and southward, where it flowers in earliest spring. |