Part 36
What is picturesque as placed in relation to the beautiful and the sublime? It is . . . the characteristic pushed into a sensible excess.
De Quincey.
-- Pic`tur*esque"ly, adv. -- Pic`tur*esque"ness, n.
Pic`tur*esqu"ish, a. Somewhat picturesque. [R.]
Pic"tur*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Picturized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Picturizing.] [R.] 1. To picture.
2. To adorn with pictures.
Pic"ul (?), n. [Jav. & Malay pikul, fr. pikul to carry on the back, to carry a burden; n., a man's burden.] A commercial weight varying in different countries and for different commodities. In Borneo it is 135 lbs.; in China and Sumatra, 133Ω lbs.; in Japan, 133 lbs.; but sometimes 130 lbs., etc. Called also, by the Chinese, tan. [Written also pecul, and pecal.]
Pic"u*let (?), n. [Dim. of Picus.] (Zoˆl.) Any species of very small woodpeckers of the genus Picumnus and allied genera. Their tail feathers are not stiff and sharp at the tips, as in ordinary woodpeckers.
||Pi"cus (?), n.; pl. Pici (#). [L., a woodpecker.] (Zoˆl.) A genus of ||woodpeckers, including some of the common American and European ||species.
Pid"dle (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Piddled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Piddling (?).] [Cf. dial. Sw. pittla to keep picking at, Sw. peta to pick.] 1. To deal in trifles; to concern one's self with trivial matters rather than with those that are important. Ascham.
2. To be squeamishly nice about one's food. Swift.
3. To urinate; -- child's word.
Pid"dler (?), n. One who piddles.
Pid"dling (?), a.Trifling; trivial; frivolous; paltry; -- applied to persons and things.
The ignoble hucksterage of piddling tithes.
Milton.
Pid"dock (?), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Zoˆl.) Any species of Pholas; a pholad. See Pholas.
Pie (?), n. [OE. pie, pye; cf. Ir. & Gael. pighe pie, also Gael. pige an earthen jar or pot. Cf. Piggin.] 1. An article of food consisting of paste baked with something in it or under it; as, chicken pie; venison pie; mince pie; apple pie; pumpkin pie.
2. See Camp, n., 5. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
Pie crust, the paste of a pie.
Pie, n. [F. pie, L. pica; cf. picus woodpecker, pingere to paint; the bird being perhaps named from its colors. Cf. Pi, Paint, Speight.] 1. (Zoˆl.) (a) A magpie. (b) Any other species of the genus Pica, and of several allied genera. [Written also pye.]
2. (R. C. Ch.) The service book.
3. (Pritn.) Type confusedly mixed. See Pi.
By cock and pie, an adjuration equivalent to "by God and the service book." Shak. -- Tree pie (Zoˆl.), any Asiatic bird of the genus Dendrocitta, allied to the magpie. -- Wood pie. (Zoˆl.) See French pie, under French.
Pie, v. t. See Pi.
Pie"bald` (?), a. [Pie the party- colored bird + bald.] 1. Having spots and patches of black and white, or other colors; mottled; pied. "A piebald steed of Thracian strain." Dryden.
2. Fig.: Mixed. "Piebald languages." Hudibras.
Piece (?), n. [OE. pece, F. piËce, LL. pecia, petia, petium, probably of Celtic origin; cf. W. peth a thing, a part, portion, a little, Armor. pez, Gael. & Ir. cuid part, share. Cf. Petty.] 1. 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.
Bring it out piece by piece.
Ezek. xxiv. 6.
2. A definite portion or quantity, as of goods or work; as, a piece of broadcloth; a piece of wall paper.
3. 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; especially: (a) A literary or artistic composition; as, a piece of poetry, music, or statuary. (b) A musket, gun, or cannon; as, a battery of six pieces; a following piece. (c) A coin; as, a sixpenny piece; -- formerly applied specifically to an English gold coin worth 22 shillings. (d) A fact; an item; as, a piece of news; a piece of knowledge.
4. An individual; -- applied to a person as being of a certain nature or quality; often, but not always, used slightingly or in contempt. "If I had not been a piece of a logician before I came to him." Sir P. Sidney.
Thy mother was a piece of virtue.
Shak.
His own spirit is as unsettled a piece as there is in all the world.
Coleridge.
5. (Chess) One of the superior men, distinguished from a pawn.
6. A castle; a fortified building. [Obs.] Spenser.
Of a piece, of the same sort, as if taken from the same whole; like; -- sometimes followed by with. Dryden. -- Piece of eight, the Spanish piaster, formerly divided into eight reals. -- To give a piece of one's mind to, to speak plainly, bluntly, or severely to (another). Thackeray. -- Piece broker, one who buys shreds and remnants of cloth to sell again. -- Piece goods, goods usually sold by pieces or fixed portions, as shirtings, calicoes, sheetings, and the like.
Piece, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pieced (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Piecing (?).] 1. To make, enlarge, or repair, by the addition of a piece or pieces; to patch; as, to piece a garment; -- often with out. Shak.
2. To unite; to join; to combine. Fuller.
His adversaries . . . pieced themselves together in a joint opposition against him.
Fuller.
Piece (?), v. i. To unite by a coalescence of parts; to fit together; to join. "It pieced better." Bacon.
Piece"less, a. Not made of pieces; whole; entire.
Piece"ly, adv. In pieces; piecemeal. [Obs.]
Piece"meal` (?), adv. [OE. pecemele; pece a piece + AS. m&?;lum, dat. pl. of m&?;l part. See Meal a portion.] 1. In pieces; in parts or fragments. "On which it piecemeal brake." Chapman.
The beasts will tear thee piecemeal.
Tennyson.
2. Piece by piece; by little and little in succession.
Piecemeal they win, this acre first, than that.
Pope.
Piece"meal`, a. Made up of parts or pieces; single; separate. "These piecemeal guilts." Gov. of Tongue.
Piece"meal`, n. A fragment; a scrap. R. Vaughan.
Piece"mealed` (?), a. Divided into pieces.
Piece"ner (?), n. 1. One who supplies rolls of wool to the slubbing machine in woolen mills.
2. Same as Piecer, 2.
Pie"cer (?), n. 1. One who pieces; a patcher.
2. A child employed in spinning mill to tie together broken threads.
Piece"work` (?), n. Work done by the piece or job; work paid for at a rate based on the amount of work done, rather than on the time employed.
The reaping was piecework, at so much per acre.
R. Jefferies.
Pied (?), imp. & p. p. of Pi, or Pie, v.
Pied (?), a. [From Pie the party- colored bird.] Variegated with spots of different colors; party- colored; spotted; piebald. "Pied coats." Burton. "Meadows trim with daisies pied." Milton.
Pied antelope (Zoˆl.), the bontebok. -- Pied-billed grebe (Zoˆl.), the dabchick. -- Pied blackbird (Zoˆl.), any Asiatic thrush of the genus Turdulus. -- Pied finch (Zoˆl.) (a) The chaffinch. (b) The snow bunting. [Prov. Eng.] -- Pied flycatcher (Zoˆl.), a common European flycatcher (Ficedula atricapilla). The male is black and white.
Pied"mont (?), a. [F. pied foot + mont mountain.] (Geol.) Noting the region of foothills near the base of a mountain chain.
Pied"mont*ite (?), n. (Min.) A manganesian kind of epidote, from Piedmont. See Epidote.
Pied"ness (?), n. The state of being pied. Shak.
||PiÈ`douche" (?), n. [F., fr. It. peduccio console, corbel.] A ||pedestal of small size, used to support small objects, as busts, ||vases, and the like.
Pied"stall (?), n. See Pedestal. [Obs.]
Pie"man (?), n.; pl. Piemen (&?;). A man who makes or sells pies.
Piend (?), n. [Cf. Dan. pind a peg.] See Peen.
||Pi*e"no (?), a. [It., fr. L. plenus full.] (Mus.) Full; having all ||the instruments.
Pie"plant` (?), n. (Bot.) A plant (Rheum Rhaponticum) the leafstalks of which are acid, and are used in making pies; the garden rhubarb.
{ Pie"pou`dre, Pie"pow`der } (?), n. [Lit., dustyfoot, i. e., dusty-footed dealers, fr. F. pied foot + poudreux dusty.] (O. Eng. Law) An ancient court of record in England, formerly incident to every fair and market, of which the steward of him who owned or had the toll was the judge. Blackstone.
Pier (?), n. [OE. pere, OF. piere a stone, F. pierre, fr. L. petra, Gr. &?;. Cf. Petrify.] 1. (Arch.) (a) Any detached mass of masonry, whether insulated or supporting one side of an arch or lintel, as of a bridge; the piece of wall between two openings. (b) Any additional or auxiliary mass of masonry used to stiffen a wall. See Buttress.
2. A projecting wharf or landing place.
Abutment pier, the pier of a bridge next the shore; a pier which by its strength and stability resists the thrust of an arch. -- Pier glass, a mirror, of high and narrow shape, to be put up between windows. -- Pier table, a table made to stand between windows.
Pier"age (?), n. Same as Wharfage. Smart.
Pierce (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pierced (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Piercing (?).] [OE. percen, F. percer, OF. percier, perchier, parchier; perh. fr. (assumed) LL. pertusiare for pertusare, fr. L. pertundere, pertusum, to beat, push, bore through; per through + tundere to beat: cf. OF. pertuisier to pierce, F. pertuis a hole. Cf. Contuse, Parch, Pertuse.] 1. To thrust into, penetrate, or transfix, with a pointed instrument. "I pierce . . . her tender side." Dryden.
2. To penetrate; to enter; to force a way into or through; to pass into or through; as, to pierce the enemy's line; a shot pierced the ship.
3. Fig.: To penetrate; to affect deeply; as, to pierce a mystery. "Pierced with grief." Pope.
Can no prayers pierce thee?
Shak.
Pierce, v. i. To enter; to penetrate; to make a way into or through something, as a pointed instrument does; -- used literally and figuratively.
And pierced to the skin, but bit no more.
Spenser.
She would not pierce further into his meaning.
Sir P. Sidney.
Pierce"a*ble (?), a. That may be pierced.
Pierced (?), a. Penetrated; entered; perforated.
Pier"cel (?), n. [Cf. F. perce.] A kind of gimlet for making vents in casks; -- called also piercer.
Pier"cer (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, pierces or perforates; specifically: (a) An instrument used in forming eyelets; a stiletto. (b) A piercel.
2. (Zoˆl.) (a) The ovipositor, or sting, of an insect. (b) An insect provided with an ovipositor.
Pier"cing (?), a. Forcibly entering, or adapted to enter, at or by a point; perforating; penetrating; keen; -- used also figuratively; as, a piercing instrument, or thrust. "Piercing eloquence." Shak.
-- Pier"cing*ly, adv. -- Pier"cing*ness, n.
Pi*e"ri*an (?), a. [L. Pierius, from Mount Pierus, in Thessaly, sacred to the Muses.] Of or pertaining to Pierides or Muses.
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.
Pope.
Pi"er*id (?), n. [See Peirides.] (Zoˆl.) Any butterfly of the genus Pieris and related genera. See Cabbage butterfly, under Cabbage.
||Pi*er"i*des (?), n. pl. [L., fr. Gr. &?;. See Pierian.] (Class. ||Myth.) The Muses.
Pi"et (p"t), n. [Dim. of Pie a magpie: cf. F. piette a smew.] (Zoˆl.) (a) The dipper, or water ouzel. [Scot.] (b) The magpie. [Prov.Eng.]
Jay piet (Zoˆl.), the European jay. [Prov.Eng.] -- Sea piet (Zoˆl.), the oyster catcher. [Prov.Eng.]
||Pi*e*t‡" (p**t‰"), n. [It.] (Fine Arts) A representation of the dead ||Christ, attended by the Virgin Mary or by holy women and angels. ||Mollett.
Pi"e*tism (p"*tz'm), n. [Cf. G. pietismus, F. piÈtisme.] 1. The principle or practice of the Pietists.
2. Strict devotion; also, affectation of devotion.
The Schˆne Seele, that ideal of gentle pietism, in "Wilhelm Meister."
W. Pater.
Pi"e*tist (?), n. [Cf. G. pietist, F. piÈtiste. See Piety.] (Eccl. Hist.) One of a class of religious reformers in Germany in the 17th century who sought to revive declining piety in the Protestant churches; -- often applied as a term of reproach to those who make a display of religious feeling. Also used adjectively.
{ Pi`e*tis"tic (?), Pi`e*tis"tic*al (?), } a. Of or pertaining to the Pietists; hence, in contempt, affectedly or demonstratively religious. Addison.
||Pi*e"tra du"ra (?). [It., hard stone.] (Fine Arts) Hard and fine ||stones in general, such as are used for inlay and the like, as ||distinguished from the softer stones used in building; thus, a ||Florentine mosaic is a familiar instance of work in pietra dura, ||though the ground may be soft marble.
Pi"e*ty (?), n. [F. piÈtÈ; cf. It. piet‡; both fr. L. pietas piety, fr. pius pious. See Pious, and cf. Pity.] 1. 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.
Piety is the only proper and adequate relief of decaying man.
Rambler.
2. Duty; dutifulness; filial reverence and devotion; affectionate reverence and service shown toward parents, relatives, benefactors, country, etc.
Conferred upon me for the piety Which to my country I was judged to have shown.
Milton.
Syn. -- Religion; sanctity; devotion; godliness; holiness. See Religion.
Pie"wipe` (?), n. [So called from its note.] (Zoˆl.) The lapwing, or pewit. [Prov. Eng.]
Pi`e*zom"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. &?; to press + -meter: cf. F. piÈzomËtre.] 1. (Physics) An instrument for measuring the compressibility of liquids.
2. (Physics) A gauge connected with a water main to show the pressure at that point.
{ ||Pif"fe*ro (?), ||Pif"fa*ra (?), } n. [It. piffero.] (Mus.) A fife; also, a rude kind of oboe or a bagpipe with an inflated skin for reservoir.
Pig (?), n. A piggin. [Written also pigg.]
Pig, n. [Cf. D. big, bigge, LG. bigge, also Dan. pige girl, Sw. piga, Icel. pka.] 1. The young of swine, male or female; also, any swine; a hog. "Two pigges in a poke." Chaucer.
2. (Zoˆl.) Any wild species of the genus Sus and related genera.
3. [Cf. Sow a channel for melted iron.] An oblong mass of cast iron, lead, or other metal. See Mine pig, under Mine.
4. One who is hoggish; a greedy person. [Low]
Masked pig. (Zoˆl.) See under Masked. -- Pig bed (Founding), the bed of sand in which the iron from a smelting furnace is cast into pigs. -- Pig iron, cast iron in pigs, or oblong blocks or bars, as it comes from the smelting furnace. See Pig, 4. -- Pig yoke (Naut.), a nickname for a quadrant or sextant. -- A pig in a poke (that is, bag), a blind bargain; something bought or bargained for, without the quality or the value being known. [Colloq.]
Pig, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Pigged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Pigging (?).] 1. To bring forth (pigs); to bring forth in the manner of pigs; to farrow.
2. To huddle or lie together like pigs, in one bed.
Pi"geon (?), n. [F., fr. L. pipio a young pipping or chirping bird, fr. pipire to peep, chirp. Cf. Peep to chirp.] 1. (Zoˆl.) Any bird of the order ColumbÊ, of which numerous species occur in nearly all parts of the world.
The common domestic pigeon, or dove, was derived from the Old World rock pigeon (Columba livia). It has given rise to numerous very remarkable varieties, such as the carrier, fantail, nun, pouter, tumbler, etc. The common wild pigeons of the Eastern United States are the passenger pigeon, and the Carolina dove. See under Passenger, and Dove. See, also, Fruit pigeon, Ground pigeon, Queen pigeon, Stock pigeon, under Fruit, Ground, etc.
2. An unsuspected victim of sharpers; a gull. [Slang]
Blue pigeon (Zoˆl.), an Australian passerine bird (Graucalus melanops); -- called also black-faced crow. -- Green pigeon (Zoˆl.), any one of numerous species of Old World pigeons belonging to the family TreronidÊ. -- Imperial pigeon (Zoˆl.), any one of the large Asiatic fruit pigeons of the genus Carpophada. - - Pigeon berry (Bot.), the purplish black fruit of the pokeweed; also, the plant itself. See Pokeweed. -- Pigeon English [perhaps a corruption of business English], an extraordinary and grotesque dialect, employed in the commercial cities of China, as the medium of communication between foreign merchants and the Chinese. Its base is English, with a mixture of Portuguese and Hindoostanee. Johnson's Cyc. -- Pigeon grass (Bot.), a kind of foxtail grass (Setaria glauca), of some value as fodder. The seeds are eagerly eaten by pigeons and other birds. - - Pigeon hawk. (Zoˆl.) (a) A small American falcon (Falco columbarius). The adult male is dark slate-blue above, streaked with black on the back; beneath, whitish or buff, streaked with brown. The tail is banded. (b) The American sharp- shinned hawk (Accipiter velox, or fuscus). -- Pigeon hole. (a) A hole for pigeons to enter a pigeon house. (b) See Pigeonhole. (c) pl. An old English game, in which balls were rolled through little arches. Halliwell. -- Pigeon house, a dovecote. -- Pigeon pea (Bot.), the seed of Cajanus Indicus; a kind of pulse used for food in the East and West Indies; also, the plant itself. -- Pigeon plum (Bot.), the edible drupes of two West African species of Chrysobalanus (C. ellipticus and C. luteus). -- Pigeon tremex. (Zoˆl.) See under Tremex. -- Pigeon wood (Bot.), a name in the West Indies for the wood of several very different kinds of trees, species of Dipholis, Diospyros, and Coccoloba. -- Pigeon woodpecker (Zoˆl.), the flicker. -- Prairie pigeon. (Zoˆl.) (a) The upland plover. (b) The golden plover. [Local, U.S.]
<! p. 1085 !>
Pi"geon (?), v. t. To pluck; to fleece; to swindle by tricks in gambling. [Slang] Smart.
He's pigeoned and undone.
Observer.
Pi"geon-breast`ed (?), a. Having a breast like a pigeon, -- the sternum being so prominent as to constitute a deformity; chicken-breasted.
Pi"geon*foot` (?), n. (Bot.) The dove's-foot geranium (Geranium molle).
Pi"geon-heart`ed (?), a. Timid; easily frightened; chicken-hearted. Beau. & Fl.
Pi"geon*hole` (?), n. A small compartment in a desk or case for the keeping of letters, documents, etc.; -- so called from the resemblance of a row of them to the compartments in a dovecote. Burke.
Pi"geon*hole`, v. t. To place in the pigeonhole of a case or cabinet; hence, to put away; to lay aside indefinitely; as, to pigeonhole a letter or a report.
Pi"geon-liv`ered (?), a. Pigeon- hearted.
Pi"geon*ry (?), n. A place for pigeons; a dovecote.
Pi"geon*toed` (?), a. Having the toes turned in.
Pig"-eyed` (?), a. Having small, deep-set eyes.
Pig"fish` (?), n. (Zoˆl.) (a) Any one of several species of salt-water grunts; -- called also hogfish. (b) A sculpin. The name is also applied locally to several other fishes.
Pig"foot` (?), n. (Zoˆl.) A marine fish (ScorpÊna porcus), native of Europe. It is reddish brown, mottled with dark brown and black.
Pigg (?), n. A piggin. See 1st Pig. Sir W. Scott.
Pig"ger*y (?), n.; pl. Piggeries (&?;). A place where swine are kept.
Pig"gin (?), n. [Scot.; cf. Gael. pigean, dim. of pigeadh, pige, an earthen jar, pitcher, or pot, Ir. pigin, pighead, W. piccyn.] A small wooden pail or tub with an upright stave for a handle, -- often used as a dipper.
Pig"gish (?), a. Relating to, or like, a pig; greedy.
Pig"-head`ed (?), a. Having a head like a pig; hence, figuratively: stupidity obstinate; perverse; stubborn. B. Jonson. -- Pig"-head`ed*ness, n.
Pight (?), imp. & p. p. of Pitch, to throw; -- used also adjectively. Pitched; fixed; determined. [Obs.]
[His horse] pight him on the pommel of his head.
Chaucer.
I found him pight to do it.
Shak.
Pigh"tel (?), n. [Cf. Pight, Picle.] A small inclosure. [Written also pightle.] [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
Pig"-jawed` (?), a. (Zoˆl.) Having the upper jaw projecting beyond the lower, with the upper incisors in advance of the lower; -- said of dogs.
Pig*me"an (?), a. See Pygmean.
Pig"ment (?), n. [L. pigmentum, fr. the root of pingere to paint: cf. F. pigment. See Paint, and cf. Pimento, Orpiment.] 1. Any material from which a dye, a paint, or the like, may be prepared; particularly, the refined and purified coloring matter ready for mixing with an appropriate vehicle.
2. (Physiol.) Any one of the colored substances found in animal and vegetable tissues and fluids, as bilirubin, urobilin, chlorophyll, etc.
3. Wine flavored with species and honey. Sir W. Scott.
Pigment cell (Physiol.), a small cell containing coloring matter, as the pigmented epithelial cells of the choroid and iris, or the pigmented connective tissue cells in the skin of fishes, reptiles, etc.
{ Pig*men"tal (?), Pig"men*ta*ry (?), } a. Of or pertaining to pigments; furnished with pigments. Dunglison.
Pigmentary degeneration (Med.), a morbid condition in which an undue amount of pigment is deposited in the tissues.
Pig`men*ta"tion (?), n. (Physiol.) A deposition, esp. an excessive deposition, of coloring matter; as, pigmentation of the liver.
Pig"ment*ed (?), a. Colored; specifically (Biol.), filled or imbued with pigment; as, pigmented epithelial cells; pigmented granules.
Pig*men"tous (?), a. Pigmental.
Pig"my (?), n. See Pygmy.
Pigmy falcon. (Zoˆl.) Same as Falconet, 2 (a).
Pig"ner*ate (?), v. t. [L. pigneratus, p. p. of pignerate to pledge.] 1. To pledge or pawn. [Obs.]
2. to receive in pawn, as a pawnbroker does. [Obs.]
Pig`no*ra"tion (?), n. [LL. pignoratio, L. pigneratio, fr. pignerate to pledge, fr. pignus, gen. -ous and -eris, a pledge, a pawn: cf. F. pignoration.] 1. The act of pledging or pawning.
2. (Civil Law) The taking of cattle doing damage, by way of pledge, till satisfaction is made. Burrill.
Pig"no*ra*tive (?), a. [Cf. F. pignoratif.] Pledging, pawning. [R.]
||Pig"nus (?), n.; pl. Pignora (#). [L.] (Rom. Law) A pledge or pawn.
Pig"nut (?), n. (Bot.) (a) See Groundnut (d). (b) The bitter- flavored nut of a species of hickory (Carya glabra, or porcina); also, the tree itself.
Pig"pen` (?), n. A pen, or sty, for pigs.
Pig"skin` (?), n. The skin of a pig, -- used chiefly for making saddles; hence, a colloquial or slang term for a saddle.
Pigs"ney (?), n. [Perh. a dim. of Dan. pige a girl, or Sw. piga; or from E. pig's eye.] A word of endearment for a girl or woman. [Obs.] [Written also pigsnie, pigsny, etc.] Chaucer.
Pig"-stick`ing (?), n. Boar hunting; -- so called by Anglo-Indians. [Colloq.] Tackeray.
Pig"sty` (?), n.; pl. Pigsties (&?;). A pigpen.
Pig"tail` (?), n. 1. The tail of a pig.
2. (Hair Dressing) A cue, or queue. J. & H. Smith.
3. A kind of twisted chewing tobacco.
The tobacco he usually cheweth, called pigtail.
Swift.
Pig"tailed` (?), a. Having a tail like a pig's; as, the pigtailed baboon.
Pig"weed` (?), n. (Bot.) A name of several annual weeds. See Goosefoot, and Lamb's- quarters.
Pig"wid`geon (?), n. [Written also pigwidgin and pigwiggen.] A cant word for anything petty or small. It is used by Drayton as the name of a fairy.
Pi"ka (?), n. (Zoˆl.) Any one of several species of rodents of the genus Lagomys, resembling small tailless rabbits. They inhabit the high mountains of Asia and America. Called also calling hare, and crying hare. See Chief hare.
Pike (?), n. [F. pique; perhaps of Celtic origin; cf. W. pig a prick, a point, beak, Arm. pik pick. But cf. also L. picus woodpecker (see Pie magpie), and E. spike. Cf. Pick, n. & v., Peak, Pique.] 1. (Mil.) A foot soldier's weapon, consisting of a long wooden shaft or staff, with a pointed steel head. It is now superseded by the bayonet.
2. A pointed head or spike; esp., one in the center of a shield or target. Beau. & Fl.
3. A hayfork. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Tusser.
4. A pick. [Prov. Eng.] Wright. Raymond.
5. A pointed or peaked hill. [R.]
6. A large haycock. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
7. A turnpike; a toll bar. Dickens.