Part 47
Plight, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plighted; p. pr. & vb. n. Plighting.] [AS. plihtan to expose to danger, pliht danger;cf. D. verplichten to oblige, engage, impose a duty, G. verpflichten, Sw. fˆrplikta, Dan. forpligte. See Plight, n.] 1. To pledge; to give as a pledge for the performance of some act; as, to plight faith, honor, word; -- never applied to property or goods. " To do them plighte their troth." Piers Plowman.
He plighted his right hand Unto another love, and to another land.
Spenser.
Here my inviolable faith I plight.
Dryden.
2. To promise; to engage; to betroth.
Before its setting hour, divide The bridegroom from the plighted bride.
Sir W. Scott.
Plight"er (?), n. One who, or that which, plights.
Plim (?), v. i. [Cf. Plump.] To swell, as grain or wood with water. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.
Plim"soll's mark` (?). (Naut.) A mark conspicuously painted on the port side of all British sea-going merchant vessels, to indicate the limit of submergence allowed by law; -- so called from Samuel Plimsoll, by whose efforts the act of Parliament to prevent overloading was procured.
Plinth (?), n. [L. plinthus, Gr. &?; a brick or tile, a plinth, perh. akin to E. flint: cf. F. plinthe.] (Arch.) In classical architecture, a vertically faced member immediately below the circular base of a column; also, the lowest member of a pedestal; hence, in general, the lowest member of a base; a sub-base; a block upon which the moldings of an architrave or trim are stopped at the bottom. See Illust. of Column.
Pli"o*cene (?), a. [Written also pleiocene.] [Gr. &?; more + &?; new, recent.] (Geol.) Of, pertaining to, or characterizing, the most recent division of the Tertiary age.
Pli"o*cene, n. (Geol.) The Pliocene period or deposits.
||Pli`o*hip"pus (?), n. [NL., fr. E. pliocene + Gr. &?; horse.] ||(Paleon.) An extinct genus of horses from the Pliocene deposits. Each ||foot had a single toe (or hoof), as in the common horse.
||Pli`o*sau"rus (?), n. [NL., from Gr. &?; greater + &?; lizard.] ||(Paleon.) An extinct genus of marine reptiles allied to Plesiosaurus, ||but having a much shorter neck.
Plitt (?), n. [Russ. plete.] An instrument of punishment or torture resembling the knout, used in Russia.
Ploc (?), n. [F.] (Naut.) A mixture of hair and tar for covering the bottom of a ship.
||Plo"ce (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?; complication, fr. &?; to entwine.] ||(Rhet.) A figure in which a word is separated or repeated by way of ||emphasis, so as not only to signify the individual thing denoted by ||it, but also its peculiar attribute or quality; as, "His wife's a ||wife indeed." Bailey.
Plod (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Plodded (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Plodding.] [Gf. Gael. plod a clod, a pool; also, to strike or pelt with a clod or clods.] 1. To travel slowly but steadily; to trudge. Shak.
2. To toil; to drudge; especially, to study laboriously and patiently. "Plodding schoolmen." Drayton.
Plod, v. t. To walk on slowly or heavily.
The ploughman homeward plods his weary way.
Gray.
Plod"der (?), n. One who plods; a drudge.
Plod"ding (?), a. Progressing in a slow, toilsome manner; characterized by laborious diligence; as, a plodding peddler; a plodding student; a man of plodding habits. --Plod"ding*ly, adv.
Plonge (?), v. t. [See Plunge.] To cleanse, as open drains which are entered by the tide, by stirring up the sediment when the tide ebbs.
||Plon`gÈe" (?), n. [F. See Plunge.] (Mil.) A slope or sloping toward ||the front; as, the plongÈe of a parapet; the plongÈe of a shell in ||its course. [Sometimes written plonge.]
Plot (?), n. [AS. plot; cf. Goth. plats a patch. Cf. Plat a piece of ground.] 1. A small extent of ground; a plat; as, a garden plot. Shak.
2. A plantation laid out. [Obs.] Sir P. Sidney.
3. (Surv.) A plan or draught of a field, farm, estate, etc., drawn to a scale.
Plot, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plotted (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Plotting.] To make a plot, map, pr plan, of; to mark the position of on a plan; to delineate.
This treatise plotteth down Cornwall as it now standeth.
Carew.
Plot, n. [Abbrev. from complot.] 1. Any scheme, stratagem, secret design, or plan, of a complicated nature, adapted to the accomplishment of some purpose, usually a treacherous and mischievous one; a conspiracy; an intrigue; as, the Rye-house Plot.
I have overheard a plot of death.
Shak.
O, think what anxious moments pass between The birth of plots and their last fatal periods!
Addison.
2. A share in such a plot or scheme; a participation in any stratagem or conspiracy. [Obs.]
And when Christ saith, Who marries the divorced commits adultery, it is to be understood, if he had any plot in the divorce.
Milton.
3. Contrivance; deep reach of thought; ability to plot or intrigue. [Obs.] "A man of much plot." Denham.
4. A plan; a purpose. "No other plot in their religion but serve God and save their souls." Jer. Taylor.
5. In fiction, the story of a play, novel, romance, or poem, comprising a complication of incidents which are gradually unfolded, sometimes by unexpected means.
If the plot or intrigue must be natural, and such as springs from the subject, then the winding up of the plot must be a probable consequence of all that went before.
Pope.
Syn. -- Intrigue; stratagem; conspiracy; cabal; combination; contrivance.
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Plot (plt), v. i. 1. To form a scheme of mischief against another, especially against a government or those who administer it; to conspire. Shak.
The wicked plotteth against the just.
Ps. xxxvii. 12.
2. To contrive a plan or stratagem; to scheme.
The prince did plot to be secretly gone.
Sir H. Wotton.
Plot, v. t. To plan; to scheme; to devise; to contrive secretly. "Plotting an unprofitable crime." Dryden. "Plotting now the fall of others." Milton
Plot"ful (?), a. Abounding with plots.
Plo*tin"i*an (?), a.Of pertaining to the Plotinists or their doctrines.
Plo*ti"nist (?), n. (Eccl. Hist.) A disciple of Plotinus, a celebrated Platonic philosopher of the third century, who taught that the human soul emanates from the divine Being, to whom it reunited at death.
Plot"-proof` (?), a. Secure against harm by plots. Shak.
Plot"ter (?), n. One who plots or schemes; a contriver; a conspirator; a schemer. Dryden.
Plough (?), n. & v. See Plow.
Plov"er (?), n. [OF. plovier, F. pluvier, prop., the rain bird, fr. LL. (assumed) pluviarius, fr. L. pluvia rain, from pluere to rain; akin to E. float, G. fliessen to flow. See Float.] 1. (Zoˆl.) Any one of numerous species of limicoline birds belonging to the family CharadridÊ, and especially those belonging to the subfamily CharadrinsÊ. They are prized as game birds.
2. (Zoˆl.) Any grallatorial bird allied to, or resembling, the true plovers, as the crab plover (Dromas ardeola); the American upland, plover (Bartramia longicauda); and other species of sandpipers.
Among the more important species are the blackbellied, or blackbreasted, plover (Charadrius squatarola) of America and Europe; -- called also gray plover, bull-head plover, Swiss plover, sea plover, and oxeye; the golden plover (see under Golden); the ring or ringed plover (∆gialitis hiaticula). See Ringneck. The piping plover (∆gialitis meloda); Wilson's plover (∆. Wilsonia); the mountain plover (∆. montana); and the semipalmated plover (∆. semipalmata), are all small American species.
Bastard plover (Zoˆl.), the lapwing. -- Long-legged, or yellow- legged, plover. See Tattler. -- Plover's page, the dunlin. [Prov. Eng.] -- Rock plover, or Stone plover, the black-bellied plover. [Prov. Eng.] -- Whistling plover. (a) The golden plover. (b) The black-bellied plover.
{ Plow, Plough } (plou), n. [OE. plouh, plou, AS. plh; akin to D. ploeg, G. pflug, OHG. pfluog, pfluoh, Icel. plgr, Sw. plog, Dan. ploug, plov, Russ. plug', Lith. plugas.] 1. A well-known implement, drawn by horses, mules, oxen, or other power, for turning up the soil to prepare it for bearing crops; also used to furrow or break up the soil for other purposes; as, the subsoil plow; the draining plow.
Where fern succeeds ungrateful to the plow.
Dryden.
2. Fig.: Agriculture; husbandry. Johnson.
3. A carucate of land; a plowland. [Obs.] [Eng.]
Johan, mine eldest son, shall have plowes five.
Tale of Gamelyn.
4. A joiner's plane for making grooves; a grooving plane.
5. (Bookbinding) An implement for trimming or shaving off the edges of books.
6. (Astron.) Same as Charles's Wain.
Ice plow, a plow used for cutting ice on rivers, ponds, etc., into cakes suitable for storing. [U. S.] -- Mackerel plow. See under Mackerel. - - Plow alms, a penny formerly paid by every plowland to the church. Cowell. -- Plow beam, that part of the frame of a plow to which the draught is applied. See Beam, n., 9. -- Plow Monday, the Monday after Twelth Day, or the end of Christmas holidays. -- Plow staff. (a) A kind of long-handled spade or paddle for cleaning the plowshare; a paddle staff. (b) A plow handle. -- Snow plow, a structure, usually -shaped, for removing snow from sidewalks, railroads, etc., -- drawn or driven by a horse or a locomotive.
{ Plow, Plough, } v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plowed (ploud) or Ploughed; p. pr. & vb. n. Plowing or Ploughing.] 1. To turn up, break up, or trench, with a plow; to till with, or as with, a plow; as, to plow the ground; to plow a field.
2. To furrow; to make furrows, grooves, or ridges in; to run through, as in sailing.
Let patient Octavia plow thy visage up With her prepared nails.
Shak.
With speed we plow the watery way.
Pope.
3. (Bookbinding) To trim, or shave off the edges of, as a book or paper, with a plow. See Plow, n., 5.
4. (Joinery) To cut a groove in, as in a plank, or the edge of a board; especially, a rectangular groove to receive the end of a shelf or tread, the edge of a panel, a tongue, etc.
To plow in, to cover by plowing; as, to plow in wheat. -- To plow up, to turn out of the ground by plowing.
{ Plow, Plough } (plou), v. i. To labor with, or as with, a plow; to till or turn up the soil with a plow; to prepare the soil or bed for anything. Shak.
Doth the plowman plow all day to sow ?
Isa. xxviii. 24.
{ Plow"a*ble, Plough"a*ble } (?), a. Capable of being plowed; arable.
{ Plow"bote`, Plough"bote` } (?), n. (Eng. Law) Wood or timber allowed to a tenant for the repair of instruments of husbandry. See Bote.
{ Plow"boy`, Plough"boy` }, n. A boy that drives or guides a team in plowing; a young rustic.
{ Plow"er, Plough"er } (?), n. One who plows; a plowman; a cultivator.
{ Plow"foot`, Plough"foot` } (?), n. An adjustable staff formerly attached to the plow beam to determine the depth of the furrow. Piers Plowman.
{ Plow"gang`, Plough"gang` } (?), n. Same as Plowgate.
{ Plow"gate`, Plough"gate` } (?), n. The Scotch equivalent of the English word plowland.
Not having one plowgate of land.
Sir W. Scott.
{ Plow"head`, Plough"head` } (?), n. The clevis or draught iron of a plow.
{ Plow"land`, Ploug"land` } (?), n. 1. Land that is plowed, or suitable for tillage.
2. (O. Eng. Law) the quantity of land allotted for the work of one plow; a hide.
{ Plow"man, Plough"man } (?), n.; pl. -men (&?;). 1. One who plows, or who holds and guides a plow; hence, a husbandman. Chaucer. Macaulay.
2. A rustic; a countryman; a field laborer.
Plowman's spikenard (Bot.), a European composite weed (Conyza squarrosa), having fragrant roots. Dr. Prior.
{ Plow"point`, Plough"point` } (?), n. A detachable share at the extreme front end of the plow body.
{ Plow"share`, Plough"share" } (?), n. The share of a plow, or that part which cuts the slice of earth or sod at the bottom of the furrow.
Plowshare bone (Anat.), the pygostyle.
{ Plow"tail`, Plough"tail` } (?), n. The hind part or handle of a plow.
{ Plow"wright`, Plough"wright` } (?), n. One who makes or repairs plows.
Ploy (?), n. Sport; frolic. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Ploy, v. i. [Prob. abbrev. fr. deploy.] (Mil.) To form a column from a line of troops on some designated subdivision; -- the opposite of deploy. Wilhelm.
Ploy"ment (?), n. (Mil.) The act or movement of forming a column from a line of troops on some designated subdivision; -- the opposite of deployment.
Pluck (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plucked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Plucking.] [AS. pluccian; akin to LG. & D. plukken, G. pfl¸cken, Icel. plokka, plukka, Dan. plukke, Sw. plocka. &?;27.] 1. To pull; to draw.
Its own nature . . . plucks on its own dissolution.
Je&?;. Taylor.
2. Especially, to pull with sudden force or effort, or to pull off or out from something, with a twitch; to twitch; also, to gather, to pick; as, to pluck feathers from a fowl; to pluck hair or wool from a skin; to pluck grapes.
I come to pluck your berries harsh and crude.
Milton.
E'en children followed, with endearing wile, And plucked his gown to share the good man's smile.
Goldsmith.
3. To strip of, or as of, feathers; as, to pluck a fowl.
They which pass by the way do pluck her.
Ps. lxxx.&?;2.
4. (Eng. Universities) To reject at an examination for degrees. C. BrontÈ.
To pluck away, to pull away, or to separate by pulling; to tear away. -- To pluck down, to pull down; to demolish; to reduce to a lower state. -- to pluck off, to pull or tear off; as, to pluck off the skin. -- to pluck up. (a) To tear up by the roots or from the foundation; to eradicate; to exterminate; to destroy; as, to pluck up a plant; to pluck up a nation. Jer. xii. 17. (b) To gather up; to summon; as, to pluck up courage.
Pluck, v. i. To make a motion of pulling or twitching; -- usually with at; as, to pluck at one's gown.
Pluck, n. 1. The act of plucking; a pull; a twitch.
2. [Prob. so called as being plucked out after the animal is killed; or cf. Gael. & Ir. pluc a lump, a knot, a bunch.] The heart, liver, and lights of an animal.
3. Spirit; courage; indomitable resolution; fortitude.
Decay of English spirit, decay of manly pluck.
Thackeray.
4. The act of plucking, or the state of being plucked, at college. See Pluck, v. t., 4.
5. (Zoˆl.) The lyrie. [Prov. Eng.]
Plucked (?), a. Having courage and spirit. [R.]
Pluck"er, n. 1. One who, or that which, plucks.
Thou setter up and plucker down of kings.
Shak.
2. A machine for straightening and cleaning wool.
Pluck"i*ly (?), adv. In a plucky manner.
Pluck"i*ness, n. The quality or state of being plucky.
Pluck"less, a. Without pluck; timid; faint-hearted.
Pluck"y (?), a. [Compar. Pluckier (?); superl. Pluckiest.] Having pluck or courage; characterized by pluck; displaying pluck; courageous; spirited; as, a plucky race.
If you're plucky, and not over subject to fright.
Barham.
Pluff (?), v. t. [Prob. of imitative origin.] To throw out, as smoke, dust, etc., in puffs. [Scot.]
Pluff, n. 1. A puff, as of smoke from a pipe, or of dust from a puffball; a slight explosion, as of a small quantity of gunpowder. [Scot.]
2. A hairdresser's powder puff; also, the act of using it. [Scot.]
Plug (?), n. [Akin to D. plug, G. pflock, Dan. plˆk, plug, Sw. plugg; cf. W. ploc.] 1. Any piece of wood, metal, or other substance used to stop or fill a hole; a stopple.
2. A flat oblong cake of pressed tobacco. [U. S.]
3. A high, tapering silk hat. [Slang, U.S.]
4. A worthless horse. [Slang, U.S.]
5. (Building) A block of wood let into a wall, to afford a hold for nails.
Fire plug, a street hydrant to which hose may be attached. [U. S.] -- Hawse plug (Naut.), a plug to stop a hawse hole. -- Plug and feather. (Stone Working) See Feather, n., 7. -- Plug centerbit, a centerbit ending in a small cylinder instead of a point, so as to follow and enlarge a hole previously made, or to form a counterbore around it. -- Plug rod (Steam Eng.) , a rod attached to the beam for working the valves, as in the Cornish engine. -- Plug valve (Mech.), a tapering valve, which turns in a case like the plug of a faucet.
Plug (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plugged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Plugging (?).] To stop with a plug; to make tight by stopping a hole.
Plug"ger (?), n. One who, or that which, plugs.
Plug"ging, n. 1. The act of stopping with a plug.
2. The material of which a plug or stopple is made.
Plum (?), n. [AS. plme, fr. L. prunum; akin to Gr. &?;, &?;. Cf. Prune a dried plum.]
1. (Bot.) The edible drupaceous fruit of the Prunus domestica, and of several other species of Prunus; also, the tree itself, usually called plum tree.
The bullace, the damson, and the numerous varieties of plum, of our gardens, although growing into thornless trees, are believed to be varieties of the blackthorn, produced by long cultivation.
G. Bentham.
Two or three hundred varieties of plums derived from the Prunus domestica are described; among them the greengage, the Orleans, the purple gage, or Reine Claude Violette, and the German prune, are some of the best known.
Among the true plums are; Beach plum, the Prunus maritima, and its crimson or purple globular drupes, -- Bullace plum. See Bullace. -- Chickasaw plum, the American Prunus Chicasa, and its round red drupes. -- Orleans plum, a dark reddish purple plum of medium size, much grown in England for sale in the markets. -- Wild plum of America, Prunus Americana, with red or yellow fruit, the original of the Iowa plum and several other varieties.
Among plants called plum, but of other genera than Prunus, are; Australian plum, Cargillia arborea and C. australis, of the same family with the persimmon. -- Blood plum, the West African HÊmatostaphes Barteri. -- Cocoa plum, the Spanish nectarine. See under Nectarine. -- Date plum. See under Date. -- Gingerbread plum, the West African Parinarium macrophyllum. -- Gopher plum, the Ogeechee lime. -- Gray plum, Guinea plum. See under Guinea. -- Indian plum, several species of Flacourtia.
2. A grape dried in the sun; a raisin.
3. A handsome fortune or property; formerly, in cant language, the sum of £100,000 sterling; also, the person possessing it.
Plum bird, Plum budder (Zoˆl.), the European bullfinch. -- Plum gouger (Zoˆl.), a weevil, or curculio (Coccotorus scutellaris), which destroys plums. It makes round holes in the pulp, for the reception of its eggs. The larva bores into the stone and eats the kernel. -- Plum weevil (Zoˆl.), an American weevil which is very destructive to plums, nectarines, cherries, and many other stone fruits. It lays its eggs in crescent-shaped incisions made with its jaws. The larva lives upon the pulp around the stone. Called also turk, and plum curculio. See Illust. under Curculio.
||Plu"ma (pl"m), n.; pl. PlumÊ (-m). [L.] (Zoˆl.) A feather.
Plum"age (plm"j), n. [F., from plume a feather.] (Zoˆl.) The entire clothing of a bird.
It consist of the contour feathers, or the ordinary feathers covering the head, neck, and body; the tail feathers, with their upper and lower coverts; the wing feathers, including primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, with their coverts; and the down which lies beneath the contour feathers. See Illust. under Bird.
Plu*mas"sa*ry (?), n. [Cf. F. plumasseau.] A plume or collection of ornamental feathers.
||Plu`mas`sier" (?), n. [F.] One who prepares or deals in ornamental ||plumes or feathers.
Plumb (plm), n. [F. plomb, L. plumbum lead, a leaden ball or bullet; cf. Gr. mo`lybos, mo`libos, mo`lybdos. Cf. Plummet, Plunge.] A little mass or weight of lead, or the like, attached to a line, and used by builders, etc., to indicate a vertical direction; a plummet; a plumb bob. See Plumb line, below.
Plumb bob. See Bob, 4. -- Plumb joint, in sheet-metal work, a lap joint, fastened by solder. -- Plumb level. See under Level. -- Plumb line. (a) The cord by which a plumb bob is suspended; a plummet. (b) A line directed to the center of gravity of the earth. -- Plumb rule, a narrow board with a plumb line, used by builders and carpenters.
Plumb, a. Perpendicular; vertical; conforming the direction of a line attached to a plumb; as, the wall is plumb.
Plumb, adv. In a plumb direction; perpendicularly. "Plumb down he falls." Milton.
Plumb, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plumbed (plmd); p. pr. & vb. n. Plumbing (plm"ng).] 1. To adjust by a plumb line; to cause to be perpendicular; as, to plumb a building or a wall.
2. To sound with a plumb or plummet, as the depth of water; hence, to examine by test; to ascertain the depth, quality, dimension, etc.; to sound; to fathom; to test.
He did not attempt to plumb his intellect.
Ld. Lytton.
3. To seal with lead; as, to plumb a drainpipe.
4. To supply, as a building, with a system of plumbing.
Plumb"age (plm"j; 48), n. Leadwork [R.]
Plum*ba"gin (plm*b"jn), n. [L. plumbago leadwort, fr. plumbum lead; cf. F. plombagin.] (Chem.) A crystalline substance said to be found in the root of a certain plant of the Leadwort (Plumbago) family.
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Plum`ba*gin"e*ous (plm`b*jn"*s), a. (Bot.) Pertaining to natural order (PlumbagineÊ) of gamopetalous herbs, of which Plumbago is the type. The order includes also the marsh rosemary, the thrift, and a few other genera.
Plum*bag"i*nous (?), a. Resembling plumbago; consisting of, or containing, plumbago; as, a plumbaginous slate.
Plum*ba"go, n. [L., from plumbum lead.] 1. (Min.) Same as Graphite.
2. (Bot.) A genus of herbaceous plants with pretty salver-shaped corollas, usually blue or violet; leadwort.
{ Plum"be*an (?), Plum"be*ous (?), } a. [L. plumbeus, from plumbum the metal lead.] 1. Consisting of, or resembling, lead. J. Ellis.
2. Dull; heavy; stupid. [R.] J. P. Smith.
Plumb"er (?), n. [F. plombier. See Plumb.] One who works in lead; esp., one who furnishes, fits, and repairs lead, iron, or glass pipes, and other apparatus for the conveyance of water, gas, or drainage in buildings.
Plumb"er block` (?). A pillow block.
Plumb"er*y (?), n. [F. plomberie.] 1. The business of a plumber. [Obs.]
2. A place where plumbing is carried on; lead works.
Plum"bic (?), a. [From Plumbum.] (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, resembling, or containing, lead; -- used specifically to designate those compounds in which it has a higher valence as contrasted with plumbous compounds; as, plumbic oxide.
Plum*bif"er*ous (?), a. [Plumbum + -ferous.] Producing or containing lead. Kirwan.
Plumb"ing (?), n. 1. The art of casting and working in lead, and applying it to building purposes; especially, the business of furnishing, fitting, and repairing pipes for conducting water, sewage, etc. Gwilt.
2. The lead or iron pipes, and other apparatus, used in conveying water, sewage, etc., in a building.
Plum"bism (?), n. [From Plumbum.] (Med.) A diseased condition, produced by the absorption of lead, common among workers in this metal or in its compounds, as among painters, typesetters, etc. It is characterized by various symptoms, as lead colic, lead line, and wrist drop. See under Colic, Lead, and Wrist.
Plum"bous (?), a. [From Plumbum.] (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or containing, lead; -- used specifically to designate those compounds in which it has a lower valence as contrasted with plumbic compounds.
||Plum"bum (?), n. [L.] (Chem.) The technical name of lead. See Lead.
Plume (?), n. [F., fr. L. pluma. Cf. Fly, v.]