Part 61
Pound, n. [AS. pund an inclosure: cf. forpyndan to turn away, or to repress, also Icel. pynda to extort, torment, Ir. pont, pond, pound. Cf. Pinder, Pinfold, Pin to inclose, Pond.] 1. An inclosure, maintained by public authority, in which cattle or other animals are confined when taken in trespassing, or when going at large in violation of law; a pinfold. Shak.
2. A level stretch in a canal between locks.
3. (Fishing) A kind of net, having a large inclosure with a narrow entrance into which fish are directed by wings spreading outward.
Pound covert, a pound that is close or covered over, as a shed. -- Pound overt, a pound that is open overhead.
Pound, v. t. To confine in, or as in, a pound; to impound. Milton.
Pound, n.; pl. Pounds (#), collectively Pound or Pounds. [AS. pund, fr. L. pondo, akin to pondus a weight, pendere to weigh. See Pendant.] 1. A certain specified weight; especially, a legal standard consisting of an established number of ounces.
The pound in general use in the United States and in England is the pound avoirdupois, which is divided into sixteen ounces, and contains 7,000 grains. The pound troy is divided into twelve ounces, and contains 5,760 grains. 144 pounds avoirdupois are equal to 175 pounds troy weight. See Avoirdupois, and Troy.
2. A British denomination of money of account, equivalent to twenty shillings sterling, and equal in value to about $4.86. There is no coin known by this name, but the gold sovereign is of the same value.
The pound sterling was in Saxon times, about a. d. 671, a pound troy of silver, and a shilling was its twentieth part; consequently the latter was three times as large as it is at present. Peacham.
Pound"age (?), n. 1. A sum deducted from a pound, or a certain sum paid for each pound; a commission.
2. A subsidy of twelve pence in the pound, formerly granted to the crown on all goods exported or imported, and if by aliens, more. [Eng.] Blackstone.
3. (Law) The sum allowed to a sheriff or other officer upon the amount realized by an execution; -- estimated in England, and formerly in the United States, at so much of the pound. Burrill. Bouvier.
Pound"age, v. t. To collect, as poundage; to assess, or rate, by poundage. [R.]
Pound"age, n. [See 3d Pound.] 1. Confinement of cattle, or other animals, in a public pound.
2. A charge paid for the release of impounded cattle.
Pound"al (?), n. [From 5th Pound.] (Physics & Mech.) A unit of force based upon the pound, foot, and second, being the force which, acting on a pound avoirdupois for one second, causes it to acquire by the of that time a velocity of one foot per second. It is about equal to the weight of half an ounce, and is 13,825 dynes.
Pound"-breach` (?), n. The breaking of a public pound for releasing impounded animals. Blackstone.
Pound"cake` (?), n. A kind of rich, sweet cake; -- so called from the ingredients being used by pounds, or in equal quantities.
Pound"er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, pounds, as a stamp in an ore mill.
2. An instrument used for pounding; a pestle.
3. A person or thing, so called with reference to a certain number of pounds in value, weight, capacity, etc.; as, a cannon carrying a twelve-pound ball is called a twelve pounder.
Before the English reform act of 1867, one who was an elector by virtue of paying ten pounds rent was called a ten pounder.
Pound"ing (?), n. 1. The act of beating, bruising, or breaking up; a beating.
2. A pounded or pulverized substance. [R.] "Covered with the poundings of these rocks." J. S. Blackie.
Pound"keep`er (?), n. The keeper of a pound.
Pound"*rate` (?), n. A rate or proportion estimated at a certain amount for each pound; poundage.
Poup (?), v. i. See Powp. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Pou*part's" lig"a*ment (?). (Anat.) A ligament, of fascia, extending, in most mammals, from the ventral side of the ilium to near the symphysis of the pubic bones.
Pou"pe*ton (?), n. [See Puppet.] A puppet, or little baby. [Obs.] Palsgrave.
Pour (?), a. Poor. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Pour (?), v. i. To pore. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Pour (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poured (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Pouring.] [OE. pouren, of uncertain origin; cf. W. bwrw to cast, throw, shed, bwrw gwlaw to rain.] 1. To cause to flow in a stream, as a liquid or anything flowing like a liquid, either out of a vessel or into it; as, to pour water from a pail; to pour wine into a decanter; to pour oil upon the waters; to pour out sand or dust.
2. To send forth as in a stream or a flood; to emit; to let escape freely or wholly.
I . . . have poured out my soul before the Lord.
1 Sam. i. 15.
Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee.
Ezek. vii. 8.
London doth pour out her citizens !
Shak.
Wherefore did Nature pour her bounties forth With such a full and unwithdrawing hand ?
Milton.
3. To send forth from, as in a stream; to discharge uninterruptedly.
Is it for thee the linnet pours his throat ?
Pope.
Pour, v. i. To flow, pass, or issue in a stream, or as a stream; to fall continuously and abundantly; as, the rain pours; the people poured out of the theater.
In the rude throng pour on with furious pace.
Gay.
Pour, n. A stream, or something like a stream; a flood. [Colloq.] "A pour of rain." Miss Ferrier.
Poure"liche` (?), adv. Poorly. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Pour"er (?), n. One who pours.
Pour"lieu (?), n. See Purlieu.
||Pour`par`ler" (?), n. [F.] (Diplomacy) A consultation preliminary to ||a treaty.
Pour`par"ty (?), n.; pl. Pourparties (#). [See Purparty.] (Law) A division; a divided share.
To make pourparty, to divide and apportion lands previously held in common.
Pour"point (?), n. [F.] A quilted military doublet or gambeson worn in the 14th and 15th centuries; also, a name for the doublet of the 16th and 17th centuries worn by civilians.
Pour*pres"ture (?; 135), n. (Law) See Purpresture.
Pour"sui*vant (?), n. See Pursuivant.
Pour*tray" (?), v. t. See Portray.
Pour*vey"ance (?), n. See Purveyance.
Pousse (ps), n. Pulse; pease. [Obs.] Spenser.
Pous*sette" (p*st"), n. [F., pushpin, fr. pousser to push. See Push.] A movement, or part of a figure, in the contradance. Dickens.
Pous*sette", v. i. To perform a certain movement in a dance. [R.] Tennyson.
Down the middle, up again, poussette, and cross.
J. & H. Smith.
Pout (pt), n. [F. poulet. See Poult.] The young of some birds, as grouse; a young fowl. Carew.
Pout (pt), v. i. To shoot pouts. [Scot.]
Pout (pout), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pouted; p. pr. & vb. n. Pouting.] [OE. pouten, of uncertain origin; cf. Prov. pot lip, Prov. F. potte, faire la potte to pout, W. pwdu to pout, be sullen, poten, potten, a paunch, belly.] 1. To thrust out the lips, as in sullenness or displeasure; hence, to look sullen.
Thou poutest upon thy fortune and thy love.
Shak.
2. To protrude. "Pouting lips." Dryden.
Pout, n. A sullen protrusion of the lips; a fit of sullenness. "Jack's in the pouts." J. & H. Smith.
Pout, n. [Cf. Eelpout.] (Zoˆl.) The European whiting pout or bib.
Eel pout. (Zoˆl.) See Eelpout. -- Horn pout, or Horned pout. (Zoˆl.) See Bullhead (b).
Pout"er (-r), n. 1. One who, or that which, pouts.
2. [Cf. E. pout, and G. puter turkey.] (Zoˆl.) A variety of the domestic pigeon remarkable for the extent to which it is able to dilate its throat and breast.
Pout"ing, n. Childish sullenness.
Pout"ing*ly, adv. In a pouting, or a sullen, manner.
Pov"ert (pv"rt), n. Poverty. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Pov"er*ty (pv"r*t), n. [OE. poverte, OF. povertÈ, F. pauvretÈ, fr. L. paupertas, fr. pauper poor. See Poor.] 1. The quality or state of being poor or indigent; want or scarcity of means of subsistence; indigence; need. "Swathed in numblest poverty." Keble.
The drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty.
Prov. xxiii. 21.
2. Any deficiency of elements or resources that are needed or desired, or that constitute richness; as, poverty of soil; poverty of the blood; poverty of ideas.
Poverty grass (Bot.), a name given to several slender grasses (as Aristida dichotoma, and Danthonia spicata) which often spring up on old and worn-out fields.
Syn. -- Indigence; penury; beggary; need; lack; want; scantiness; sparingness; meagerness; jejuneness. Poverty, Indigence, Pauperism. Poverty is a relative term; what is poverty to a monarch, would be competence for a day laborer. Indigence implies extreme distress, and almost absolute destitution. Pauperism denotes entire dependence upon public charity, and, therefore, often a hopeless and degraded state.
{ Pow"an (?), Pow"en (?) }, n. (Zoˆl.) A small British lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeoides, or C. ferus); -- called also gwyniad and lake herring.
Pow"der (?), n. [OE. poudre, pouldre, F. poudre, OF. also poldre, puldre, L. pulvis, pulveris: cf. pollen fine flour, mill dust, E. pollen. Cf. Polverine, Pulverize.] 1. The fine particles to which any dry substance is reduced by pounding, grinding, or triturating, or into which it falls by decay; dust.
Grind their bones to powder small.
Shak.
2. An explosive mixture used in gunnery, blasting, etc.; gunpowder. See Gunpowder.
Atlas powder, Baking powder, etc. See under Atlas, Baking, etc. -- Powder down (Zoˆl.), the peculiar dust, or exfoliation, of powder-down feathers. -- Powder- down feather (Zoˆl.), one of a peculiar kind of modified feathers which sometimes form patches on certain parts of some birds. They have a greasy texture and a scaly exfoliation. - - Powder-down patch (Zoˆl.), a tuft or patch of powder-down feathers. -- Powder hose, a tube of strong linen, about an inch in diameter, filled with powder and used in firing mines. Farrow. -- Powder hoy (Naut.), a vessel specially fitted to carry powder for the supply of war ships. They are usually painted red and carry a red flag. -- Powder magazine, or Powder room. See Magazine, 2. -- Powder mine, a mine exploded by gunpowder. See Mine. -- Powder monkey (Naut.), a boy formerly employed on war vessels to carry powder; a powder boy. -- Powder post. See Dry rot, under Dry. -- Powder puff. See Puff, n.
Pow"der, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Powdered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Powdering.] [F. poudrer.] 1. To reduce to fine particles; to pound, grind, or rub into a powder; to comminute; to pulverize; to triturate.
2. To sprinkle with powder, or as with powder; to be sprinkle; as, to powder the hair.
A circling zone thou seest Powdered with stars.
Milton.
3. To sprinkle with salt; to corn, as meat. [Obs.]
Pow"der, v. i. 1. To be reduced to powder; to become like powder; as, some salts powder easily.
2. To use powder on the hair or skin; as, she paints and powders.
Pow"dered (?), a. 1. Reduced to a powder; sprinkled with, or as with, powder.
2. Sprinkled with salt; salted; corned. [Obs.]
Powdered beef, pickled meats.
Harvey.
3. (Her.) Same as SemÈ. Walpole.
Pow"der*flask` (?), n. A flask in which gunpowder is carried, having a charging tube at the end.
Pow"der*horn` (?), n. A horn in which gunpowder is carried.
Pow"der*ing, a. & n. from Powder, v. t.
Powdering tub. (a) A tub or vessel in which meat is corned or salted. (b) A heated tub in which an infected lecher was placed for cure. [Obs.] Shak.
Pow"der*mill` (?), n. A mill in which gunpowder is made.
Pow"der-post`ed (?), a. Affected with dry rot; reduced to dust by rot. See Dry rot, under Dry. [U.S.]
Pow"der*y (?), a. 1. Easily crumbling to pieces; friable; loose; as, a powdery spar.
2. Sprinkled or covered with powder; dusty; as, the powdery bloom on plums.
3. Resembling powder; consisting of powder. "The powdery snow." Wordsworth.
Pow"dike (?), n. [Scot. pow, pou, a pool, a watery or marshy place, fr. E. pool.] A dike a marsh or fen. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
Pow"dry (?), a. See Powdery.
Pow"er (?), n. (Zoˆl.) Same as Poor, the fish.
Pow"er, n. [OE. pouer, poer, OF. poeir, pooir, F. pouvoir, n. & v., fr. LL. potere, for L. posse, potesse, to be able, to have power. See Possible, Potent, and cf. Posse comitatus.] 1. Ability to act, regarded as latent or inherent; the faculty of doing or performing something; capacity for action or performance; capability of producing an effect, whether physical or moral: potency; might; as, a man of great power; the power of capillary attraction; money gives power. "One next himself in power, and next in crime." Milton.
2. Ability, regarded as put forth or exerted; strength, force, or energy in action; as, the power of steam in moving an engine; the power of truth, or of argument, in producing conviction; the power of enthusiasm. "The power of fancy." Shak.
3. Capacity of undergoing or suffering; fitness to be acted upon; susceptibility; -- called also passive power; as, great power of endurance.
Power, then, is active and passive; faculty is active power or capacity; capacity is passive power.
Sir W. Hamilton.
4. The exercise of a faculty; the employment of strength; the exercise of any kind of control; influence; dominion; sway; command; government.
Power is no blessing in itself but when it is employed to protect the innocent.
Swift.
5. The agent exercising an ability to act; an individual invested with authority; an institution, or government, which exercises control; as, the great powers of Europe; hence, often, a superhuman agent; a spirit; a divinity. "The powers of darkness." Milton.
And the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
Matt. xxiv. 29.
6. A military or naval force; an army or navy; a great host. Spenser.
Never such a power . . . Was levied in the body of a land.
Shak.
<! p. 1123 !>
7. A large quantity; a great number; as, a power o&?; good things. [Colloq.] Richardson.
8. (Mech.) (a) The rate at which mechanical energy is exerted or mechanical work performed, as by an engine or other machine, or an animal, working continuously; as, an engine of twenty horse power.
The English unit of power used most commonly is the horse power. See Horse power.
(b) A mechanical agent; that from which useful mechanical energy is derived; as, water power; steam power; hand power, etc. (c) Applied force; force producing motion or pressure; as, the power applied at one and of a lever to lift a weight at the other end.
This use in mechanics, of power as a synonym for force, is improper and is becoming obsolete.
(d) A machine acted upon by an animal, and serving as a motor to drive other machinery; as, a dog power.
Power is used adjectively, denoting, driven, or adapted to be driven, by machinery, and not actuated directly by the hand or foot; as, a power lathe; a power loom; a power press.
9. (Math.) The product arising from the multiplication of a number into itself; as, a square is the second power, and a cube is third power, of a number.
10. (Metaph.) Mental or moral ability to act; one of the faculties which are possessed by the mind or soul; as, the power of thinking, reasoning, judging, willing, fearing, hoping, etc. I. Watts.
The guiltiness of my mind, the sudden surprise of my powers, drove the grossness . . . into a received belief.
Shak.
11. (Optics) The degree to which a lens, mirror, or any optical instrument, magnifies; in the telescope, and usually in the microscope, the number of times it multiplies, or augments, the apparent diameter of an object; sometimes, in microscopes, the number of times it multiplies the apparent surface.
12. (Law) An authority enabling a person to dispose of an interest vested either in himself or in another person; ownership by appointment. Wharton.
13. Hence, vested authority to act in a given case; as, the business was referred to a committee with power.
Power may be predicated of inanimate agents, like the winds and waves, electricity and magnetism, gravitation, etc., or of animal and intelligent beings; and when predicated of these beings, it may indicate physical, mental, or moral ability or capacity.
Mechanical powers. See under Mechanical. -- Power loom, or Power press. See Def. 8 (d), note. -- Power of attorney. See under Attorney. -- Power of a point (relative to a given curve) (Geom.), the result of substituting the coˆrdinates of any point in that expression which being put equal to zero forms the equation of the curve; as, x2 + y2 - 100 is the power of the point x, y, relative to the circle x2 + y2 - 100 = 0.
Pow"er*a*ble (?), a. 1. Capable of being effected or accomplished by the application of power; possible. [R.] J. Young.
2. Capable of exerting power; powerful. Camden.
Pow"er*ful (?), a. 1. Full of power; capable of producing great effects of any kind; potent; mighty; efficacious; intense; as, a powerful man or beast; a powerful engine; a powerful argument; a powerful light; a powerful vessel.
The powerful grace that lies In herbs, plants, stones, and their true qualities.
Shak.
2. (Mining) Large; capacious; -- said of veins of ore.
Syn. -- Mighty; strong; potent; forcible; efficacious; energetic; intense.
-- Pow"er*ful*ly, adv. -- Pow"er*ful*ness, n.
Pow"er*less, a. Destitute of power, force, or energy; weak; impotent; not able to produce any effect. -- Pow"er*less*ly, adv. -- Pow"er*less*ness, n.
Powl"dron (?), n. [OF. espauleron, from espaule shoulder, F. Èpaule.] Same as Pauldron.
Powp (?), v. i. See Poop, v. i. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Pow"ter (pou"tr), n. (Zoˆl.) See Pouter.
Pow"wow` (?), n. 1. A priest, or conjurer, among the North American Indians.
Be it sagamore, sachem, or powwow.
Longfellow.
2. Conjuration attended with great noise and confusion, and often with feasting, dancing, etc., performed by Indians for the cure of diseases, to procure success in hunting or in war, and for other purposes.
3. Hence: Any assembly characterized by noise and confusion; a noisy frolic or gathering. [Colloq. U. S.]
Pow"wow`, v. i. 1. To use conjuration, with noise and confusion, for the cure of disease, etc., as among the North American Indians.
2. Hence: To hold a noisy, disorderly meeting. [Colloq. U. S.]
Pox (?), n. [For pocks, OE. pokkes. See Pock. It is plural in form but is used as a singular.] (Med.) Strictly, a disease by pustules or eruptions of any kind, but chiefly or wholly restricted to three or four diseases, -- the smallpox, the chicken pox, and the vaccine and the venereal diseases.
Pox, when used without an epithet, as in imprecations, formerly signified smallpox; but it now signifies syphilis.
Pox, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poxed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Poxing.] To infect with the pox, or syphilis.
Poy (?), n. [OF. apui, apoi, a support, prop., staff, F. appui, fr. OF. apuier, apoier, to support, F. appuyer, fr. ‡ to (L. ad) + OF. pui, poi, a rising ground, hill, L. podium. See Podium, Pew.] 1. A support; -- used in composition; as, teapoy.
2. A ropedancer's balancing pole. Johnson.
3. A long boat hook by which barges are propelled against the stream. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
Poy*na"do (?), n. A poniard. [Obs.] Lyly.
Poynd (?), v., Poynd"er (&?;), n. See Poind, Poinder.
Poy nette" (?), n. [Cf. Point.] A bodkin. [Obs.]
Poyn"tel (?), n. [See Pointal.] (Arch.) Paving or flooring made of small squares or lozenges set diagonally. [Formerly written pointal.]
Poy"ou (?), n. (Zoˆl.) A South American armadillo (Dasypus sexcinctus). Called also sixbanded armadillo.
Poze (?), v. t. See 5th Pose.
{ Poz`zu*o*la"na (?), Poz`zo*la"*na (?) }, n. [It.] Volcanic ashes from Pozzuoli, in Italy, used in the manufacture of a kind of mortar which hardens under water.
Praam (?), n. [D. praam; cf. G. prahm, F. prame; all of Slavonic origin, from a word akin to E. fare. See Fare.] (Naut.) A flat- bottomed boat or lighter, -- used in Holland and the Baltic, and sometimes armed in case of war. [Written also pram, and prame.]
Prac"tic (?), a. [See Practical.] 1. Practical.
2. Artful; deceitful; skillful. [Obs.] "Cunning sleights and practick knavery." Spenser.
Prac"ti*ca*bil"i*ty (?), n. The quality or state of being practicable; practicableness; feasibility. "The practicability of such a project." Stewart.
Prac"ti*ca*ble (?), a. [LL. practicare to act, transact, fr. L. practicus active, Gr. &?;: cf. F. practicable, pratiquer to practice. See Practical.] 1. That may be practiced or performed; capable of being done or accomplished with available means or resources; feasible; as, a practicable method; a practicable aim; a practicable good.
2. Capable of being used; passable; as, a practicable weapon; a practicable road.
Practicable breach (Mil.), a breach which admits of approach and entrance by an assailing party.
Syn. -- Possible; feasible. -- Practicable, Possible. A thing may be possible, i. e., not forbidden by any law of nature, and yet may not now be practicable for want of the means requisite to its performance.
-- Prac"ti*ca*ble*ness, n. -- Prac"ti*ca*bly, adv.
Prac"ti*cal (?), a. [L. practicus active, Gr. &?; fit for doing or performing, practical, active, fr. &?; to do, work, effect: cf. F. pratique, formerly also practique. Cf. Pragmatic, Practice.] 1. Of or pertaining to practice or action.
2. Capable of being turned to use or account; useful, in distinction from ideal or theoretical; as, practical chemistry. "Man's practical understanding." South. "For all practical purposes." Macaulay.
3. Evincing practice or skill; capable of applying knowledge to some useful end; as, a practical man; a practical mind.
4. Derived from practice; as, practical skill.
Practical joke, a joke put in practice; a joke the fun of which consists in something done, in distinction from something said; esp., a trick played upon a person.
Prac`ti*cal"i*ty (?), n. The quality or state of being practical; practicalness.
Prac"ti*cal*ly (?), adv. 1. In a practical way; not theoretically; really; as, to look at things practically; practically worthless.
2. By means of practice or use; by experience or experiment; as, practically wise or skillful; practically acquainted with a subject.
3. In practice or use; as, a medicine practically safe; theoretically wrong, but practically right.
Prac"ti*cal*ness, n. Same as Practicality.
Prac"ti*cal*ize (?), v. t. To render practical. [R.] "Practicalizing influences." J. S. Mill.
Prac"tice (?), n. [OE. praktike, practique, F. pratique, formerly also, practique, LL. practica, fr. Gr. &?;, fr. &?; practical. See Practical, and cf. Pratique, Pretty.] 1. Frequently repeated or customary action; habitual performance; a succession of acts of a similar kind; usage; habit; custom; as, the practice of rising early; the practice of making regular entries of accounts; the practice of daily exercise.
A heart . . . exercised with covetous practices.
2 Pet. ii. 14.
2. Customary or constant use; state of being used.
Obsolete words may be revived when they are more sounding or more significant than those in practice.
Dryden.
3. Skill or dexterity acquired by use; expertness. [R.] "His nice fence and his active practice." Shak.
4. Actual performance; application of knowledge; -- opposed to theory.
There are two functions of the soul, -- contemplation and practice.
South.
There is a distinction, but no opposition, between theory and practice; each, to a certain extent, supposes the other; theory is dependent on practice; practice must have preceded theory.
Sir W. Hamilton.
5. Systematic exercise for instruction or discipline; as, the troops are called out for practice; she neglected practice in music.
6. Application of science to the wants of men; the exercise of any profession; professional business; as, the practice of medicine or law; a large or lucrative practice.
Practice is exercise of an art, or the application of a science in life, which application is itself an art.
Sir W. Hamilton.