Peep - Pellage

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3. To look cautiously or slyly; to peer, as through a crevice; to pry.
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Peep through the blanket of the dark. Shak.
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From her cabined loophole peep. Milton.
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Coloq. Peep sight , an adjustable piece, pierced with a small hole to peep through in aiming, attached to a rifle or other firearm near the breech.
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Peep (pēp), n. 1. The cry of a young chicken; a chirp.
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2. First outlook or appearance.
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Oft have we seen him at the peep of dawn. Gray.
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3. A sly look; a look as through a crevice, or from a place of concealment.
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To take t' other peep at the stars. Swift.
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4. (Zoöl.) (a) Any small sandpiper, as the least sandpiper (Trigna minutilla). (b) The European meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis).
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Coloq. Peep show , a small show, or object exhibited, which is viewed through an orifice or a magnifying glass. -- Coloq. Peep-o'-day boys , the Irish insurgents of 1784; -- so called from their visiting the house of the loyal Irish at day break in search of arms. [Cant]
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Peeper (?), n. 1. A chicken just breaking the shell; a young bird.
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2. One who peeps; a prying person; a spy.
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Who's there? peepers, . . . eavesdroppers? J. Webster.
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3. The eye; as, to close the peepers. [Colloq.]
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Peephole (?), n. A hole, or crevice, through which one may peep without being discovered.
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Peeping hole. See .
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Peep sight. An adjustable piece, pierced with a small hole to peep through in aiming, attached to a rifle or other firearm near the breech; -- distinguished from an open sight.
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peepul (pēpŭl), Peepul tree (pēpŭl trē). [Hind. pīpal, Skr. pippala.] (Bot.) A sacred tree (Ficus religiosa) of the Buddhists, a kind of fig tree which attains great size and venerable age; it lacks the prop roots of the banyan. See . [Written also pippul tree, and pipal tree.]
Syn. -- pipal, peepul, peepul tree, pipal tree, pipul, sacred fig, bo tree, Ficus religiosa.
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Peer (pēr), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Peered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Peering.] [OF. parir, pareir equiv. to F. paraître to appear, L. parere. Cf. .] 1. To come in sight; to appear. [Poetic]
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So honor peereth in the meanest habit. Shak.
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See how his gorget peers above his gown! B. Jonson.
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2. [Perh. a different word; cf. OE. piren, LG. piren. Cf. to peep.] To look narrowly or curiously or intently; to peep; as, the peering day. Milton.
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Peering in maps for ports, and piers, and roads. Shak.
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As if through a dungeon grate he peered. Coleridge.
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Peer, n. [OE. per, OF. per, F. pair, fr. L. par equal. Cf. , , , n., .] 1. One of the same rank, quality, endowments, character, etc.; an equal; a match; a mate.
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In song he never had his peer. Dryden.
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Shall they consort only with their peers? I. Taylor.
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2. A comrade; a companion; a fellow; an associate.
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He all his peers in beauty did surpass. Spenser.
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3. A nobleman; a member of one of the five degrees of the British nobility, namely, duke, marquis, earl, viscount, baron; as, a peer of the realm.
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A noble peer of mickle trust and power. Milton.
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Coloq. House of Peers , Coloq. The Peers , the British House of Lords. See . -- Coloq. Spiritual peers , the bishops and archibishops, or lords spiritual, who sit in the House of Lords.
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Peer v. t. To make equal in rank. [R.] Heylin.
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Peer v. t. To be, or to assume to be, equal. [R.]
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Peerage (?), n. [See an equal, and cf. .] 1. The rank or dignity of a peer. Blackstone.
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2. The body of peers; the nobility, collectively.
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When Charlemain with all his peerage fell. Milton.
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Peerdom (?), n. Peerage; also, a lordship. [Obs.]
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Peeress, n. The wife of a peer; a woman ennobled in her own right, or by right of marriage.
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{ Peerie, Peery } (?), a. [See 1st , 2.] Inquisitive; suspicious; sharp. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] “Two peery gray eyes.” Sir W. Scott.
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Peerless (?), a. Having no peer or equal; matchless; superlative. “Her peerless feature.” Shak.
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Unvailed her peerless light. Milton.
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--Peerlessly, adv. -- Peerlessness, n.
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Peert (?), a. Same as .
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Peerweet (?), n. Same as (a & b).
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Peevish (?), a. [OE. pevische; of uncertain origin, perh. from a word imitative of the noise made by fretful children + -ish.] 1. Habitually fretful; easily vexed or fretted; hard to please; apt to complain; querulous; petulant. “Her peevish babe.” Wordsworth.
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She is peevish, sullen, froward. Shak.
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2. Expressing fretfulness and discontent, or unjustifiable dissatisfaction; as, a peevish answer.
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3. Silly; childish; trifling. [Obs.]
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To send such peevish tokens to a king. Shak.
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Syn. -- Querulous; petulant; cross; ill-tempered; testy; captious; discontented. See .
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Peevishly, adv. In a peevish manner. Shak.
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Peevishness, n. The quality of being peevish; disposition to murmur; sourness of temper.
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Syn. -- See .
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{ Peevit (?), Peewit (?), } n. (Zoöl.) See .
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peewit n. A large crested Old World plover having wattles and spurs; the pewit.
Syn. -- lapwing, green plover, pewit, peevit, peerwit.
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2. Any of several small olive-colored woodland flycatchers of eastern North America.
Syn. -- pewee, peewee, pewit, wood pewee, Contopus virens.
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Peg (pĕg), n. [OE. pegge; cf. Sw. pigg, Dan. pig a point, prickle, and E. peak.] 1. A small, pointed piece of wood, used in fastening boards together, in attaching the soles of boots or shoes, etc.; as, a shoe peg.
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2. A wooden pin, or nail, on which to hang things, as coats, etc. Hence, colloquially and figuratively: A support; a reason; a pretext; as, a peg to hang a claim upon.
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3. One of the pins of a musical instrument, on which the strings are strained. Shak.
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4. One of the pins used for marking points on a cribbage board.
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5. A step; a degree; esp. in the slang phrase “To take one down a peg.”
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To screw papal authority to the highest peg. Barrow.
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And took your grandees down a peg. Hudibras.
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6. A drink of spirits, usually whisky or brandy diluted with soda water. [India]

This over, the club will be visited for a “peg,” Anglice drink. Harper's Mag.
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7. (Baseball) a hard throw, especially one made to put out a baserunner; as, the peg to the plate went wild.
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Coloq. peg board , a board with multiple small holes into which pegs can be inserted in different arrays so as to form hooks from which to hang tools or other objects for convenient access; it is typically hung from a wall in a workshop. -- Coloq. Peg ladder , a ladder with but one standard, into which cross pieces are inserted. -- Coloq. Peg tankard , an ancient tankard marked with pegs, so as divide the liquor into equal portions. “Drink down to your peg.” Longfellow. -- Coloq. Peg tooth . See Fleam tooth under . -- Coloq. Peg top , a boy's top which is spun by throwing it. -- Coloq. Screw peg , a small screw without a head, for fastening soles.
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Peg (pĕg), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pegged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Pegging (?).] 1. To put pegs into; to fasten the parts of with pegs; as, to peg shoes; to confine with pegs; to restrict or limit closely.
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I will rend an oak
And peg thee in his knotty entrails. Shak.
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2. (Cribbage) To score with a peg, as points in the game; as, she pegged twelwe points. [Colloq.]
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3. To identify; to recognize; as, she pegged him as a good carpenter; he was pegged as a blowhard as soon as he started speaking; he was pegged as a exceptional player even in high school.
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4. (Baseball) To throw (a ball); as, he pegged the runner out at second.
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Peg, v. i. To work diligently, as one who pegs shoes; -- usually with on, at, or away; as, to peg away at a task.
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Pegador (?), n. [Sp., a sticker.] (Zoöl.) A species of remora (Echeneis naucrates). See .
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Pegasean (?), a. Of or pertaining to Pegasus, or, figuratively, to poetry.
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Pegasoid (?), a. [Pegasus + -oid.] (Zoöl.) Like or pertaining to Pegasus.
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Pegasus (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. Phgasos.] 1. (Gr. Myth.) A winged horse fabled to have sprung from the body of Medusa when she was slain. He is noted for causing, with a blow of his hoof, Hippocrene, the inspiring fountain of the Muses, to spring from Mount Helicon. On this account he is, in modern times, associated with the Muses, and with ideas of poetic inspiration.
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Each spurs his jaded Pegasus apace. Byron.
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2. (Astron.) A northen constellation near the vernal equinoctial point. Its three brightest stars, with the brightest star of Andromeda, form the square of Pegasus.
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3. (Zoöl.) A genus of small fishes, having large pectoral fins, and the body covered with hard, bony plates. Several species are known from the East Indies and China.
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pegged (pĕgd), a. Tapering toward teh bottom; as, pegged pants.
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Pegger (?), n. One who fastens with pegs.
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Pegging (?), n. The act or process of fastening with pegs.
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Pegm (pēm), n. [L. pegma a movable stage, Gr. ph^gma, orig., a framework.] A sort of moving machine employed in the old pageants. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
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Pegmatite (?), n. [From Gr. � something fastened together, in allusion to the quartz and feldspar in graphic granite: cf. F. pegmatite. See .] (Min.) (a) Graphic granite. See under . (b) More generally, a coarse granite occurring as vein material in other rocks.
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Pegmatitic (?), a. (Min.) Of, pertaining to, or resembling, pegmatite; as, the pegmatic structure of certain rocks resembling graphic granite.
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Pegmatoid (?), a. [Pegmatite + -oid.] (Min.) Resembling pegmatite; pegmatic.
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Pegomancy (?), n. [Gr. phgh fountain + -mancy.] Divination by fountains. [R.]
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Pegroots (pĕgr�ts), n. Same as .
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Pehlevi (?), n. [Parsee Pahlavi.] An ancient Persian dialect in which words were partly represented by their Semitic equivalents. It was in use from the 3d century (and perhaps earlier) to the middle of the 7th century, and later in religious writings. [Written also Pahlavi.]
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Peignoir (?), n. [F., fr. peigner to comb, L. pectinare. See .] A woman's loose dressing sack; hence, a loose morning gown or wrapper.
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Pein (?), n. See .
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Peirameter (?), n. [Gr. pei^ra a trial + -meter.] A dynamometer for measuring the force required to draw wheel carriages on roads of different constructions. G. Francis.
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Peirastic (p�răstĭk), a. [Gr. peirastikos, fr. peira^n to try, fr. pei^ra a trial.] Fitted for trial or test; experimental; tentative; treating of attempts.
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Peise (?), n. [See .] A weight; a poise. [Obs.] “To weigh pence with a peise.” Piers Plowman.
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Peise, v. t. To poise or weigh. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Lest leaden slumber peise me down. Shak.
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Peitrel (?), n. (Anc. Armor) See .
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Pejorative (?), a. [F. péjoratif, fr. L. pejor, used as compar. of malus evil.] Implying or imputing evil; depreciatory; disparaging; unfavorable.
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Pekan (?), n. [F. pekan.] (Zoöl.) See , 2.
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Peke n. a Pekingese. [Colloquial]
Syn. -- Pekinese, Pekingese.
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Pekinese, Pekingese n. a Chinese breed of small short-legged dogs with a long silky coat and broad flat muzzle.
Syn. -- Pekingese, Peke.
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Pekoe (?), n. [Chin. pih-hoau: cf. F. pekoë] A kind of black tea. [Written also pecco.]
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Pela (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Wax insect, under .
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Pelage (?), n. [F. pelage, fr. L. pilus hair.] (Zoöl.) The covering, or coat, of a mammal, whether of wool, fur, or hair.
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Pelagian (?), a. [L. pelagius, Gr. pelagios, fr. pelagos the sea: cf. F. pélagien.] Of or pertaining to the sea; marine; pelagic; as, pelagian shells.
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Pelagian, n. [L. Pelagianus: cf. F. pélagien.] (Eccl. Hist.) A follower of Pelagius, a British monk, born in the later part of the 4th century, who denied the doctrines of hereditary sin, of the connection between sin and death, and of conversion through grace.
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Pelagian, a. [Cf. F. pélagien.] Of or pertaining to Pelagius, or to his doctrines.
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Pelagianism (?), n. [Cf. F. pélagianisme.] The doctrines of Pelagius.
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Pelagic (?), a. [L. pelagicus.] Of or pertaining to the ocean; -- applied especially to animals that live at the surface of the ocean, away from the coast. Compare benthic.
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Pelargonic (?), a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, an organic acid (called also nonoic acid) found in the leaves of the geranium (Pelargonium) and allied plants.
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Pelargonium (?), prop. n. [NL., fr. Gr. pelargos a stork.] (Bot.) A large genus of plants of the order Geraniaceæ, differing from Geranium in having a spurred calyx and an irregular corolla.
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☞ About one hundred and seventy species are known, nearly all of them natives of South Africa, and many having very beautiful blossoms. See the Note under .
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{ Pelasgian (?), Pelasgic (?), } a. [L. Pelasgus, Gr. Pelasgos a Pelasgian.] 1. Of or pertaining to the Pelasgians, an ancient people of Greece, of roving habits.
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2. (Zoöl.) Wandering.
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Pelecan (?), n. (Zoöl.) See .
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Pelecanidae prop. n. A natural family of birds consisting of the pelicans.
Syn. -- family Pelecanidae.
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Pelecaniformes (?), n. pl. [NL. See , and .] (Zoöl.) Those birds that are related to the pelican; the Totipalmi.
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Pelecoid (?), n. [Gr. pelekys a hatchet + -oid.] (Geom.) A figure, somewhat hatched-shaped, bounded by a semicircle and two inverted quadrants, and equal in area to the square ABCD inclosed by the chords of the four quadrants. [Written also pelicoid.] Math. Dict.
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pelecypod n. 1. A marine or freshwater mollusk having a soft body with platelike gills enclosed within two shells hinged together; a member of the Pelecypoda.
Syn. -- bivalve, lamellibranch.
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pelecypod pelecypodous adj. 1. same as .
Syn. -- lamellibranch, lamellibranchiate.
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Pelecypoda (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. pelekys a hatchet + -poda.] (Zoöl.) Same as .
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Pelegrine (?), a. See . [Obs.]
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Pelerine (?), n. [F. pèlerine a tippet, fr. pèlerin a pilgrim, fr. L. peregrinus foreign, alien. See .] A woman's cape; especially, a fur cape that is longer in front than behind.
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Pele's hair (?). [After a Hawaiian goddess associated with the crater Kilauea.] Glass threads or fibers formed by the wind from bits blown from frothy lava or from the tips of lava jets or from bits of liquid lava thrown into the air. It often collects in thick masses resembling tow.
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Peleus prop. n. (Classical Mythology) A king of the Myrmidons and father of Achilles; he was the son of Aeachus.
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Pelf (pĕlf), n. [OE. pelfir booty, OF. pelfre, akin to pelfrer to plunder, and perh. to E. pillage. Cf. .] Money; riches; lucre; gain; -- generally conveying the idea of something ill-gotten or worthless. It has no plural. “Mucky pelf.” Spenser. “Paltry pelf.” Burke.
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Can their pelf prosper, not got by valor or industry? Fuller.
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Pelfish, a. Of or pertaining to pelf. Stanyhurst.
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{ Pelfray (?), Pelfry (?), } n. Pelf; also, figuratively, rubbish; trash. [Obs.] Cranmer.
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Pelican (pĕlĭk�n), n. [F. pélican, L. pelicanus, pelecanus, Gr. pelekan, peleka^s, pelekanos, the woodpecker, and also a water bird of the pelican kind, fr. peleka^n to hew with an ax, fr. pelekys an ax, akin to Skr. paraçu.] [Written also pelecan.] 1. (Zoöl.) Any large webfooted bird of the genus Pelecanus, of which about a dozen species are known. They have an enormous bill, to the lower edge of which is attached a pouch in which captured fishes are temporarily stored.
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☞ The American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) and the brown species (Pelecanus fuscus) are abundant on the Florida coast in winter, but breed about the lakes in the Rocky Mountains and British America.
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2. (Old Chem.) A retort or still having a curved tube or tubes leading back from the head to the body for continuous condensation and redistillation.
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☞ The principle is still employed in certain modern forms of distilling apparatus.
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Coloq. Frigate pelican (Zoöl.), the frigate bird. See under . -- Coloq. Pelican fish (Zoöl.), deep-sea fish (Eurypharynx pelecanoides) of the order Lyomeri, remarkable for the enormous development of the jaws, which support a large gular pouch. -- Coloq. Pelican flower (Bot.), the very large and curiously shaped blossom of a climbing plant (Aristolochia grandiflora) of the West Indies; also, the plant itself. -- Coloq. Pelican ibis (Zoöl.), a large Asiatic wood ibis (Tantalus leucocephalus). The head and throat are destitute of feathers; the plumage is white, with the quills and the tail greenish black. -- Coloq. Pelican in her piety (in heraldry and symbolical art), a representation of a pelican in the act of wounding her breast in order to nourish her young with her blood; -- a practice fabulously attributed to the bird, on account of which it was adopted as a symbol of the Redeemer, and of charity. -- Coloq. Pelican's foot (Zoöl.), a marine gastropod shell of the genus Aporrhais, esp. Aporrhais pes-pelicani of Europe.
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Pelick (?), n. (Zoöl.) The American coot (Fulica).
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Pelicoid (?), n. See .
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Pelicosauria (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. pelika a wooden bowl (but taken to mean, pelvis) + say^ros a lizard.] (Paleon.) A suborder of Theromorpha, including terrestrial reptiles from the Permian formation.
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Peliom (?), n. [See .] (Min.) A variety of iolite, of a smoky blue color; pelioma.
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Pelioma (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. peliwmw, fr. pelios livid.] 1. (Med.) A livid ecchymosis.
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2. (Min.) See .
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Pelisse (?), n. [F., fr. L. pelliceus, pellicius, made of skins, fr. pellis a skin. Cf. skin, , and see 2d .] An outer garment for men or women, originally of fur, or lined with fur; a lady's or child's long outer garment, made of silk or other fabric.
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Pell (pĕl), v. t. [Cf. , v. t.] To pelt; to knock about. [Obs.] Holland.
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Pell, n. [OF. pel, F. peau, L. pellis a skin. See a skin.] 1. A skin or hide; a pelt.
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2. A roll of parchment; a parchment record.
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Coloq. Clerk of the pells , formerly, an officer of the exchequer who entered accounts on certain parchment rolls, called pell rolls. [Eng.]
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Pellack (pĕll�k), n. [Cf. Gael. .] (Zoöl.) A porpoise.
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Pellage (pĕl�j), n. [See 2d .] A customs duty on skins of leather.
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