Pitiable - Placental

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Pitiable (?), a. [Cf. OF. pitiable, F. pitoyable.] Deserving pity; wworthy of, or exciting, compassion; miserable; lamentable; piteous; as, pitiable persons; a pitiable condition; pitiable wretchedness.
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Syn. -- Sorrowful; woeful; sad. See .
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-- Pitiableness, n. -- Pitiably, adv.
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Pitier (?), n. One who pities. Gauden.
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Pitiful (?), a. 1. Full of pity; tender-hearted; compassionate; kind; merciful; sympathetic.
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The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. James v. 11.
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2. Piteous; lamentable; eliciting compassion.
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A thing, indeed, very pitiful and horrible. Spenser.
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3. To be pitied for littleness or meanness; miserable; paltry; contemptible; despicable.
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That's villainous, and shows a most pitiful ambition in the fool that uses it. Shak.
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Syn. -- Despicable; mean; paltry. See .
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-- Pitifully, adv. -- Pitifulness, n.
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Pitiless, a. 1. Destitute of pity; hard-hearted; merciless; as, a pitilessmaster; pitiless elements.
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2. Exciting no pity; as, a pitiless condition.
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-- Pitilessly, adv. -- Pitilessness, n.
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Pitman (?), n.; pl. Pitmen (�). 1. One who works in a pit, as in mining, in sawing timber, etc.
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2. (Mach.) The connecting rod in a sawmill; also, sometimes, a connecting rod in other machinery.
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piton (pētŏn), n. (Mountain Climbing) A metal spike having a sharpened point on one end, and a hole through which a rope can be passed on the other; it is driven into the face of a rock cliff during climbing, and used as an anchor point for a rope.
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Pitot's tube (?). (Hydraul.) A bent tube used to determine the velocity of running water, by placing the curved end under water, and observing the height to which the fluid rises in the tube; a kind of current meter.
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Pitpan (?), n. A long, flat-bottomed canoe, used for the navigation of rivers and lagoons in Central America. Squier.
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Pitpat (?), n. & adv. See .
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pitprop n. A wooden prop used to support the roof of a mine temporarily.
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pits, the pits n. The worst possible situation, person, or thing; something extremely bad, boring, or depressing; -- always used with the; as, cleaning the house is the pits. [Slang]
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pitsaw n. A large two-handed saw formerly used to cut logs into planks; one man stood above the log and the other in a pit below.
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pit stop (pĭt stŏp) n. 1. (Auto Racing) A stop by one of the competing cars in a pit by the side of the racetrack, to take on gasoline, change tires, or perform other maintenance.
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2. Hence: Any pause in a journey, to eat or drink, or to use a rest room.
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3. A place where one may make a [1 or 2].
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Pitt diamond, n. See .
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Pitta (pĭttȧ), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of a large group of bright-colored clamatorial birds belonging to Pitta, and allied genera of the family Pittidæ. Most of the species are varied with three or more colors, such as blue, green, crimson, yellow, purple, and black. They are called also ground thrushes, and Old World ant thrushes; but they are not related to the true thrushes.
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☞ The pittas are most abundant in the East Indies, but some inhabit Southern Asia, Africa, and Australia. They live mostly upon the ground, and feed upon insects of various kinds.
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Pittacal (pĭttȧkăl), n. [Gr. pitta, pissa, pitch + kalos beautiful: cf. F. pittacale.] (Chem.) A dark blue substance obtained from wood tar. It consists of hydrocarbons which when oxidized form the orange-yellow eupittonic compounds, the salts of which are dark blue.
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Pittance (pĭtt�ns), n. [OE. pitance, pitaunce, F. pitance; cf. It. pietanza, LL. pitancia, pittantia, pictantia; perh. fr. L. pietas pity, piety, or perhaps akin to E. petty. Cf. , and .] 1. An allowance of food bestowed in charity; a mess of victuals; hence, a small charity gift; a dole. “A good pitaunce.” Chaucer.
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One half only of this pittance was ever given him in money. Macaulay.
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2. A meager portion, quantity, or allowance; an inconsiderable salary or compensation. “The small pittance of learning they received.” Swift.
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The inconsiderable pittance of faithful professors. Fuller.
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Pitted (pĭttĕd), a. 1. Marked with little pits, as in smallpox. See , v. t., 2.
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2. (Bot.) Having minute thin spots; as, pitted ducts in the vascular parts of vegetable tissue.
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Pitter (?), n. A contrivance for removing the pits from peaches, plums, and other stone fruit.
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Pitter, v. i. To make a pattering sound; to murmur; as, pittering streams. [Obs.] R. Greene.
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Pitter-patter (?), n. A sound like that of alternating light beats. Also, a pattering of words.
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Pitter-patter, adv. With, or with the sound of, alternating light beats; as, his heart went pitter-patter.
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Pittle-pattle (?), v. i. To talk unmeaningly; to chatter or prattle. [R.] Latimer.
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Pituitary (?), a. [L. pituita phlegm, pituite: cf. F. pituitarie.] (Anat.) (a) Secreting mucus or phlegm; as, the pituitary membrane, or the mucous membrane which lines the nasal cavities. (b) Of or pertaining to the pituitary body; as, the pituitary fossa.
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Coloq. Pituitary body or Coloq. Pituitary gland (Anat.), a a small, somewhat cherry-shaped endocrine gland, situated in the pituitary fossa, and suspended from the base of the hypothalamus; the hypophysis; -- called also glandula pituitaria, and basilaris. It secretes th pituitary hormones: oxytocin; vasopresin; antidiuretic hormone; luteinizing hormone; somatotropins; prolactin; thyroid stimulating hormone; gonadotropins; adrenal corticotropin and other peptide hormones. It affects all hormonal functions, and is thus called the “master gland”. -- Coloq. Pituitary fossa (Anat.), the ephippium.
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Pituite (?), n. [L. pituita: cf. F. pituite. Cf. a disease of fowls.] Mucus, phlegm.
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Pituitous (?), a. [L. pituitosus: cf. F. pituiteux.] Consisting of, or resembling, pituite or mucus; full of mucus; discharging mucus.
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Coloq. Pituitous fever (Med.), typhoid fever; enteric fever.
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Pituitrin (?), n. (Biol. Chem.) A substance or extract from the pituitary body.
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Pity (?), n.; pl. Pities (#). [OE. pite, OF. pité, pitié, F. pitié, L. pietas piety, kindness, pity. See , and cf. .] 1. Piety. [Obs.] Wyclif.
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2. A feeling for the sufferings or distresses of another or others; sympathy with the grief or misery of another; compassion; fellow-feeling; commiseration.
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He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord. Prov. xix. 17.
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He . . . has no more pity in him than a dog. Shak.
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3. A reason or cause of pity, grief, or regret; a thing to be regretted. “The more the pity.” Shak.
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What pity is it
That we can die but once to serve our country! Addison.
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☞ In this sense, sometimes used in the plural, especially in the colloquialism: “It is a thousand pities.”
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Syn. -- Compassion; mercy; commiseration; condolence; sympathy, fellow-suffering; fellow-feeling. -- , , . Sympathy is literally fellow-feeling, and therefore requiers a certain degree of equality in situation, circumstances, etc., to its fullest exercise. Compassion is deep tenderness for another under severe or inevitable misfortune. Pity regards its object not only as suffering, but weak, and hence as inferior.
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Pity (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pitied (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Pitying.] 1. To feel pity or compassion for; to have sympathy with; to compassionate; to commiserate; to have tender feelings toward (any one), awakened by a knowledge of suffering.
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Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. Ps. ciii. 13.
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2. To move to pity; -- used impersonally. [Obs.]
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It pitieth them to see her in the dust. Bk. of Com. Prayer.
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Pity, v. i. To be compassionate; to show pity.
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I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy. Jer. xiii. 14.
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Pitying, a. Expressing pity; as, a pitying eye, glance, or word. -- Pityingly, adv.
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Pityriasis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. �, fr. �, lit., bran.] 1. (Med.) A superficial affection of the skin, characterized by irregular patches of thin scales which are shed in branlike particles.
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2. (Veter.) A disease of domestic animals characterized by dry epithelial scales, and due to digestive disturbances and alteration of the function of the sebaceous glands.
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Coloq. Pityriasis versicolor [NL.] (Med.), a parasitic disease of the skin, characterized by the development of reddish or brownish patches.
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Pityroid (?), a. [Gr. � bran + -oid.] Having the form of, or resembling, bran. Smart.
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Più (?), adv. [It., fr. L. plus. See .] (Mus.) A little more; as, più allegro, a little more briskly.
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Pivot (?), n. [F.; prob. akin to It. piva pipe, F. pipe. See .] 1. A fixed pin or short axis, on the end of which a wheel or other body turns.
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2. The end of a shaft or arbor which rests and turns in a support; as, the pivot of an arbor in a watch.
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3. Hence, figuratively: A turning point or condition; that on which important results depend; as, the pivot of an enterprise.
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4. (Mil.) The officer or soldier who simply turns in his place whike the company or line moves around him in wheeling; -- called also pivot man.
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Coloq. Pivot bridge , a form of drawbridge in which one span, called the pivot span, turns about a central vertical axis. -- Coloq. Pivot gun , a gun mounted on a pivot or revolving carriage, so as to turn in any direction. -- Coloq. Pivot tooth (Dentistry), an artificial crown attached to the root of a natural tooth by a pin or peg.
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Pivot, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pivoted; p. pr. & vb. n. Pivoting.] To place on a pivot. Clarke.
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Pivotal (?), a. Of or pertaining to a pivot or turning point; belonging to, or constituting, a pivot; of the nature of a pivot; as, the pivotalopportunity of a career; the pivotal position in a battle.
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Pix (?), n. & v. See .
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{ Pixy, Pixie } (?), n.; pl. Pixies (#). [For Pucksy, from Puck.] 1. An old English name for a fairy; an elf. [Written also picksy.]
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2. (Bot.) A low creeping evergreen plant (Pyxidanthera barbulata), with mosslike leaves and little white blossoms, found in New Jersey and southward, where it flowers in earliest spring.
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Coloq. Pixy ring , a fairy ring or circle. [Prov. Eng.] -- Coloq. Pixy stool (Bot.), a toadstool or mushroom. [Prov. Eng.]
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Pixy-led (?), a. Led by pixies; bewildered.
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Pizzicato (?). [It., pinched.] (Mus.) A direction to violinists to pluck the string with the finger, instead of using the bow. (Abrev. pizz.)
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Pizzle (?), n. [Cf. Prov. G. pissel, pesel, peisel, peserich, D. pees a tendon or spring.] The penis; -- so called in some animals, as the bull. Shak.
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Placability (?), n. [L. placabilitas: cf. F. placabilité.] The quality or state of being placable or appeasable; placable disposition.
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Placable (?), a. [L. placabilis, fr. placare to quiet, pacify: cf. F. placable. See .] Capable of being appeased or pacified; ready or willing to be pacified; willing to forgive or condone.
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Methought I saw him placable and mild. Milton.
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Placableness, n. The quality of being placable.
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Placard (?), n. [F., fr. plaquer to lay or clap on, plaque plate, tablet; probably from Dutch, cf. D. plakken to paste, post up, plak a flat piece of wood.] 1. A public proclamation; a manifesto or edict issued by authority. [Obs.]
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All placards or edicts are published in his name. Howell.
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2. Permission given by authority; a license; as, to give a placard to do something. [Obs.] ller.
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3. A written or printed paper, as an advertisement or a declaration, posted, or to be posted, in a public place; a poster.
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4. (Anc. Armor) An extra plate on the lower part of the breastplate or backplate. Planché.
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5. [Cf. .] A kind of stomacher, often adorned with jewels, worn in the fifteenth century and later.
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Placard, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Placarded; p. pr. & vb. n. Placarding.] 1. To post placards upon or within; as, to placard a wall, to placard the city.
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2. To announce by placards; as, to placard a sale.
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Placate (?), n. Same as , 4 & 5.
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Placate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Placated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Placating.] [L. placatus, p. p. of placare to placate, akin to placere to please. See .] To appease; to pacify; to concilate. “Therefore is he always propitiated and placated.” Cudworth.
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Placation (?), n. [L. placatio.] The act of placating. [R.] Puttenham (1589).
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Place (plās), n. [F., fr. L. platea a street, an area, a courtyard, from Gr. platei^a a street, properly fem. of platys, flat, broad; akin to Skr. pṛthu, Lith. platus. Cf. , , , .] 1. Any portion of space regarded as measured off or distinct from all other space, or appropriated to some definite object or use; position; ground; site; spot; rarely, unbounded space.
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Here is the place appointed. Shak.
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What place can be for us
Within heaven's bound? Milton.
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The word place has sometimes a more confused sense, and stands for that space which any body takes up; and so the universe is a place. Locke.
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2. A broad way in a city; an open space; an area; a court or short part of a street open only at one end. “Hangman boys in the market place.” Shak.
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3. A position which is occupied and held; a dwelling; a mansion; a village, town, or city; a fortified town or post; a stronghold; a region or country.
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Are you native of this place? Shak.
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4. Rank; degree; grade; order of priority, advancement, dignity, or importance; especially, social rank or position; condition; also, official station; occupation; calling. “The enervating magic of place.” Hawthorne.
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Men in great place are thrice servants. Bacon.
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I know my place as I would they should do theirs. Shak.
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5. Vacated or relinquished space; room; stead (the departure or removal of another being or thing being implied). “In place of Lord Bassanio.” Shak.
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6. A definite position or passage of a document.
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The place of the scripture which he read was this. Acts viii. 32.
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7. Ordinal relation; position in the order of proceeding; as, he said in the first place.
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8. Reception; effect; -- implying the making room for.
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My word hath no place in you. John viii. 37.
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9. (Astron.) Position in the heavens, as of a heavenly body; -- usually defined by its right ascension and declination, or by its latitude and longitude.
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10. (Racing) The position of first, second, or third at the finish, esp. the second position. In betting, to win a bet on a horse for place it must, in the United States, finish first or second, in England, usually, first, second, or third.
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Coloq. Place of arms (Mil.), a place calculated for the rendezvous of men in arms, etc., as a fort which affords a safe retreat for hospitals, magazines, etc. Wilhelm. -- Coloq. High place (Script.), a mount on which sacrifices were offered. “Him that offereth in the high place.” Jer. xlviii. 35. -- Coloq. In place , in proper position; timely. -- Coloq. Out of place , inappropriate; ill-timed; as, his remarks were out of place. -- Coloq. Place kick (Football), the act of kicking the ball after it has been placed on the ground. -- Coloq. Place name , the name of a place or locality. London Academy. -- Coloq. To give place , to make room; to yield; to give way; to give advantage. “Neither give place to the devil.” Eph. iv. 27. “Let all the rest give place.” Shak. -- Coloq. To have place , to have a station, room, or seat; as, such desires can have no place in a good heart. -- Coloq. To take place . (a) To come to pass; to occur; as, the ceremony will not take place. (b) To take precedence or priority. Addison. (c) To take effect; to prevail. “If your doctrine takes place.” Berkeley. “But none of these excuses would take place.” Spenser. -- Coloq. To take the place of , to be substituted for.
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Syn. -- Situation; seat; abode; position; locality; location; site; spot; office; employment; charge; function; trust; ground; room; stead.
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Place (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Placed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Placing (?).] [Cf. F. placer. See , n.] 1. To assign a place to; to put in a particular spot or place, or in a certain relative position; to direct to a particular place; to fix; to settle; to locate; as, to place a book on a shelf; to place balls in tennis.
Syn. -- Put.
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Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown. Shak.
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2. To put or set in a particular rank, office, or position; to surround with particular circumstances or relations in life; to appoint to certain station or condition of life; as, in whatever sphere one is placed.
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Place such over them to be rulers. Ex. xviii. 21.
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3. To put out at interest; to invest; to loan; as, to place money in a bank.
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4. To set; to fix; to repose; as, to place confidence in a friend. “My resolution 's placed.” Shak.
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5. To attribute; to ascribe; to set down.
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Place it for her chief virtue. Shak.
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6. (Racing) To determine or announce the place of at the finish. Usually, in horse racing only the first three horses are placed officially.
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7. (Rugby Football) To place-kick ( a goal).
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8. to recognize or identify (a person). [Colloq. U.S.]
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Placebo (?), n. [L., I shall please, fut. of placere to please.] 1. (R. C. Ch.) The first antiphon of the vespers for the dead.
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2. (Med.) A prescription with no pharmacological activity given to a patient to humor or satisfy the desire for medical treatment.
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3. (Med.) a dose of a compound having no pharmacological activity given to a subject in a medical experiment as part of a control experiment in a test of the effectiveness of another, active pharmacological agent.
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Coloq. To sing placebo , to agree with one in his opinion; to be complaisant to. Chaucer.
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Placebo effect (?), n. (Med.) a reaction by a patient who receives a placebo{2}, in which the symptoms of illness are lessened or an anticipated effect is experienced. Because the placebo{2} itself has no pharmacological activity, this reaction is mediated by the expectations of the patient receiving the placebo{2}; the reaction is considered as an example of the power of suggestion. Dramatic subjective effects such as relief of discomfort or pain are sometimes observed due to administration of a placebo, but in some cases measurable physiological effects may also be observed.
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Placeful (?), a. In the appointed place. [Obs.]
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Place-kick, v. t. & i. To make a place kick; to make (a goal) by a place kick. -- Place-kicker, n.
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Placeless, a. Having no place or office.
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Placeman (?), n.; pl. Placemen (�). One who holds or occupies a place; one who has office under government. Sir W. Scott.
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Placement (?), n. [Cf. F. placement.] 1. The act of placing, or the state of being placed.
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2. Position; place.
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Placenta (?), n.; pl. L. Placentæ (#), E. Placentas (#). [L., a cake, Gr. � a flat cake, from � flat, fr. �, �, anything flat and broad.] 1. (Anat.) The vascular appendage which connects the fetus with the parent, and is cast off in parturition with the afterbirth.
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☞ In most mammals the placenta is principally developed from the allantois and chorion, and tufts of vascular villi on its surface penetrate the blood vessels of the parental uterus, and thus establish a nutritive and excretory connection between the blood of the fetus and that of the parent, though the blood itself does not flow from one to the other.
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2. (Bot.) The part of a pistil or fruit to which the ovules or seeds are attached.
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Placental (?), a. 1. Of or pertaining to the placenta; having, or characterized by having, a placenta; as, a placental mammal.
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2. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Placentalia.
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Placental, n. (Zoöl.) One of the Placentalia.
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