Plyer to Pococurante
Plyer
(Ply"er) n. One who, or that which, plies; specifically: (a) pl. A kind of balance used in raising
and letting down a drawbridge. It consists of timbers joined in the form of a St. Andrew's cross. (b)
pl. See Pliers.
Plyght
(Plyght) v. & n. See Plight. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Plymouth Brethren
(Plym"outh Breth"ren) The members of a religious sect which first appeared at
Plymouth, England, about 1830. They protest against sectarianism, and reject all official ministry or
clergy. Also called Brethren, Christian Brethren, Plymouthists, etc. The Darbyites are a division of
the Brethren.
Pneometer
(Pne*om"e*ter) n. [Gr. to breathe + -meter.] (Physiol.) A spirometer.
Pneumatic
(Pneu*mat"ic Pneu*mat"ic*al) a. [L. pneumaticus, Gr. fr. wind, air, to blow, breathe; cf. OHG.
fnehan: cf. F. pneumatique. Cf. Pneumonia.]
1. Consisting of, or resembling, air; having the properties of an elastic fluid; gaseous; opposed to dense
or solid.
The pneumatical substance being, in some bodies, the native spirit of the body.
Bacon. 2. Of or pertaining to air, or to elastic fluids or their properties; pertaining to pneumatics; as, pneumatic
experiments. "Pneumatical discoveries." Stewart.
3. Moved or worked by pressure or flow of air; as, a pneumatic instrument; a pneumatic engine.
4. (Biol.) Fitted to contain air; Having cavities filled with air; as, pneumatic cells; pneumatic bones.
Pneumatic action, or Pneumatic lever (Mus.), a contrivance for overcoming the resistance of the
keys and other movable parts in an organ, by causing compressed air from the wind chest to move
them. — Pneumatic dispatch, a system of tubes, leading to various points, through which letters,
packages, etc., are sent, by the flow and pressure of air. — Pneumatic elevator, a hoisting machine
worked by compressed air. — Pneumatic pile, a tubular pile or cylinder of large diameter sunk by
atmospheric pressure. — Pneumatic pump, an air-exhausting or forcing pump. — Pneumatic railway.
See Atmospheric railway, under Atmospheric. — Pneumatic syringe, a stout tube closed at one
end, and provided with a piston, for showing that the heat produced by compressing a gas will ignite
substances. — Pneumatic trough, a trough, generally made of wood or sheet metal, having a perforated
shelf, and used, when filled with water or mercury, for collecting gases in chemical operations. — Pneumatic
tube. See Pneumatic dispatch, above.
Pneumaticity
(Pneu`ma*tic"i*ty) n. (Biol.) The state of being pneumatic, or of having a cavity or cavities
filled with air; as, the pneumaticity of the bones of birds.
Pneumatics
(Pneu*mat"ics) n. [Cf. F. pneumatique.]
1. That branch of science which treats of the mechanical properties of air and other elastic fluids, as of
their weight, pressure, elasticity, etc. See Mechanics.
2. (Philos. & Theol.) The scientific study or knowledge of spiritual beings and their relations to God,
angels, and men.
Pneumato-
(Pneu"ma*to-) (nu"ma*to- or nu*mat"o-). A combining form from Gr. pney^ma, pney`matos,
wind, air, breath, respiration; as, pneumatograph, pneumatology.
[1913 Webster]
Pneumatocele
(Pneu*mat"o*cele) n. [Pneumato- + Gr. a tumor; cf. F. pneumatocèle.] (Med.) A distention
of the scrotum by air; also, hernia of the lungs.
