Reference  |  Webster's Dictionary  |  P  |  Pieceless to Pigmean

P — Pieceless to Pigmean (Part 5 of 6)

Blue pigeon (Zoöl.), an Australian passerine bird (Graucalus melanops); — called also black-faced crow. — Green pigeon (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of Old World pigeons belonging to the family Treronidæ. — Imperial pigeon (Zoöl.), any one of the large Asiatic fruit pigeons of the genus Carpophada. - - Pigeon berry (Bot.), the purplish black fruit of the pokeweed; also, the plant itself. See Pokeweed. — Pigeon English [perhaps a corruption of business English], an extraordinary and grotesque dialect, employed in the commercial cities of China, as the medium of communication between foreign merchants and the Chinese. Its base is English, with a mixture of Portuguese and Hindoostanee. Johnson's Cyc. — Pigeon grass (Bot.), a kind of foxtail grass of some value as fodder. The seeds are eagerly eaten by pigeons and other birds. - - Pigeon hawk. (Zoöl.) (a) A small American falcon (Falco columbarius). The adult male is dark slate-blue above, streaked with black on the back; beneath, whitish or buff, streaked with brown. The tail is banded. (b) The American sharp- shinned hawk — Pigeon hole. (a) A hole for pigeons to enter a pigeon house. (b) See Pigeonhole. (c) pl. An old English game, in which balls were rolled through little arches. Halliwell. — Pigeon house, a dovecote. — Pigeon pea (Bot.), the seed of Cajanus Indicus; a kind of pulse used for food in the East and West Indies; also, the plant itself. — Pigeon plum (Bot.), the edible drupes of two West African species of Chrysobalanus (C. ellipticus and C. luteus). — Pigeon tremex. (Zoöl.) See under Tremex. — Pigeon wood (Bot.), a name in the West Indies for the wood of several very different kinds of trees, species of Dipholis, Diospyros, and Coccoloba. — Pigeon woodpecker (Zoöl.), the flicker. — Prairie pigeon. (Zoöl.) (a) The upland plover. (b) The golden plover. [Local, U.S.]

Pigeon
(Pi"geon) v. t. To pluck; to fleece; to swindle by tricks in gambling. [Slang] Smart.

He's pigeoned and undone.
Observer.

Pigeon-breasted
(Pi"geon-breast`ed) a. Having a breast like a pigeon, — the sternum being so prominent as to constitute a deformity; chicken-breasted.

Pigeonfoot
(Pi"geon*foot`) n. (Bot.) The dove's-foot geranium

Pigeon-hearted
(Pi"geon-heart`ed) a. Timid; easily frightened; chicken-hearted. Beau. & Fl.

Pigeonhole
(Pi"geon*hole`) n. A small compartment in a desk or case for the keeping of letters, documents, etc.; — so called from the resemblance of a row of them to the compartments in a dovecote. Burke.

Pigeonhole
(Pi"geon*hole`), v. t. To place in the pigeonhole of a case or cabinet; hence, to put away; to lay aside indefinitely; as, to pigeonhole a letter or a report.

Pigeon-livered
(Pi"geon-liv`ered) a. Pigeon- hearted.

Pigeonry
(Pi"geon*ry) n. A place for pigeons; a dovecote.

Pigeontoed
(Pi"geon*toed`) a. Having the toes turned in.

Pig-eyed
(Pig"-eyed`) a. Having small, deep-set eyes.

Pigfish
(Pig"fish`) n. (Zoöl.) (a) Any one of several species of salt-water grunts; — called also hogfish. (b) A sculpin. The name is also applied locally to several other fishes.

Pigfoot
(Pig"foot`) n. (Zoöl.) A marine fish native of Europe. It is reddish brown, mottled with dark brown and black.

Pigg
(Pigg) n. A piggin. See 1st Pig. Sir W. Scott.

Piggery
(Pig"ger*y) n.; pl. Piggeries A place where swine are kept.