PACKET n.
Originally, a vessel employed by government to convey dispatches or mails; hence, a vessel employed in conveying dispatches, mails, passengers, and goods, and having fixed days of sailing; a mail boat. Packet boat, ship, or vessel. See Packet, n., 2. -- Packet day, the day for mailing letters to go by packet; or the s…
PAJAMAS n.
Originally, in India, loose drawers or trousers, such as those worn, tied about the waist, by Mohammedan men and women; by extension, a similar garment adopted among Europeans, Americans, etc., for wear in the dressing room and during sleep; also, a suit consisting of drawers and a loose upper garment for such wear.…
PATRICIAN n.
Originally, a member of any of the families constituting the populus Romanus, or body of Roman citizens, before the development of the plebeian order; later, one who, by right of birth or by special privilege conferred, belonged to the nobility.