Search the Dictionary

An upright architectural member right-angled in plan, constructionally a pier (See Pier, 1 (b)), but architecturally corresponding to a column, having capital, shaft, and base to agree with those of the columns of the same order. In most cases the projection from the wall is one third of its width, or less.…

tom of a river, or in a harbor where the ground is soft, for the support of a building, a pier, or other superstructure, or to form a cofferdam, etc.

e general and popular term for a firm, upright, insulated support for a superstructure; a pier, column, or post; also, a column or shaft not supporting a superstructure, as one erected for a monument or an ornament. Jacob set a pillar upon her grave. Gen. xxxv. 20. The place . . . vast and proud, Supported by a hundred…

rment; to torture; to afflict. [Obs.] Chaucer. Shak. That people that pyned him to death. Piers Plowman. One is pined in prison, another tortured on the rack. Bp. Hall.

To pierce with small holes; to cut the edge of, as cloth or paper, in small scallops or angles.

Pierced with small holes; worked in eyelets; scalloped on the edge. Shak.

The act of piercing or stabbing.

h, honor, word; -- never applied to property or goods. " To do them plighte their troth." Piers Plowman. He plighted his right hand Unto another love, and to another land. Spenser. Here my inviolable faith I plight. Dryden.

adjustable staff formerly attached to the plow beam to determine the depth of the furrow. Piers Plowman.

To stab; to pierce; to spear, \as fish. [Obs.] Carew.

Pricking; piercing; sharp; pungent. "His poignant spear." Spenser. "Poynaunt sauce." Chaucer.

That which pricks or pierces; the sharp end of anything, esp. the sharp end of a piercing instrument, as a needle or a pin.

Cider. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.

To pierce with a poniard; to stab. Cowper.

, serving to transfer wind pressure from the upper parts of the trusses to an abutment or pier of the bridge.

o push; to dash; to throw. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] A cat . . . possed them [the rats] about. Piers Plowman.

To strike or seize with the talons; to pierce, as with the talons. [Archaic] Stooped from his highest pitch to pounce a wren. Cowper. Now pounce him lightly, And as he roars and rages, let's go deeper. J. Fletcher.

Ornamented with perforations or dots. [Obs.] "Gilt bowls pounced and pierced." Holinshed.

To value; to appraise. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.

An apprentice. [Obs. or Colloq.] Piers Plowman. "My accuser is my prentice." Shak.