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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



509 words match “RIVER”

PLEYT n.
An old term for a river boat.
PLOTTER n.
One who plots or schemes; a contriver; a conspirator; a schemer. Dryden.
PLOW; PLOUGH n.
Same as Charles's Wain. Ice plow, a plow used for cutting ice on rivers, ponds, etc., into cakes suitable for storing. [U. S.] -- Mackerel plow. See under Mackerel. -- Plow alms, a penny formerly paid by every plowland to the church. Cowell. -- Plow beam, that part of the frame of a plow to which the draught is appli…
PLUNGE v.
r or other fluid; to submerge one's self; to dive, or to rush in; as, he plunged into the river. Also used figuratively; as, to plunge into debt. Forced to plunge naked in the raging sea. Dryden. To plunge into guilt of a murther. Tillotson.
POGAMOGGAN n.
a slender wooden handle, used by American Indians from the Great Plains to the Mackenzie River.
POLYMNITE n.
A stone marked with dendrites and black lines, and so disposed as to represent rivers, marshes, etc.
PONDWEED n.
c plant of the genus Potamogeton, of which many species are found in ponds or slow-moving rivers. Choke pondweed, an American water weed (Anarcharis, or Elodea, Canadensis.) See Anacharis. -- Horned pondweed, the Zannichellia palustris, a slender, branching aquatic plant, having pointed nutlets.
POSITIVE a.
ee Municipal law, under Law. -- Positive motion (Mach.), motion which is derived from a driver through unyielding intermediate pieces, or by direct contact, and not through elastic connections, nor by means of friction, gravity, etc.; definite motion. -- Positive philosophy. See Positivism. -- Positive pole. (a) (El…
POTAMIAN n.
A river tortoise; one of a group of tortoises (Potamites, or Trionychoidea) having a soft shell, webbed feet, and a sharp beak. See Trionyx.
POTAMOGRAPHY n.
An account or description of rivers; potamology.
POTAMOLOGY n.
A scientific account or discussion of rivers; a treatise on rivers; potamography.
POTHOLE n.
A circular hole formed in the rocky beds of rivers by the grinding action of stones or gravel whirled round by the water in what was at first a natural depression of the rock.
PRECIPITATE v.
precipice or height. She and her horse had been precipitated to the pebbled region of the river. W. Irving.
PULL n.
The act of rowing; as, a pull on the river. [Colloq.]
PUNTO n.
t or hit. Punto diritto Etym: [It.], a direct stroke or hit. -- Punto reverso Etym: [It. riverso reverse], a backhanded stroke. Halliwell. "Ah, the immortal passado! the punto reverso!" Shak.
PURPRESTURE n.
y encroachment upon, or inclosure of, that which should be common or public, as highways, rivers, harbors, forts, etc. [Written also pourpresture.]
PUT v.
use to the next term. (d) To transfer (a person or thing) across; as, to put one over the river. -- To put the hand to or unto. (a) To take hold of, as of an instrument of labor; as, to put the hand to the plow; hence, to engage in (any task or affair); as, to put one's hand to the work.
QUAY n.
A mole, bank, or wharf, formed toward the sea, or at the side of a harbor, river, or other navigable water, for convenience in loading and unloading vessels. [Written also key.]
QUICKSAND n.
, a deep mass of loose or moving sand mixed with water, sometimes found at the mouth of a river or along some coasts, and very dangerous, from the difficulty of extricating a person who begins sinking into it. Life hath quicksands, -- Life hath snares! Longfellow.
RAFT n.
A collection of logs, fallen trees, etc. (such as is formed in some Western rivers of the United States), which obstructs navigation. [U.S.]
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