PUBLIC a.
Of or pertaining to the people; belonging to the people; relating to, or affecting, a nation, state, or community; -- opposed to private; as, the public treasury. To the public good Private respects must yield. Milton. He [Alexander Hamilton] touched the dead corpse of the public credit, and it sprung upon its feet. D.…
PUFF n.
aise, especially one in a public journal. Puff adder. (Zoöl.) (a) Any South African viper belonging to Clotho and allied genera. They are exceedingly venomous, and have the power of greatly distending their bodies when irritated. The common puff adder (Vipera, or Clotho, arietans) is the largest species, becoming over…
PUSS n.
er without one. -- Puss moth (Zoöl.), any one of several species of stout bombycid moths belonging to Cerura, Harpyia, and allied genera, esp. Harpyia vinuli, of Europe. The larvæ are humpbacked, and have two caudal appendages.
QUALITY n.
That which makes, or helps to make, anything such as it is; anything belonging to a subject, or predicable of it; distinguishing property, characteristic, or attribute; peculiar power, capacity, or virtue; distinctive trait; as, the tones of a flute differ from those of a violin in quality; the great quality of a state…