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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



1,106 words match “METAL”

PERKINISM n.
A remedial treatment, by drawing the pointed extremities of two rods, each of a different metal, over the affected part; tractoration, -- first employed by Dr. Elisha Perkins of Norwich, Conn. See Metallotherapy.
PETARD n.
A case containing powder to be exploded, esp. a conical or cylindrical case of metal filled with powder and attached to a plank, to be exploded against and break down gates, barricades, drawbridges, etc. It has been superseded.
PHILIPPIUM n.
A rare and doubtful metallic element said to have been discovered in the mineral samarskite.
PHILOSOPHER n.
maginary stone which the alchemists formerly sought as instrument of converting the baser metals into gold.
PHOSPHORUS n. 2 definitions
A poisonous nonmetallic element of the nitrogen group, obtained as a white, or yellowish, translucent waxy substance, having a characteristic disagreeable smell. It is very active chemically, must be preserved under water, and unites with oxygen even at ordinary temperatures, giving a faint glow, -- whence its name. It…
PICKLE n.
o remove burnt sand, scale rust, etc., from the surface of castings, or other articles of metal, or to brighten them or improve their color.
PIG n.
An oblong mass of cast iron, lead, or other metal. See Mine pig, under Mine.
PILE n.
A vertical series of alternate disks of two dissimilar metals, as copper and zinc, laid up with disks of cloth or paper moistened with acid water between them, for producing a current of electricity; -- commonly called Volta's pile, voltaic pile, or galvanic pile.
PILLOW n.
A piece of metal or wood, forming a support to equalize pressure; a brass; a pillow block. [R.]
PIN n.
A piece of wood, metal, etc., generally cylindrical, used for fastening separate articles together, or as a support by which one article may be suspended from another; a peg; a bolt. With pins of adamant And chains they made all fast. Milton.
PINCHBECK n.
An alloy of copper and zinc, resembling gold; a yellow metal, composed of about three ounces of zinc to a pound of copper. It is much used as an imitation of gold in the manufacture of cheap jewelry.
PIPE n. 2 definitions
A wind instrument of music, consisting of a tube or tubes of straw, reed, wood, or metal; any tube which produces musical sounds; as, a shepherd's pipe; the pipe of an organ. "Tunable as sylvan pipe." Milton. Now had he rather hear the tabor and the pipe. Shak.
PISTOL n.
- piece, and thus capable of being used either as a pistol or a carbine. -- Pistol pipe (Metal.), a pipe in which the blast for a furnace is heated, resembling a pistol in form. -- Pistol shot. (a) The discharge of a pistol. (b) The distance to which a pistol can propel a ball.
PITCH n.
tch circle in inches; as, 4 pitch, 8 pitch, etc. -- Pitch chain, a chain, as one made of metallic plates, adapted for working with a sprocket wheel. -- Pitch line, or Pitch circle (Gearing), an ideal line, in a toothed gear or rack, bearing such a relation to a corresponding line in another gear, with which the forme…
PLAGIONITE n.
A sulphide of lead and antimony, of a blackish lead-gray color and metallic luster.
PLANCHET n.
A flat piece of metal; especially, a disk of metal ready to be stamped as a coin.
PLANER n.
One who, or that which, planes; a planing machine; esp., a machine for planing wood or metals.
PLANISH v.
To make smooth or plane, as a metallic surface; to condense, toughen, and polish by light blows with a hammer.
PLANISHING n.
a. & vb. n. from Planish, v. t. Planishing rolls (Coining), rolls between which metal strips are passed while cold, to bring them to exactly the required thickness.
PLAQUE n.
Any flat, thin piece of metal, clay, ivory, or the like, used for ornament, or for painting pictures upon, as a slab, plate, dish, or the like, hung upon a wall; also, a smaller decoration worn on the person, as a brooch.
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