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Hard and fine stones in general, such as are used for inlay and the like, as distinguished from the softer stones used in building; thus, a Florentine mosaic is a familiar instance of work in pietra dura, though the ground may be soft marble.

A mass of things heaped together; a heap; as, a pile of stones; a pile of wood.

A colorless oily liquid related to the ketones, and obtained by the decomposition of pinacone; hence, by extension, any one of the series of which pinacolin proper is the type. [Written also pinacoline.]

which have the primary leaves of the branchlets reduced to mere scales, and the secondary ones (pine needles) acicular, and usually in fascicles of two to seven. See Pine.

To set, face, or pave with rubble or undressed stones, as an embankment or a roadway. Knight.

beyond which the rock is cut away, so as to give nearly true edges; -- said of squared stones that are otherwise quarry-faced.

rectus) apparently intermediate between man and the existing anthropoid apes, known from bones of a single individual found in Java (hence called Java man) in 1891-92. These bones include a thigh bone of the human type, two molar teeth intermediate between those of man and the anthropoids, and the calvaria of the skull…

Free from affectation or disguise; candid; sincere; artless; honest; frank. "An honest mind, and plain." Shak.

Fitted to contain air; Having cavities filled with air; as, pneumatic cells; pneumatic bones. Pneumatic action, or Pneumatic lever (Mus.), a contrivance for overcoming the resistance of the keys and other movable parts in an organ, by causing compressed air from the wind chest to move them. -- Pneumatic dispatch, a sy…

neumatic, or of having a cavity or cavities filled with air; as, the pneumaticity of the bones of birds.

Specifically: Of or pertaining to, or characterizing, Triassic and Permian sandstones of red and other colors. [Also written poikilitic.]

A dot or mark used to designate certain tones or time; as:

one or whetstone; hone slate. -- Polishing snake, a tool used in cleaning lithographic stones. -- Polishing wheel, a wheel or disk coated with, or composed of, abrading material, for polishing a surface.

of public affairs; the advancement of candidates to office; in a bad sense, artful or dishonest management to secure the success of political candidates or parties; political trickery. When we say that two men are talking politics, we often mean that they are wrangling about some mere party question. F. W. Robertson.…

Of or pertaining to the Poles, or to Poland. [Written also Polonese.]

The art or practice of combining different colors, especially brilliant ones, in an artistic way.

Pertaining to, or based upon, many cones. Polyconic projection (Map Making), a projection of the earth's surface, or any portion thereof, by which each narrow zone is projected upon a conical surface that touches the sphere along this zone, the conical surface being then unrolled. This projection differs from conic pro…

Having many names or titles; polyonymous. Sir W. Jones.

Consisting of many zones or rings. Polyzonal lens (Opt.), a lens made up of pieces arranged zones or rings, -- used in the lanterns of lighthouses.

r by drawing it straight back from the forehead over a roll; -- so called after the Marchioness de Pompadour of France. Also much used adjectively.