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One who defends; a defender. The rampiers and ditches which the defendants had cast up. Spotswood.

e; luxurious; voluptuous; alluring. [R.] Dives, for his delicate life, to the devil went. Piers Plowman. Haarlem is a very delicate town. Evelyn.

pression, as of the feelings, by outward signs; a manifestation; a show. Did your letters pierce the queen to any demonstration of grief Shak. Loyal demonstrations toward the prince. Prescott.

thou knowest, conscience, I came not to chide Nor deprave thy person with a proud heart. Piers Plowman.

Precious. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.

hoe; to open, loosen, or break up (the soil) with a spade, or other sharp instrument; to pierce, open, or loosen, as if with a spade. Be first to dig the ground. Dryden.

A ditcher. Piers Plowman.

To strike; to thump; to pound. [Obs.] Diken, or delven, or dingen upon sheaves. Piers Plowman.

To pierce; to penetrate; -- followed by in or into. When I dipt into the future. Tennyson.

boscis, often including two pairs of sharp organs (mandibles and maxillæ) with which they pierce the skin of animals. They undergo a complete metamorphosis, their larvæ (called maggots) being usually without feet.

id do shewe to me late certain evidences. W. Caxton. I shall . . . your cloister do make. Piers Plowman. A fatal plague which many did to die. Spenser. We do you to wit [i. e., We make you to know] of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. 2 Cor. viii. 1.

The slip or water way extending between two piers or projecting wharves, for the reception of ships; -- sometimes including the piers themselves; as, to be down on the dock.

Same as Donat. Piers Plowman.

A doorpost. [Obs.] "As dead as a doretree." Piers Plowman.

A window pierced in a roof, and so set as to be vertical while the roof slopes away from it. Also, the gablet, or houselike structure, in which it is contained.

To shoot (a shaft) so as to pierce on the descent. [Obs.] Sir P. Sidney.

To pierce or bore with a drill, or a with a drill; to perforate; as, to drill a hole into a rock; to drill a piece of metal.

The act of piercing with a drill.

affects the earth, and prevents the growth of plants; aridity. The drought of March hath pierced to the root. Chaucer. In a drought the thirsty creatures cry. Dryden.

The top of a capstan which is pierced with sockets for levers used in turning it. See Illust. of Capstan. Drumhead court-martial (Mil.), a summary court-martial called to try offenses on the battlefield or the line of march, when, sometimes, a drumhead has to do service as a writing table.