Petalosticha
(||Pet`a*los"ti*cha) n. pl. [NL., from Gr. a leaf + a row.] (Zoöl.) An order of Echini, including
the irregular sea urchins, as the spatangoids. See Spatangoid.
Petalous
(Pet"al*ous) a. Having petals; petaled; — opposed to apetalous.
Petalum
(||Pet"a*lum) n.; pl. Petala [NL.] A petal.
Petar
(Pe*tar") n. See Petard. [Obs.] "Hoist with his own petar." Shak.
Petard
(Pe*tard") n. [F. pétard, fr. péter to break wind, to crack, to explode, L. pedere, peditum.] (Mil.)
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has been superseded.
Petardeer
(Pet`ar*deer", Pet`ar*dier") n. [F. pétardier.] (Mil.) One who managed a petard.
Petasus
(||Pet"a*sus) n. [L., from Gr. .] (Gr. & Rom. Antiq.) The winged cap of Mercury; also, a broad-
brimmed, low-crowned hat worn by Greeks and Romans.
Petaurist
(Pe*tau"rist) n. [L. petaurista a ropedancer, Gr. fr. to dance on a rope, fr. a pole, a stage
for ropedancers: cf. F. pétauriste.] (Zoöl.) Any flying marsupial of the genera Petaurus, Phalangista,
Acrobata, and allied genera. See Flying mouse, under Flying, and Phalangister.
Petechiæ
(||Pe*tech"i*æ) n. pl.; sing. Petechia [NL., fr. LL. peteccia; cf. F. pétéchie, It. petecchia, Sp. petequia,
Gr. a label, plaster.] (Med.) Small crimson, purple, or livid spots, like flea-bites, due to extravasation of
blood, which appear on the skin in malignant fevers, etc.
Petechial
(Pe*tech"i*al) a. [Cf. F. pétéchial, LL. petecchialis.] (Med.) Characterized by, or pertaining to,
petechiæ; spotted.
Petechial fever, a malignant fever, accompanied with livid spots on the skin.
