Piédouche
(||Pié`douche") n. [F., fr. It. peduccio console, corbel.] A pedestal of small size, used to
support small objects, as busts, vases, and the like.
Piedstall
(Pied"stall) n. See Pedestal. [Obs.]
Pieman
(Pie"man) n.; pl. Piemen A man who makes or sells pies.
Piend
(Piend) n. [Cf. Dan. pind a peg.] See Peen.
Pieno
(||Pi*e"no) a. [It., fr. L. plenus full.] (Mus.) Full; having all the instruments.
Pieplant
(Pie"plant`) n. (Bot.) A plant (Rheum Rhaponticum) the leafstalks of which are acid, and are
used in making pies; the garden rhubarb.
Piepoudre
(Pie"pou`dre, Pie"pow`der) n. [Lit., dustyfoot, i. e., dusty-footed dealers, fr. F. pied foot +
poudreux dusty.] (O. Eng. Law) An ancient court of record in England, formerly incident to every fair
and market, of which the steward of him who owned or had the toll was the judge. Blackstone.
Pier
(Pier) n. [OE. pere, OF. piere a stone, F. pierre, fr. L. petra, Gr. . Cf. Petrify.]
1. (Arch.) (a) Any detached mass of masonry, whether insulated or supporting one side of an arch
or lintel, as of a bridge; the piece of wall between two openings. (b) Any additional or auxiliary mass of
masonry used to stiffen a wall. See Buttress.
2. A projecting wharf or landing place.
Abutment pier, the pier of a bridge next the shore; a pier which by its strength and stability resists the
thrust of an arch. — Pier glass, a mirror, of high and narrow shape, to be put up between windows.
— Pier table, a table made to stand between windows.
Pierage
(Pier"age) n. Same as Wharfage. Smart.
Pierce
(Pierce) v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pierced ; p. pr. & vb. n. Piercing ] [OE. percen, F. percer, OF.
percier, perchier, parchier; perh. fr. (assumed) LL. pertusiare for pertusare, fr. L. pertundere, pertusum,
to beat, push, bore through; per through + tundere to beat: cf. OF. pertuisier to pierce, F. pertuis a
hole. Cf. Contuse, Parch, Pertuse.]
1. To thrust into, penetrate, or transfix, with a pointed instrument. "I pierce . . . her tender side." Dryden.
2. To penetrate; to enter; to force a way into or through; to pass into or through; as, to pierce the enemy's
line; a shot pierced the ship.
3. Fig.: To penetrate; to affect deeply; as, to pierce a mystery. "Pierced with grief." Pope.
Can no prayers pierce thee?
Shak. Pierce
(Pierce), v. i. To enter; to penetrate; to make a way into or through something, as a pointed instrument
does; — used literally and figuratively.
And pierced to the skin, but bit no more.
Spenser.
She would not pierce further into his meaning.
Sir P. Sidney. Pierceable
(Pierce"a*ble) a. That may be pierced.
Pierced
(Pierced) a. Penetrated; entered; perforated.
