PEN 



551 



PEN 



PEL'UCLE, Lat. pellicttla, dim. of pellit 

 1 skin. 1. A film or thin skin, as that 

 <vhich lines the shell of an egg, or which 

 ci/vers the seeds and some other parts of 



plants. 2. In chemistry, a thin crust 



appearing on the surface of a solution ol 

 salt evaporated to a certain degree, and 

 which consists of saline particles crys- 

 tallised. 



PEL'LITORY. 1. In pharmacy, the root 

 of the Spanish chamomile (Anthemis py- 

 rethrum), a native of the Levant, Barbary, 

 and the south of Europe. It is used in 



medicine as a stimulant. 2. In botany, 



see PARIETARIA. The Bastard Pellitory 

 is a species of Achillea ; Pellitory of Spain 

 is another name for the Anthemis pyreth- 

 rum, which, affords the pellitory of the 

 shops. 



PELLS. In England, the clerk of the pells 

 is an officer of the exchequer, who enters 

 every teller's bill on the parchment rolls, 

 the roll of receipts, and the roll of dis- 

 bursements ; Lat. pellis, a skin. 

 PBLT, \ Pelt is properly the raw skin 

 PEL'TRY. I of an animal, with the hair 

 on it ; and peltry is the collective term by 

 which such skins are denominated in 

 commerce. The terms are, however, 

 now restricted to the skins of those ani- 

 mals found in high latitudes, as the 

 beaver, bear, moosedeer, marten, minx, 

 sable, woolverin, &c. When the insides 

 of the skins are dressed, they are then 

 denominated furs; but in their raw state 

 they are peltry. 

 PEL'TA. 1. A small shield or buckler, 



nsed by the ancients. 2. A fruit of an 



oblong, flat, and obtuse form, observed 

 in the lichen tribe. 



PELTAS'T.*. Light -armed infantry 

 among the Greeks were so called, as they 

 carried the target. 



PEL'TATB, Lat. peltatus, target-shaped : 

 pelta, a target. Applied to leaves when 

 they have the stalk inserted into their 

 middle, like the arm of a man holding a 

 shield. 



PEL'VIS, from T&U;, a basin. The ca- 

 vity of the body below the belly, which 

 is shaped like the basin used in ancient 

 times. 



PZM'PHIOCS, from xiufil;,, a vesicle. An 

 eruption, consisting of vesicles of various 

 sizes, and mostly attended by fever. 



PEN. A well-known instrument for 

 writing, of which there are numerous 

 varieties. The first sort of pens used ap- 

 pear to have been metallic styles, the 

 next reeds, the third quill-pens, and now 

 we have in some measure returned to the 

 use of metallic pens. Numerous forms 

 have been given to metallic pens, but 

 those which iuit best are those which 

 r->r .itcli the nearest to the common 

 V.'k rn 'Jra,u:\ng-pent consist of de- 



licately formed steel blades, drawn toge- 

 ther and adjusted according to the 

 breadth of the line wanted, by means of 

 a fine set-screw. Music pens are made 

 for ruling the five staves of music at 

 once, having as many points. 



PEN'ALTT. Fine or forfeiture by way 

 of punishment: pocna, punishment. The 

 law inflicts penalties, sometimes pecuniary 

 and sometimes personal, and the non-ful- 

 filment of a bond or other agreement 

 subjects the party to the penalties therein 

 expressed. 



PEN'ANCE. In the Romish church, one 

 of the seven sacraments, consisting in the 

 infliction of bodily suffering, as fasting, 

 flagellation, &c 



PENA'TES. The domestic gods of the 

 Romans. They were properly the tute- 

 lar deities of the Trojans, adapted by the 

 Romans, and thus named from penitus, 

 because they were kept within the house. 

 PEN'CILS ; are of two kinds : small hair 

 brushes employed by painters in oil and 

 ater colours ; and slender cylinders of 

 black lead, 'either naked or inclosed iu 

 wood, for drawing black lines upon paper. 

 The first sort are called for distinction 

 hair pencils, and are made of various ma- 

 rials, as the bristles of the boar, camel's 

 hair, swan-down, &c. ; the second, styled 

 black lead or If ad pencils, are usually com- 

 posed of slender parallelepipeds of plum- 

 bago, inclosed in cases of cedar wood, 

 but of late years the plumbago has been 

 formed into little cylinders, and fitted to 

 a peculiar sort of pencil-case, provided 

 with an iron wire and screw, to protrude 

 a minute portion of the plumbago be- 

 yond the tubular metallic case : these are 

 denominated ever-pointed pencils. 



PENCIL or RATS. In optics, a double 

 cone or pyramid of rays, diverging from 



orae luminous point, and which, after 

 ailing upon and passing through a lens, 

 converges again on entering the eye. 

 PENDANT, from pendeo, to hang. 1. A 



langing ornament. 2. In nautical lan- 



uaye, a short piece of rope, fixed on each 

 ide under the shrouds, on the heads of 

 the main and foremast, from which it de- 

 rends, as low as the cat-harpings, having 

 an iron thimble to receive the hooks of 

 he tackle. There are also many other 

 >endants of this sort, generally consisting 

 if single or double ropes, to whose Ibwer 

 xtremity is attached a b! -fc or tackle. 

 Pendant is also the name of the .'cng nar- 



