pensioner 
pensioner (pen'shon-er), . [Formerly also 
petitioner; < OF. pensioner, < ML. pensionarius, 
a pensioner: see pensionary.] 1. One who is 
in receipt of a pension or stated allowance, 
either in consideration of past services or on 
account of injuries received in service, etc. 
See pens-ion, ., 2. 2. A person who is depen- 
dent on the bounty of another ; a dependent. 
And then he tooke his leaue of her grace, and came forth 
into the open courte, where all the petitioners stoode. 
an, Q. Marie, an. 1555. 
Hovering dreams, 
The fickle pensioners of Morpheus' train. 
ilUlon, II Penseroso, 1. 10. 
3. In the University of Cambridge, one who 
pays for his commons out of his own income : 
the same as a commoner at Oxford. 
Pensioners, who form the great body of the students, who 
pay for their commons, chambers, etc. 
Cambridge University Calendar (1889), p. 5. 
Gentlemen pensioners, the former name of the gen- 
tlemen-at-arms. See genUeman-at-anns. In pensioner. 
See in-pensioner. Out pensioner. See out-pensioner. 
pensioning-warrant (pen'shon-ing-wor"ant), 
n. In Eng. administrative law, one of a num- 
ber of orders or warrants issued from time to 
time by the commissioners of the treasury, 
conferring pensions, or offices or appointments 
entitling to pensions, or fixing the amounts 
payable. 
pensionryt (pen'shon-ri), n. [< pension(e)r + 
-y (see -n/).] A body of gentlemen pensioners. 
pension-writ (pen'shon-rit), . In (aw, a pro- 
cess formerly issued against a member of an inn 
of court when he was in arrears for pensions, 
commons, or other dues. See pension, n., 1. 
pensitivet (pen'si-tiv), a. [An irreg. extended 
form of pensive.] Same as pensire. 
For a woman to be good, it is no small help to be al- 
ways in businesse ; and by the contrarie, we see no other 
thing but that the idle woman goeth alwayes pensitiue. 
Guevara, Letters (tr. by Hellowes, 1577), p. 317. 
pensive (pen'siv), a, [< ME. pensif, < OF. (also 
F.) peyisrf '(= It. pensivo), < penser, think, < L. 
pensare, weigh, consider, < pender'c, pp. pen- 
sus, hang, weigh: see pendent. Cf. poise.'] 1. 
Engaged in serious thought or reflection; given 
to earnest musing: often implying some degree 
of anxiety, depression, or gloom; thoughtful 
and somewhat melancholy. 
The squyer that hadde hym sniyten returned sorowfull 
and pensif to the place that lie com fro, and hilde hym-self 
foule disceyved of that he hadde don. 
Merlin (E. E. T. 8.), iii. 426. 
The hermit trimm'd his little flre, 
And cheer'd his pensive guest. 
Goldsmith, Vicar, viii. 
2. Expressing thoughtfulness with sadness; 
betokening or conducive to thoughtful or ear- 
nest musing. 
Deep silence held the Grecian band, 
Silent, unmov'd, in dire dismay they stand ; 
A pensive scene ! till Tydeus' warlike son 
Roll'd on the king his eyes, and thus begun. 
Pope, Iliad, xl. 41. 
It was a pretty scene ; but I missed that pensive stillness 
which makes the autumn in England indeed the evening 
of the year. Darwin, Voyage of Beagle, II. 90. 
= Syn. 1. Meditative, reflective, sober. 
pensivedt (pen'sivd), a. [< pensive + -ed?.] 
Thought on or brooded over. 
Lo, all these trophies of affections hot, 
Of pensived and subdued desires the tender, 
Nature hath charged me that I hoard them not 
Shak., Lover's Complaint, 1. 219. 
pensiveheadt, . [ME. pensif 'hed; <pensive + 
-head.] Pensiveness. 
This welle . . . wolde . . . the venym perse 
Of pensif hede, with all the cruel rage. 
Lydgate, Complaint of a Lover's Life, 1. 102. 
pensively (pen'siv-li), adv. In a pensive man- 
ner; with melancholy thoughtfulness ; with se- 
riousness or some degree of melancholy. 
pensiveness (pen'siv-nes), n. [ME. pensif nesse ; 
< pensire + -ness.] The state or character of 
being pensive ; gloomy thoughtfulness; melan- 
choly; seriousness from depressed spirits. 
penstock (pen'stok),. [<peri* + stock.] 1. In 
hydraulic engin., that part of the channel, con- 
duit, or trough supplying water to a water- 
wheel which extends between the race and the 
gate through which the water flows to the wheel. 
It is generally made of planks or boards bound 
on the outside with stout timbers. 2. A hy- 
drant supplying water which is conveyed 
through a pipe from the source of supply. 
By a series of bolts and adjustments, the penntoclcs can 
be fixed ready for use when the tide is highest in the sewer. 
Mayhem, London Labour and London Poor, II. 482. 
3. The barrel of a pump, in which the piston 
plays, and through whicli the water passes up. 
4378 
pensum (pen'sum), . [< L. pensum, a task, < 
pendere, weigh.] An extra task imposed on a 
scholar as punishment. 
pensyH, An obsolete form of pansy. 
pensy 2 (pen'si), a. [Also pensie; var. of new - 
tfive.] Proud; conceited; spruce. [Scotch.] 
pensynt, A Middle English form otpiitson 1 . 
pent (pent), p. a. [Pp.ofpeni,pend 1 .] Pen- 
ned or shut up ; closely confined. 
With hollow eyes and rawbone cheekes forspent, 
As if he had in prison long benepent. 
Spenser, F. Q., IV. v. 84. 
So, pent by hills, the wild winds roar aloud 
In the deep bosom of some gloomy wood. 
Pope, Iliad, xvi. 923. 
penta-. [L., etc., penta-, < Gr. ircvra-, usual com- 
bining form of icivre, five : see five.] An ele- 
ment in many words of Greek origin or forma- 
tion, meaning 'five.' 
pentacapsular (pen-ta-kap'su-lar), a. [< Gr. 
nkvre, five, + E. eapsular.] In hot., having five 
capsules or seed-vessels. 
pentacarpellary (pen-ta-kar'pe-la-ri), a. [< 
Gr. irevre, five, + Kaptrof, fruit.] In bot., com- 
posed of five carpels. 
pentace (pen'ta-se), n. [< Gr. TTEVIT, five, + tuaj, 
a point: see acme.] A pentahedral summit. 
Pentaceras (pen-tas'e-ras), n. [NL. (J. D. 
Hooker, 1862), < Gr. wevrs, five, + Kepaf, a horn.] 
A genus of the rue family, order liutaceee and 
tribe Zanthoxylese, distinguished by the com- 
plete separation of the ovary into five horn- 
like lobes, surrounded by ten stamens, and five 
petals and five sepals. The only species is a smooth 
tree of subtropical Australia, bearing alternate pinnate 
pellucid-dotted leaves, and long much-branched axillary 
panicles of many small flowers. It is a tall evergreen, 
reaching 60 feet high, and known as the Moretan Bay var- 
nish-tree, or white cedar. 
Pentaceros (pen-tas'e-ros), n. [NL., < Gr. 
TTCVTC, five, + itepaf, horn.] 1. The typical ge- 
nus of Pentacerotidee. P. reticulatus is a wide- 
ranging species, measuring about eight inches 
in diameter. 2. A genus of acanthopterygian 
fishes, typical of the Pentacerotidee, having five 
horn-like projections on the head. Cuvier and 
Valenciennes, 1829. 
Pentacerotidse (pen"ta-se-rot'i-de), n. pi. 
[NL., < Pentaceros (-cerot-) + -idee.] If. A 
family of starfishes, named by J. E. Gray in 
1840 from the genus Pentaceros. 2. A family 
of fishes, typified by the genus Pentaceros. 
Pentacerotina (pen-ta-ser-o-tl'na), n. pi. 
[NL., < Pentaceros (-cerot-) + '-inu 2 .]" In Giin- 
ther's classification, the third group of Perddee : 
same as the family Pentacerotidse. 
pentachenium (pen-ta-ke'ni-um), n.; vl.penta- 
cltenia (-a). [NL., < G'r. jrevrr, five, + NL. ache- 
nium, q. v.] In bot., a five-celled fruit other- 
wise like a cremocarp. 
pentachonium (peu-ta-ko'ni-um), n. Amusical 
composition in five parts. 
pentachord (pen'ta-kdrd), n. [< LL. penta- 
chordus, < Gr. mvraxopdos, five-stringed, < Trfvre, 
five, -I- xP^Vt & string, as of a lyre : see chord.] 
In mttsic: (a) A diatonic series of five tones. 
(6) An instrument with five strings. Compare 
hexachord, monochord, etc. 
pentacle (pen'ta-kl), n. [Msopentide; < OF. 
pentacle, pantacle, apentacle (in magic), a can- 
dlestick with five branches, as if < Gr. mvre, 
five ; but prob. orig. 'a pendant,' cf. OF. pente, 
a pendant, hanging, slope, etc., < pendre, nang: 
see pendant, pendent. As applied to a magical 
figure, prob. wrested from pentangle (see pen- 
tangle), perhaps confused (as if 'an amulet') 
with OF. pentacol, pend a col, a trinket hung 
from the neck, a pendant (< pendre, hang, + a, 
on, + col, neck).] A mathematical figure used 
in magical ceremonies,and considered a defense 
against demons. It was probably with this figure 
that the Pythagoreans began their letters, as a symbol of 
health. In modern English books it is generally assumed 
that this is the six-pointed star formed of two triangles 
interlaced or superposed. (Compare Solomon's seal, un- 
der seal.) Obviously, the pentacle must be a five pointed 
or flve-membered object, and it should be considered as 
equivalent to the pentagram or pentalpha. (See also pen- 
tangle.) The construction of the five-pointed star depends 
upon an abstruse proposition discovered in the Pytnago- 
rean school, and this star seems to have been from that 
time adopted as their seal. 
They have their crystals, I do know, and rings. 
And virgin-parchment, and their dead men's skulls, 
Their ravens' wings, their lights, and pentacles, 
With characters. B. Jonson, Devil is an Ass, i. 2. 
His shoes were marked with cross and spell ; 
Upon his breast a. pentacle. Scott, Marmion, iii. 20. 
The potent pentacle, i. e. a figure of three trigons in- 
terlaced and formed of five lines. 
W. U. Forman, in Jour. Brit. Archasol. Ass., XIX. 140. 
pentad 
pentacoccous (pen-ta-kok'us), a. [< Gr. vevrc. 
five, + KOKKOf, a berry, a kernel: see coccus.] 
In hot., having or containing five grains or 
seeds, or having five united cells with one seed 
in each. 
Pentacrinidae (pen-ta-krin'i-de), n. pi. [NL., 
< Pentacrinus + -idse."\ A family or higher group 
of articulate crinoids, named from the genusPew- 
tacrinus, containing permanently fixed extant 
and extinct forms ; the sea-lilies and stone-lilies. 
They have a small calyx with five basal plates and five ra- 
dial dichotomons arms, and a pentagonal stalk with lateral 
branches. Most of the species are extinct, and commenced 
in or before the I.iassic epoch, but a few live in the pres- 
ent seas at great depths. Also called Encrinidse. -See cut 
under Pentaerinus. 
pentacrinite (pen-tak'ri-nit), n. [< Pentaerinus 
+ -zte 2 .] An encrinite or fossil crinoid of the 
genus Pentacrinites or family Pentacrinitidse. 
Pentacrinites(pen"ta-kri-m'tez),M. [NL.(Miil- 
ler, 1821), < Pentaerinus + -ites.] Same as Pen- 
tacrimis. 
Pentacrinitidae (pen"ta-kri-nit'i-de), n. pi. 
[NL., < Pentacrinites + -idee.] A family of cri- 
noids: synonymous with Pentacrinidee. J. E. 
Gray, 1840. 
pentacrinoid (pen-tak'ri-noid), a. and n. [< 
Pentaerinus + -oid.] I. a. Resembling a crinoid 
of the genus Pentaerinus; pentamerous, as a cri- 
noid: said also of other sea-lilies: as, the pen- 
tacrinoid larval form of Comatula. 
U. n. A pentacrinoid crinoid ; a member of 
the Pentacrinoidea. 
Pentacrinoidea (pen*ta-kri-noi'de-a), n. pi. 
[NL.,< Pentaerinus + -oidea.] 
The Pentacrinidee or Pentacri- 
nitidae, in a broad sense, as a 
superfamily group of articu- 
lated crinoids. 
Pentaerinus (pen-tak'ri-nus), 
n. [NL. (L. Oken, 1815), < 
Gr. 7rwc, five, + xpivov, a lily : 
see crinoid.] The typical ge- 
nus of sea-lilies of the fam- 
ily Pentacrinidee, having the 
column pentagonal, p. wyville- 
thomsoni is an existing species. Some 
living ones which have Deen referred 
to this genus are larval forms of stalk- 
less crinoids, as P. europ&us of Ante- 
don rosaceus. Also Pentacrinites. 
pentacr ostic (pen-ta-kros'tik), 
a. and ti. [< Gr. ntvre, five, 
+ aKpoor! %iov, an acrostic: see 
acrostic.] I. a. Containing five 
acrostics of the same name. OTJ 
II. n. A set of verses so dis- 
posed as to contain five acrostics of the same 
name, there being five divisions in each verse. 
pentact (pen'takt), a. and n. [< Gr. rnvre, five, 
+ auric (OKTIV-), ray: see actinic.] I. a. Five- 
rayed; having five rays, arms, or branches, as a 
common starfish, or a sponge-spicule. 
II. n. A pentact sponge-spicule. 
Pentactae (pen-tak'te), n. pi. [NL.,< Gr. TT^VTE, 
five, + a/cT/f, ray.] A division of holothurians 
haying the suckers arrang- 
ed in five regular rows. 
Pentact id se ( pen- tak' ti- 
de), n. pi. [NL., < Pentac- 
ta (the typical genus) + 
-idss.] A family of holo- 
thurians, named by J. E. 
Gray in 1840 from the ge- 
nus Pentacta. They are 
among the holothurians 
called sea-cucumbers and 
sometimes sea-melons. 
pentactinal (pen -tak' ti- 
nal), a. [< Gr. irivre, five, 
-fdnTif (&KTIV-), ray,+ -al.] 
Having five rays ; pentact. 
Pentactinida (pen -tak - 
tin'i-da), n.pl. [NL., < Gr. Trivre, five, 4- 
(oKr<v-j,a ray, + -ida.] A general name of those 
starfishes which have five rays: distinguished 
from Heteractinida. 
pentacular (pen-tak'u-liir), . [< pentacle 
(ML. as if "pentacnlitm) + -ar.] Formed into 
or like a pentacle ; having the figure or charac- 
ter of a pentacle : as, a, pentacular symbol, em- 
blem, or talisman. 
pentacyclic (pen-ta-sik'lik), a. [< Gr. vevre, 
five, + Ki''/c?.of, a circle: see cyclef, cyclic.] In 
bot., having five cycles : said of flowers in which 
the floi'al organs are in five cycles or whorls. 
Compare monocyclie, bicyclic, etc. 
pentad (pen'tad), . [= P. pentode, < Gr. ircv- 
'<5f (irevraS-), the number five, a body of five, < 
Sea-lily (Pentacrt- 
MS -unTjille thom- 
Sea-cucumber {Pentacta 
/rondosa). 
