pest 
2. Any very noxious, mischievous, or destruc- 
tive thing, or a mischievous, destructive, very 
annoyinp. or troublesome person. 
A pe*t and public enemy. South. 
= Syn. 1. Infection. 2. Scourge, nuisance. 
Pestalozzian ( pes-ta-lot'si-an), a. [< Pest<ili>;:i 
(see dof. ) -f -an.] Of, pertaining to, or origi- 
nated by Johann Hoinrieh Pestalozzi (1746- 
1827), a Swiss philanthropist and edaottor, who 
instituted H system of elementary instruction 
in which object-teaching adapted to the ascer- 
tained capacity of each child was the principal 
feature. 
Pestalozzianism (pos-ta-lot'si-an-izm), n. [< 
4423 
There maye happe by yuell custome some pestuferous 
dewe of vyce to perse the sayd ineiiilirra, and fnfecte and 
corrupt the soft and tcndre buildes. 
Kir T. Elyot, The Governour, 1. 3. 
He WHS shut up to languish for years with his wife and 
daughter In a pestiferous dungeon. 
E. Everett, Orations, I. 513. 
2. Noxious in any manner; mischievous; ma- 
lignant; annoying. 
You that have so traitorously discovered the secrets of 
your army, and made such pestiferous reports of men very 
pet 
Bossiiet had been taught that Mohammedanism Is a pet- 
liti-Hliiit heresy. Buckle, Civilization, I. xlll. 
3. Partaking of the nature of pestilence or any 
infectious and deadly disease: as, ftjwMmttoi 
fever. 8ee/ei-c/l.=Syn. Malignant, noxious, deadly. 
pestilentioust (|>cs-ti-len'shus), a. [< OF. /*<>.- 
Ill, I, 111 IIS Sp. Pg. /. ,, = ]t. IHf.-lil,ll- 
zioso, < LL. pestilentiosut, < L. pestilentia, pes- 
tilence: see pestilence.] Pestilential. 
Such a pestilentiina influence poisoned the time of my 
nativity. Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, ill. 
The smell nevertheless encreased, and became above all 
measure pestUently noisome. 
Dr. II. More, Antidote against Atheism, III. 9. 
race (pes'ti-lens), ... [< : ME. pestilence, pestilentness(pes'ti-lent-nes), n. Thecharac- 
mtW,< OF. (and F.) pestilence = Pr. pesti- *ter of being pestilent," 
><ll!j :1IMI>, __ 
nobly htlil. " Shak., All's Well, iv. 8. 340. 
My mind of late years has a pestiferous way of seeing pestilently (pes'ti-lent-li), adv. 1. In a pesti- 
pretty much all sides of 1"- lent manner; mischievously ; perniciously nox- 
~- ..-..,.. L . ... . , rfe,,lnMerrlam,I.380. iously.-2t. Excessively; intolerably. 
r<vi<ilii~.:iiiii + -ism.] The Pestalozzian edu- pestiferously (pes-tif e-rus-h), adv. In a pes- 
cational system; the method of Pestalozzi. tiferous manner; pestilentially; noxiously; 
pestelt, n. A Middle English form of pestle. malignantly; annoymgly. 
pestelett, . S&me &s pistolefl. pestilence (pesji-lens), . 
pester (pes'ter), t). t. rBy apheresis from iro- 
/ii'stf}-, < OF. impestrer,. empe'trer = lt. impas- 
tojarc, < ML. "impasloriarc, shackle or clog (a 
horse at pasture), < in, in, + pastorium, a clog 
for horses at pasture: see pastern.] If. To 
crowd; encumber; clog; fill; cram. 
[Alexander], purposing to passe forwards, deuided his 
army Into two partes, . . . and, reseruing such a parte as 
was pestered least with baggage, took the way of the 
mountains. J. Brende, tr. of Quintus Curtius, v. o rm. vesiei, pesieue, \ vr.pesiei, pesteil = It. pestello 
rsM.i with 3ffi&c.,!te twasisssKsesHS ^ jsarsa&aSrtBafi 
tilenza, pestilenzia, < L. pestilentia, plague, < 
pestilen(t-)s, infected, unwholesome, noxious: 
see pestilent.'] 1. The disease called the plague 
or pest; also, any epidemic malignant dfseTe. 
The : pestilence that walketh in darkness. P,. xcl. 6. 
plague,"pestilence", <j>estilis, pestilent, < li. pes- 
tis, a pest: see pest.] A pestilence; a plague. 
was scant place to He in. Ilakluyt's Voyages, 1L 258. 
The people crowding near within the pester'd room, 
A low soft murmuring moves amongst the wond'rlng 
throng. Drayton, Polyolblon, v. 34. 
Hence 2. To trouble, disturb, or annoy, espe- 
cially with repeated acts of an annoying kind ; 
harass with petty vexations ; plague ; worry. 
He hath not fall'd to pester us with message. 
Shale., Hamlet, L 2. 22. 
What State soever is pestered with Factions, and de- 
fends it self by Force of Anns, Is very Just in having re- 
gard to those only that are sound and untainted. 
nant disease. 
When mine eyes did see Olivia first, 
Methought she purged the air of pestilence ! 
Shak.,T. N.,1. 1.20. 
3. That which is morally pestilent ; that which 
is mischievous, noxious, or malignant in any 
respect. 
For whiles this honest fool 
Piles Desdemona to repair his fortunes. 
And she for him pleads strongly to the Moor, 
I'll pour this pestilence Into his ear. 
Shale., Othello, 11. 3. 362. 
also pistellus, pestellits, pestittum, a pounder, 
pestle, dim. of *pistrum, (.pistus, pp. olpinsere, 
pisere, pound, = Gr. irriooctv, bray, winnow, = 
Skt. V pish, pound. Cf . pistil, which is directly 
from the L. pistillum.] 1 . An instrument for 
pounding and breaking a substance in a mor- 
tar. 
A certalne maide . . . had by chance a pestell of a mor- 
tar in her hand, with which she was Downing In the said 
mortar. Coryat, Crudities, I. 261. 
2. In mach. : (a) The vertically moving bar of 
a stamp-mill. (6) One of the pounders or mal- 
Milton Answer to Salmaslus, Pref., p. 14. pestilence-weed (pes'ti-lens-wed), Same as lets use'd in a fufllng-mUI.-sf The l7g of ' 
inn not in this his sombre mood i\enti]pnrf'-irf\rt *..;,. ....:... .,1 .:_ii._ _< AI. . _i_ 
Pester him not In this his sombre mood 
With questioi 
pestilence-icort. 
1. Encum- 
2. A trouble ; bother ; plague. [Colloq., U. S.] 
Shebna he 's told many where the Kidd money was, and 
butter-bur, 
c " ed witn reference 
(P. vulgans): so 
its reputed remedial 
=Syn. 
pester 
brance ; obstruction.' nestile t f 't' 
We perceiued that we were shot into a very falre en- nf >_Wn Ptftt >e,tu,f(t . 
trance or passage, being in some places twenty leagues f f "' ' b . P .; Jj "/ ff*SS \ i SSXSF ** 
broad, and In some thirty, altogether void of any pester of Jjjj - also pestllentlts (also pes tills), infected, pes- 
Haleluyt's Voyages, In. 102. tilential, < pestis, a plague, pest : see pest.] 1. 
Producing or tending to produce infectious dis- 
ease; pestilential; pestiferous. 
A foul and pestilent congregation of vi 
been with 'em when they dug for It ; but the pester on 't 
was they allers lost it, cause they would some on 'em 
speak afore they thought Mrs. Stowe, Oldtown, p. 119. 
pesterablet (pes'ter-a-bl), a. [< pester + 
-able.] Cumbersome ; inconvenient. 
It [a cask] must goe either shaken and bonnde vp, or 
else emetic, which will bee pesteraWe. 
Hakluyt's Voyages, I. 306. 
pesterer (pes'ter-er), n. [< pester + -erl.] One 
who pesters: one who troubles or worries, 
pesteringly (pes'ter-ing-li), adv. Troublesome- 
ly; annoyingly. 
Unalterably and pesteringly fond ! 
Tennyson, Queen Mary, v. 1. 
pesterment (pes'ter-ment), n. [< pester + 
-ment.] The act of pestering, or the state of 
being pestered ; annoyance; vexation; worry. 
JtoMfM. 
pesteroust (pes'ter-us), a. ' [< pester + -ous.] 
HistllelTlLTS!' bUrden8 me - Ba - HauOorne, Seven Gables, xiii. 
pestful (pest'ful), a. ' [< pest + -ful ] Pes- Pestilent! (pes'ti-lent), adv. [< pestilent, a.] 
tiferous; pestilential. Excessively; intolerably. Compare pestilent, 
The Lybians pest-full and un-blest-full shore 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, ii., The Schisme. 
pest-house (pest'hous), n. A hospital for per- 
sons infected with the plague, smallpox, or 
other pestilential disease. 
tain animals, especially of the pig. 
In the fyrst course, potage, wortes, gruell, 4 fonrmenty, 
with venyson, and mortrus, and pestelles of porke with 
grene sauce. Babeei Book (E. E. T. 8.X p. 278. 
Yet can I set my Gallio's dieting, 
A pestle of a lark, or plover's wing. 
Bp. Hall, Satires, IV. lv. 29. (Hares.) 
4t. A short staff carried by a constable or bai- 
liff. Compare macei. 
One whiff at these same pewter-buttoned shoulder-clap- 
pers, to try whether thischopping knife or theirpwtfw were 
si., u... Chapman, May-Day, iv. I 
Vapour, and mist, and exhalation hot, 
Corrupt *nd pestilent. Milton, P. L., x. 695. 
2. Mischievous; noxious; pernicious; hurtful 
to health or morals. 
A self-will in a woman, 
Chaln'd to an over-weening thought, is pestilent, 
Murders fair fortune first, then fair opinion. 
Fletcher, Wlldgoose Chase, iv. 1. 
The world abounds with pestilent books written against 
this doctrine. Swift. 
3. Troublesome; mischievous; making mis- 
chief or disturbance: often used humorously: 
as, a pestilent fellow. 
What A pestilent knave is this same ! 
Shak., R. and J., iv. 6. 147. 
This pestilent wizard (In whom his Just punishment 
seemed to have wrought no manner of amends) had an 
Shale., Hamlet, ll. 2. 315. pestle (pes 1), v.; pret. and pp. pestled, ppr. pes- 
tting. [< pestle, n.J I. trans. To break or pound 
with a pestle; pulverize, grind, or rub with a 
pestle, as in a mortar. 
To pestle a poison 'd poison behind his crimson lights. 
Tennyson, Maud, i. 11. 
Polidori ... on such occasions would retire In mortifi- 
cation to his room, there to pestle his poisons. 
17. Dowden, Shelley, II. 16. 
n. intrans. To use a pestle ; pound. 
It will be such a pestling device, Sir Amorous ! It will 
pound all your enemle's practices to poulder, and blow 
him up with his own mine. B. Jonson, Eplcoene, 111. 1. 
pestle-pie (pes'l-pi), . A large standing pie 
which contains a whole gammon, and some- 
times a couple of fowls and a neat's tongue: 
a favorite dish at country fairs and at Christ- 
mas feasts in Great Britain. Halliwell. 
pestoid (pes'toid), o. [<pest + -oid.] Resem- 
"le pest or plague : as, pestoid fe 
A pestilent complete knave ; and the woman hath found 
Y - 
e English form of peace- 
His beard no bigger fh"oagh~thM"thtae vantei, Hist. ] 
Walk'd on before the rest pesy Diet, a. A 
Would you thrust a child into a pest-house without ne- SueUing, Ballad of a Wedding, able. 
cessity, and without an amulctto? pestilential (pes-ti-len'shal), a. [Formerly also Pesynt, n. An obsolete variant of pease*. 
-...n, -. . >-n _ *.!_._..,_, -r* .._ peti(pet), w.and o. [Formerly also pert, peat, 
< Ir. peat, a pet, as adj. petted, = Gael. 
f __ , a pet, a tame animal. The word may have 
Producing or te'nding to produecTinf ectious dis- *> een associated with petty, little, but it could 
ease; pestiferous. 
Gentleman Instructed, p. 166. 
pestiduct (pes'ti-dukt), . [< L.pestis (see pest) 
+ ductus, a leading: see duct.] That which 
conveys contagion. [Rare.] 
Instruments and pestiduets to the infection of others. 
Donne, Devotions, p. 94. 
pestiferous (pes-tif 'e-rus), a. [= OF. pestife- 
reux (also pestifere), 'F. pestifere = Sp. pestifero 
= Pg. It. pestifero, < L. pestifer, rarely pestife- 
rus, that brings plague or destruction, <pestis, 
plague (<>< /K.V/), -I- ferre = E. Jeari.] 1. 
Plague-bearing; pestilential ; infectious; con- 
tagious : as, pestiferous particles. 
Pestilential vapours, stench, and smoak. Addison. 
Even the birds seem to avoid the place as pestilential, 
not having seen one of any kind so much as flying over. 
Bruce, Source of the Nile, I. 171. 
2. Mischievous; pernicious; destructive. 
In what hatred and perpetual! reproche onghte they to 
be that, corrupted wyth pestilendal auarice or ambicion, 
do betrale theyr maysters, or any other that trusteth them ? 
Sir T. Elyot, The GoTernour, ill. 6. 
vuvu n.-.-'r, i,i,..i TT im jf^nif) iiiiic, uut II ( ( HI Ml 
not be derived from petty.] I. n. 1. Any domes- 
ticated or tamed animal, as a dog, a squirrel, 
or a dove, that is fondled and indulged; in par- 
ticular, a lamb brought up by hand; a cade- 
lamb ; in general, a fondling. 
Hastings Clive has a queer assortment of pets, first of 
which are the bushy-tailed Persian kittens. 
J. W. Palmer, The New and the Old, p. 344. 
2. A darling or favorite child ; one who is fon- 
dled and indulged or treated with peculiar kind- 
