pier 
barge or caisson used as a landing-stage, and connected 
with the shore by a pivoted bridge that enables it to rise 
and fall with the tide ; a landing-stage, 
pierage (per'aj), . [< pier + -aye.] Toll paid 
for using a pier, 
pier-arch (per'iirch), n. An arch resting upon 
piers, 
pierce (pers, formerly 
pp. pierced, ppr. 
4480 
piercer (per'ser), . [Early mod. E. &lsopercer; 
< ME. pcrsour, < OF. perceur, piercer, < percer, 
' -I: aeepierce.] 1. One who or that which 
OIIK percer is money, and such a gredie glotton 
iauarice. Hall, Hen. VI., an. 16. 
pietra serena 
Pieris (pi'e-ris), . [NL. (Schrank, 1801), < Gr. 
Tltepic, sing, of Ute/ilie f , the Muses : see Pierides.] 
A genus of butterflies, typical of the Pieridinx. 
They are rather small whitish or yellowish butterflies, 
whose (ore wings are rounded at the tip and marked 
with black. The genus as now restricted has over 120 
species, of all parts of the world. Most of those of 
North America are known as cabbage butterflies, with a 
qualifying word, because their caterpillars feed on the 
peerch; < ME. percen, peereyn, persen, parcen, 
/)</(-, /r/.-Vi.', pt 'rissheu, < OF. percer, perser, 
percier, pcrcliier, parchier, F. percer (Walloon 
percher), pierce, bore; origin uncertain; by 
some regarded as contracted < OF. pertuisier, 
1 -'. [xrtiiiser (= It. pertugiare),<pertuis = It. per- 
tngio, a hole, < ML. "pertusium, also pertusus, a 
hole, < L. pertusus, pp. of pertimdere, perforate, 
< per, through, + tundere, beat : see pertuse. 
Cf . partisan?, from the same source. Cf . also 
parch.] I. trans. 1. To thrust through with a 
sharp or pointed instrument ; stab ; prick. 
Mordrams to whome almyghty God after that appered 
& shewed to hym his syde handes & feet perysshed with 
the spere and nayles. 
Joseph of Arimathie (E. E. T. S.), p. 31. 
One of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and 
forthwith there came out blood and water. John xix. 34. 
If Percy be alive. 111 pierce him. 
Shak., 1 Hen. IV., v. 3. 59. 
If thou wilt strike, here is a faithful heart; 
Pierce it, for I will never heave my hand 
To thine. Beau, and Fl., Maid's Tragedy, iii. 2. 
or a stiletto. Specifically- (a) A piereel. (6) An in- 
strument used in making eyelets, (c) A vent-wire used by 
founders in making holes, (d) A bow-drill. 
3. In eiitom., that organ of an insect with which 
it pierces bodies ; the ovipositor. Also called 
terebra. 
The hollow instrument terebra we may English piercer. 
Ray, Works of Creation. 
piercing (per'sing), . [Verbal n. of pierce, v.] 
1. Penetration. Specifically 2. In metal- 
working, the operation of sawing out a pattern 
or an object from a plate, as distinguished 
from punching it out. It is done with a jig- 
or band-saw. 
piercing (per'sing),j?.#. 1. Penetrating; sharp; 
keen : as, piercing eyes ; a piercing wind. 
The air in this bishopric is pretty cold and piercing. 
Defoe, Tour thro' Great Britain, III. 220. 
2. That touches or moves with pity, alarm, an- 
guish, etc.: as, & piercing cry. 
In piercing phrases, late, 
The anatomy of all my woes I wrote. 
Sir P. Sidney (Arber's Eng. Garner, I. 532). 
2. 
ing in. 
This must be doon by persyng the mountayne, 
The water so to lede into the playne. 
PaUadius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 176. 
A Cask pearc't to be spent, 
Though full, yet runs not till we giue it vent. 
Sylcester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 1. 
The mountain of Qnarantina, the scene of the forty days 
temptation of our Saviour, is pierced all over with the 
caves excavated by the ancient anchorites, and which look 
like pigeons' nests. 
JR. Cwrzan, Monast. in the Levant, p. 179. 
3. To penetrate; enter into or through ; force 
a way into or through : as, to pierce the enemy's 
center. 
A short orison of the rightuss man or of the lust man 
thirlith or perissheth heuen. 
Gesta Romanorum (E. E. T. S.), p. 47. 
Steed threatens steed in high and boastful neighs, 
Piercing the night's dull ear. 
Shak., Hen. V., iv., Prol., 1. 11. 
The Riuer doth pierce many dales iourney the entrailes 
of that Country. Copt. John Smith, Works, II. 194. 
In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes, 
I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods. 
Emerson, The Rhodora. 
4. To penetrate with pain, grief, or other emo- 
tion; wound or affect keenly; touch or move 
deeply. 
Did your letters pierce the queen to any demonstration 
of grief? Shak., Lear, iv. 3. 11. 
Tears did gush from every eye, aud pithy speeches 
pierced each others heart. 
If. Morton, New England's Memorial, p. 24. 
=Syn. 1 and 2. Perforate, Transfix, etc. See penetrate. 
n. intrans. To enter or penetrate; force a 
way. 
She would not pierce further into his meaning than him- 
self should declare. Sir P. Sidney. 
These words pierce deeper than the wounds I suffer, 
The smarting wounds of loss. 
Fletcher, Humorous Lieutenant, ii. 2. 
But see ! the mists are stirring, rays of light 
Pierce through the haze, as struggling to be free. 
Jones Very, Poems, p. 99. 
pierceable (per'sa-bl), a. [< pierce + -able.] 
Capable of being pierced. Spenser, F. Q., I. i. 7. 
pierced (perst), p. a. 1. Penetrated; entered 
by force; perforated. 2. In her. : (a) Cut 
through with an opening not so large as that 
implied in cleche, and not of the shape of the 
bearing. The shape of the opening should be stated in 
the blazon, as triangular, lozengy, etc. ; when not stated, 
file used for enlarging drilled holes. E. H. 
-, . 
piercingly (per'sing-li), adv. In a piercing 
manner; with penetrating force or effect; 
sharply. 
piercingness (per'sing-nes), n. The power of 
piercing or penetrating ; sharpness ; keenness. 
piercing-saw (per'sing-sa), n. A very fine thin 
saw-blade clamped in a frame, used by gold- 
smiths and silversmiths for sawing out designs, 
the blade being introduced into holes previous- 
ly drilled; a buhl-saw. E. H. Knight. 
pierelle (per-el'), . [< F. pierre, stone (see 
pier), + dim. -elle.] A filling for a ditch, com- 
posed of stones thrown in without regularity, 
and covered with earth or clay to afford a smooth 
upper surface. 
pier-glass (per'glas), n. A mirror used in an 
apartment to cover the whole or a large part 
of the wall between two openings ; especially, 
such a miiTor set up between two windows, and 
forming a part of the decoration of a room. 
Compare pier-table. 
Pierian (pi-e'ri-an), a. [< L. Pieriiis (>It. Sp. 
Pierio), Pierian," sacred to the Muses, poetic, < 
Pieria, < Gr. TZiepla, a district, Iliepoc, & moun- 
tain, in the north of Thessaly, haunted by the 
Muses (hence called Pierides).] 1. Of or be- 
longing to Pieria, or the Pierides or Muses. 
A little learning is a dangerous thing ; 
Drink deep, or touch not the Pierian spring. 
Pope, Essay on Criticism, ii. 15. 
And ye, Pierian Sisters, sprung from Jove 
And sage Mnemosyne. Wordsworth, Ode, 1814. 
2. H. c.] In entom., same as pieridine. 
Pieridse (pl-er'i-de), n.pl. [NL.,< Pieris + -idle.] 
The Pieridinse or Pierinee as a separate family. 
Pierides (pi-er'i-dez), n. pi. [L., < Gr. Utepidec, 
< IliEpof, a mountain in northern Thessaly : see 
Pierian.] The nine Muses. 
Pieridinae (pi'e-ri-di'ne), n. pi. [NL., < Pieris 
(Pierid-) + -.] A very large subfamily of 
Papilionidie, typified by the genus Pieris. They 
have no concavity of the abdominal edge of the hind wings, 
the discoidal ceuule is closed, the tarsal hook not inden- 
tate, and the slightly pubescent larva attenuated at the 
extremity. The subfamily includes about 30 genera and 
800 species, and is of world-wide distribution. The larvae, 
in many cases, are of great economic importance from 
their destructive habits. Also Pierinee. 
or pertaining to 
ing an arrow, spear, or other weapon thrust into 
it but not passing through, as an animal used as 
a bearing. Compare traiisficed __ Mullet pierced. 
See mtdletf. Merced medallion, a thin plate orna- 
mented by a pattern cut through its whole substance and 
applied to the surface of a vase or similar object, the body 
of the piece showing through the openings in the medal- 
lion : used in metal-work of some kinds, and in some 
manufactures of porcelain. Also perforated medallion. 
Pierced work, decoration produced by numerous open- 
ings, generally small. The solid pattern is usually height- 
ened by chasing, embossing, or some inlaid ornamentation 
such as niello. 
piereel (per'sel), n. [(pierce + -el. Ct.piei-eer.] 
An instrument for f ormins; vents in casks ; a 
piercer. 
Southern Cabbaue-butterfly (PieHt protodict), female, natural size. 
Southern Cabbage-butterfly (Pitrts protodice], male, natural size. 
cabbage and other cruciferous plants. P. oleracea is the 
pot-herb or northern cabbage-butterfly (see cut under pot- 
herb) ; P. protodice, the southern cabbage-butterfly ; P. mo- 
nuste, the larger cabbage-butterfly. The commonest one 
in the United States now is P. rapee, imported from 
Europe in 1856 or 1857, and known as the rape-butterfly 
in England. See also cuts under cabbage- butterfly and 
cabbage-worm. 
pierre perdue (pyar per-dii'). [F., lit. ' lost 
stone': pierre, stone; perdue, fern, of perdu, 
pp. of perdre, lose : see pier and perdue.] In 
engin,, masses of stone thrown down at random 
on a given site to serve as a subfoundation 
for regular masonry, as in. the construction of 
a breakwater, etc. 
pierriet, n. Same a&perryS. 
pierriert, Seeperrier. 
pierrot (pye-ro'), n. [F., dim of Pierre, Pe- 
ter.] 1. A form of woman's basque cut low in 
the neck, but having sleeves, worn toward the 
close of the eighteenth century. 2. A buffoon 
whose costume was white, or white with stripes, 
large and loose, and with very long sleeves : a 
popular character in masked balls. 
pier-table (per'ta/bl), n. An ornamental table 
intended to stand between two windows and to 
occupy the whole of the lower part of the pier 
between the windows. It is often combined with a 
pier-glass, and the glass is sometimes carried down below 
the top of the table and between its uprights. 
piest, n. See pize. 
piet, piot (pi'et, pi'pt), n. [A\sopyot,piat,pyut; 
< pie* + -et.] 1. The magpie. 2. The water- 
ouzel or water-piet, Cinclus aquaticus : so called 
from the party-colored plumage. [Scotland.] 
pieted, pioted (pi'et-ed, pi'ot-ed), a. [< piet, 
piot, + -ed?.] Pied or piebald. [Scotch.] 
Pietism (pi'e-tizm), . [= F. pietisme = Pg. 
pietismo; aspiet-y + -4sm.] 1. The movement 
inaugurated by the Pietists, who, from the latter 
part of the seventeenth century onward, sought 
to revive the declining piety of the Lutheran 
churches in Germany ; the principles and prac- 
tices of the Pietists. 2. [I. c.] Devotion or god- 
liness of life, as distinguished from mere intel- 
lectual orthodoxy : sometimes used opprobri- 
ously for mere affectation of piety. 
Pietist (pi'e-tist), n. [= F.pietiste = Pg. It. 
pietista; as piet-y + -ist.] One of a class of 
religious reformers in Germany in the seven- 
teenth and eighteenth centuries. Their principles 
as defined by the originator of the movement, Spener(lat- 
ter part of the seventeenth century), included the more 
earnest study of the Bible, the participation of the laity in 
the spiritual work of the church, a more practical type of 
piety, charity in the treatment of heretics, infidels, and 
others, a reorganization of the systems of religious and 
theological instruction in accordance with these prin- 
ciples, and a more enlightened style of preaching. Spe- 
ner's disciples were led into extravagances of feeling; 
hence the term is sometimes applied opprobriously to 
any one who lays stress on mere emotionalism in reli- 
gion, as distinguished from intelligent belief and practi- 
cal life. 
Pietistic (pi-e-tis'tik), a. [= Pg. pietistico; as 
Pietist + -ic.] 1. Of or pertaining to the Pi- 
etists. 2. [I.e.] Characterized by strong reli- 
gious feeling as distinguished from mere intel- 
lectual orthodoxy, or doctrinalism. 
Pietistical (pl-e-tis'ti-kal), a. [< Pietistic + 
-/.] Same as Pittistic,'in either sense. 
pietra dura (pya'tra do'ra). [It., hard stone : 
see pier and dare.] Ornamental work in in- 
lay of hard stones, such as agates and jaspers, 
especially when on a somewhat large scale. 
pietra serena (pya'tra, se-ra'na). [It., clear 
stone : see pier and serene.] A hard gray sand- 
stone quarried in the hills near Fiesole, and 
much used for building in Florence and other 
cities of Tuscany. 
