pigeonhole 
pigeonhole (pij'on-hol), n. 1. One of the holes 
in a dove-cote or pigeon-house tlivougli which 
the birds pass in and out. Hence 2. A little 
compartment or division in a case for papers, 
a bureau, a desk, or the liko. 
AbW Sieycs has whole nests of pigeon-holes full of con- 
stitutions already made, ticketed, sorted, and numbered. 
Burke. 
3. One of a series of holes in an arch of a fur- 
nace through which the gases of combustion 
pass. 4. One of a series of holes in the block 
at the bottom of a keir through which its liquid 
contents can be discharged. 5. pi. An old 
English game, resembling modern bagatelle, 
in whichballs were rolled through little cavities 
or arches. 
Threepence I lost at nynepines ; but I got 
Six tokens towards that at pigeon-holes. 
Brome, Antipodes, iv. 5. 
In several places there was nine-pins plaid, 
And mdiiean hnles for to beget a trade. 
Frost-Fair Ballads (1684). (Nares.) 
6. In printing, an over-wide space between 
printed words. Also called rat-hole. 
pigeonhole (pij'on-hol), t>. t. ; pret. andpp.^i- 
geonholed, ppr. pigeonholing. [< pigeonhole, n.] 
To place or file away in a pigeonhole ; hence, 
to lay aside for future consideration; hence, to 
lay aside and ignore or forget; "shelve"; treat 
with intentional neglect : as, to pigeonhole an 
application for an appointment ; to pigeonhole 
a scheme. 
It is true that in common life ideas are spoken of as be- 
ing treasured up, forming a store of knowledge : the im- 
plied notion being that they are duly arranged and, as it 
were, pigeon-holed for future use. 
H. Spencer, Prin. of Psychol., | 469. 
He had hampered the business of the State Department 
by pigeon-holing treaties for months. 
ff. A. Rev., CXXVII. 63. 
pigeonholed (pij'on-hold), a. Formed with 
pigeonholes for the escape of gases of com- 
bustion, as the arch of a furnace, or for the 
discharge of liquids, as the bottom of a keir. 
pigeon-house (pij'on-lious), n, A house for 
pigeons ; a pigeonry ; a dove-cote. 
pigeon-livered (pij'qn-liv"erd), a. Mild in tem- 
per; pigeon-hearted; soft; gentle. 
I am pigeon-lioer'd, and lack gall 
To make oppression bitter. 
Shalt., Hamlet, ii. 2. 605. 
pigeon-match (pij'on-mach), . A meeting or 
contest where pigeons are shot at as they are 
released from boxes, called traps, placed at a 
fixed distance from the marksman. 
pigeon-pair (pij'on-par), . Twins of opposite 
sex, boy and girl: so called because pigeons 
lay two eggs which normally hatch a pair of 
birds, a male and a female. 
pigeon-pea (pij'on-pe), . See Cajanus. 
pigeon-plum (pij'on-plum), n. A middle-sized 
tree, Coccoloba Floridaiia, common in semi- 
tropical Florida. Its wood is hard and close grained, 
of a deep brown tinged with red, and valuable for cabinet- 
making. Its abundant grape-like fruit is a favorite food 
of small animals. 
pigeonry (pij'on-ri), n. ; pi. pigeonries (-riz). [< 
pigeon + -ry.] A place where pigeons are kept ; 
a columbarium ; a dove-cote. 
pigeon' 8-blood (pij'onz-blud), . The color of 
a fine dark ruby, scarcely so dark as the beefs- 
blood. These two shades are the most admired 
in that stone. 
pigeon' S-gr ass (pij'onz-gras), n. [Cf. Gr. mpi- 
arepeuv, a kind of verbena, also a dove-cote, < 
nepiarepd, a pigeon, dove.] The common ver- 
vain, Verbena officinalis, said to be frequented 
by doves, and sometimes fancied to be eaten 
by them to clear their sight. 
pigeontail (pij'on-tal), n. The pintail duck, 
Dafila acuta : so called from the resemblance 
of the tail to that of the wild pigeon or pas- 
senger-pigeon. W. H. Herbert. See cut under 
Dafila. 
pigeon-toed (pij'on-tod), a. 1. Having that 
structure of the feet which characterizes pi- 
geons; peristeropod: said of gallinaceous birds. 
The pigeon-toed fowl are the mound-birds or 
Megapodidse of the Old World and the curas- 
sows or Cracidse of America. 2. Having the 
toes turned in: said of persons. [Colloq.] 
The pigeon-toed step and the rollicking motion 
Bespoke them two genuine sons of the Ocean. 
Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, II. 171. 
pigeon-tremex (pij'on-tre"meks), n. A hyme- 
nopterpus insect of the family Uroceridse, or 
horntails, Tremexcolmriba: a book-name. The 
adiilt oviposits in the trunks of maples and 
other shade-trees, and the larva is a wood-borer. 
4482 
pigeonwing (pij'on-wing), . 1. A mode of 
dressing the side hair adopted by men espe- 
cially in the latter part of the eighteenth cen- 
tury; also, a wig so called. 
A young man slightly overdressed. His club and pi- 
genn-wiwjx were fastened with three or four pins of gold, 
and his white- powdered queue was wrapped with a black 
velvet ribbon shot with silver. 
O. W. Cable, Stories of Louisiana, xui. 
2. A brisk fancy step or caper in dancing, skat- 
ing, etc.: as, to cut a, pigeonwing. 
Shaking off straw and furs, wraps and pattens, the la- 
dies had no sooner swallowed cups of tea than they were 
whisked into line for the Virginia reel, over against a row 
of cavaliers arrayed with back-seam coat-buttons coming 
beneath their shoulder-blades, who cut the pigeon-winy 
in sauare-toed pumps. Then what life, what joyous frisk- 
ing ! The Century, XXXVII. 858. 
pigeonwood (pij'on-wud), . A name of vari- 
ous trees or their wood, from the marking or 
coloring of the latter, (a) Pisonio, obtusota of the 
West Indies and Florida : also called beefwood, corkwood, 
tmAporku'Ood. (6) Dipholissalietfolia, a large fragrant tree ; 
JJiospyros tetrasperma, a shrub ; and several species of Coc- 
coloba all of the West Indies, (c) Queltarda speciosa, a 
small evergreen of tropical shores in both hemispheres. 
(d) ConnarusGuianensuf(Omphalobiuin Lambertii) of South 
America and the West Indies. Also called zebrawood. 
pigeon-wopdpecker (pij'on-wud"pek-er), n. 
Same as flicker 2 . 
pig-eyed (pig'Id), a. Having small dull eyes 
with heavy lids, appearing sunken : said of per- 
sons. 
pig-faced (pig'f ast), . Having a piggish physi- 
ognomy; looking like a pig: as, the pig-faced 
baboon. 
pig-fish (pig'fish), n. Any one of various fishes 
which make a grunting noise when taken out 
of the water, (a) A grunt or grunter ; a member of the 
Hxmvlonidx or Prwlipomidee ; specifically, OrthoprMis 
chrysopterus. (6) A sciamoid fish, the spot or lafayette, 
Liostomus oUiqmu. (c) A cottoid fish, the sculpin, Cottw 
octodecinwpinosus. (d) A labroid fish of New South Wales, 
Cossyphus or Bodianus mnmacvlatus. 
pigfoot (pig ' tut), n. ; pi. pigfoots or pigfeet 
(-futs, -fet). A seorpsenoid fish, Scorp&na por- 
cus, of the Mediterranean and contiguous wa- 
ters. The cheeks, opercles, and top of the head are 
naked, and dorsal flns are developed ; the form (s com- 
pressed, and the color is reddish-brown mottled and 
dotted with black. 
pig-footed (pig'fut'ed), a. Having feet like a 
pig's: as, the pig-footed perameles, Chceropus 
castanotis. See cut at Chceropus. 
piggery 1 (pig'e-ri), n. ; pi. piggeries (-riz). [< 
]Xgl + -ery.] A place where pigs are kept ; a 
pigsty or set of pigsties. 
piggery 2 (pig'e-ri), .; pi. piggeries (-riz). [< 
pig% T -ery.] A place where earthen vessels 
are made or sold; a pottery. Jamieson. 
[Scotch.] 
piggesniet, . Seepigsney. Chaucer. 
piggin 1 (pig'in), H. [< Gael, pigeon, a little 
earthen jar, pitcher, or pot, dim. of pigeadh 
(= It. pighead), an earthen jar, pitcher, or pot. 
Cf. Ir. pigin, a small pail, noggin, = W. picyn, 
a piggin, noggin. Hence, by abbr., pig 2 .] 1. 
A small wooden vessel with an erect handle 
formed by continuing one of the staves above 
the rim. 
A piggin, to milk in, immulctra. Holyoke. 
Wooden piggins. Lamb. 
Piggin, "a small wooden vessel with an erect handle, 
used as a dipper." [Southernisms and Westernisms.] 
Trans. Amer. PhUol. Ass., XVII. 41. 
2. A small earthen vessel; a pitcher; also, a 
shallow vessel provided with a long handle at 
one side, used as a dipper Boat-piggin, a small 
wooden piggin belonging to a boat's gear, used for bailing. 
piggin 2 (pig'in), n. [Origin obscure.] The 
joists to which the flooring is fixed ; more prop- 
erly, the pieces on which the boards of the lower 
floor are fixed. Salliioett. [Prov. Eng.] 
piggish (pig'ish), a. [< pigi + -isfti.] Like a 
pig in disposition, habits, or manners ; hoggish ; 
swinish; especially, greedy: said chiefly of per- 
sons. 
piggishness (pig'ish-nes), n. The character of 
[Prov. Eng.] 
piggle (pig'l), n. [<piggle,v.] A many-pronged 
hook, with a handle like that of a hoe, used in 
digging potatoes, and in mixing various mate- 
rials, as clay, mortar, compost, etc. 
pig-headed (pig'hed"ed), a. [(pigl + head + 
-erf 2 . Cf . pig-sconce.] Stupid and obstinate as 
a pig; stupidly perverse; unreasonably set in 
mind. 
You should be some dull tradesman by your pig-headed 
sconce now. B. Jonson, News from the New World. 
pigment-granule 
If Mr. Tulliver had in the end declined to send Tom to 
Stelling, Mr. Riley would have thought his friend of the 
old school a thoroughly pig-headed fellow. 
George Eliot, Mill on the Floss, i. 8. 
pig-headedly (pig'hed*ed-li), adv. In a pig- 
headed, obstinate, or perverse manner. 
pig-headedness (pig'hed"ed-nes), . The char- 
acter of being pig-headed; stupid perversity or 
obstinacy. 
pig-hole (pig 'hoi), n. In some metallurgie 
operations, a hole, provided with a cover, in the 
wall of a furnace, through which a crucible may 
have an additional supply of pig-metal put in 
it without the operation of the furnace being 
interrupted. 
pightt (pit). An obsolete preterit and past par- 
ticiple of pitch 1 . 
pightle (pi'tl), n. [See pickle^.] A small mea- 
dow; any small inclosed piece of land. [Prov. 
Eng. and U. S. (eastern end of Long Island).] 
pig-iron (pig'i'ern), n. 1. Iron in pigs, as it 
comes from the blast-furnace. See ptg\ 3. 2. 
A flat piece of iron, which is hung so as to be in- 
terposed between the fire and meat roasting, 
when it is desirable to retard the cooking. Hal- 
liwell. Pig-iron breaker, a power-hammer adapted for 
breaking pig-iron into pieces suitable for charging a fur- 
nace. 
pig-lead (pig'led), . Lead in pigs ; lead in the 
form in which it is ordinarily offered for sale 
after reduction from the ore. Seepigi, 3. 
pigmean, a. See pygmean. 
pigment (pig'ment), n. [< ME. pigment, spiced 
wine (see piment),< OF. pigment (also piment), 
F. pigment, < L. jngmentum, a pigment. < jiiii- 
gere (/ pig), paint: see picture.] 1. Any 
substance that is or can be used by painters 
to impart color to bodies; technically, a dry 
substance, usually in the form of a powder or 
in lumps so lightly held together as to be easily 
pulverized, which after it has been mixed with 
a liquid medium can be applied by painters to 
surfaces to be colored. Pigment is properly restrict- 
ed to the dry coloring matter which when mixed with 
a vehicle becomes & paint; but the two words are com- 
monly used without discrimination. (See paint.) In oil- 
painting, the pigments are ground or triturated to render 
them smooth, usually in poppy- or nut-oil, since these 
dry best and do not deaden the colors. 
If you will allow me, Pyrophilus, for the avoiding of am- 
biguity, to employ the word pigment* to signify such pre- 
pared materials (as cochineal, vermilion, orpiment) as 
painters, dyers, and other artificers make use of to im- 
part or imitate particular colours. Boyle, Works, II. 48. 
2. In liol., organic coloring matter; any organ- 
ized substance whose presence in the tissues of 
animals and plants colors them. Pigment is the 
generic or indifferent term, most kinds of pigment having 
specific names. Coloring matter of one kind or another 
is almost universal in animals and plants, comparatively 
few of which are colorless. Pigments are very generally 
distributed in the integument and its appendages, as the 
skin, and especially the fur, feathers, scales, etc., of ani- 
mals, and the leaves and other soft parts of plants. The 
dark color of the negro's skin is due to the abundance of 
pigment in the epidermis. The black appearance of the 
pupil of the eye is due to the heavy pigmentation of the 
choroid, and various colors of the iris depend upon specific 
pigments. Such coloring matters are often collected In 
special sacs which open and shut, producing the " shot " 
or play of color of the chameleon, dolphin, cuttlefish, and 
other animals. In many low animals and plant* the color 
of the pigment is characteristic of genera, families, or even 
higher groups, as among infusoriaus, algals, etc. See cut 
under cell. 
3t. Highly spiced wine sweetened with honey; 
piment. 
It may be made with pnttyng to pigment, 
Or piper, or sum other condyment. 
PaUadiui, Husbondrie(E. E. T. S.), p. 155. 
Pigment color, in dyeing, a color prepared in the form of 
powder, and insoluble in the vehicle by which it is ap- 
plied to the fabric. O'Neill, Dyeing and Calico Printing, 
p. 876. 
pigmental (pig'men-tal), . [< pigment + -al.] 
Of or pertaining to pigment ; especially, secret- 
ing or containing pigment, as a cell or a tissue. 
pigmentary (pig'men-ta-ri), a. [= F. pigmen- 
taire; < pigment + -an/.] Same as pigmental. 
Pigmentary degeneration. See degeneration. Pig- 
mentary layer of the iris, the innermost layer of the 
iris. Pigmentary layer of the retina, the ectoretina; 
the outermost layer of the retina, composed of thick hex- 
agonal pigment-cells united by a colorless cement. 
pigmentation (pig-men-ta'shon), . [= F. pig- 
mentation; as pigment + -ation.] Discoloration 
by the deposition of a pigment in the tissues. 
pigment-cell (pig'ment-sel), . 1. A cell which 
secretes or contains pigment. See cut under 
cell. 2. A case or receptacle containing a spe- 
cial pigment; a chromatophore. 
pigmented(pig'men-ted),a. [< 
Charged with pigment ; colored. 
pigment-granule (pig'inent-gran"ul), n. A 
grain or particle of pigment; one of the minute 
