Pipuncnlidse 
Several genera are recoirm/. d in Kunipe, but only Pipun- 
cultu in America. 
Pipunculus i pi-piing'ku-lus), . [NL. (La- 
ireille, IMIL'I.J A genus' of flies, typical of the 
family /'i/niiiriilulff, having a seta on the third 
antennal joint and the head globose. About 40 
species an known, 10 of them North American. These 
flies live on flowers, and the larva; are parasites of other 
InsecU, as the European /'. futcipet of tiger-beetle*. 
f (P*'P')> " [^ PV'* 1 "r -y 1 -] Resembling 
a pipe; formed like a tube; tubular; hollow- 
stemmed. [Rare.] 
In desolate places, where dank moisture breeds 
The pipy hemlock to strange overgrowth. 
KeaU, Endymlon, L 
piquancy (pe'kan-si), n. [< piquan(t) + -cy.] 
Piquant quality, (a) Agreeable pungency or sharp- 
neas, u of flavor or taste, (e) Pleasing cleverness or raci- 
neas, as of manner, style, etc. 
A mind that tasted i\a piquancy In evil-speaking. 
Georye KIM, Mill on the Floss, vil. 4. 
"How disturbed?" inquired Holgrave. "By things 
without, or by thoughts within ? " "I cannot see his 
thought! ! How should IV" replied Phojbe, with simple 
piquancy. Ilaifthorne, Seven Gables, xli. 
Our American life is dreadfully barren of those elements 
of the social picturesque which give piquancy to anec- 
dote. Lowell, Study Windows, p. 91. 
(e) Keenness ; sharpness ; tartness ; severity, as of remark 
or utterance. 
Commonly also aatyrical taunts do owe their seeming 
piquancy, not to the speaker or his words, but to the sul>- 
ject and the hearers. ilamiic, Sermons, I. xiv. 
piquant (pe'kant), a. [Formerly also picquant; 
< If. piquant (= 8p. Pg. picante = It. piccante), 
stinging, pungent, piercing, keen, sharp, ppr. 
of piquer, prick, pierce, sting: see pike 1 , v., and 
cf. pique?;] 1. Of an agreeable pungency or 
sharpness of taste or flavor; sharp; stinging; 
biting : as, sauce piquant. 
He can marinate Fish, make Oellles ; he is excellent for 
a picquant sauce. I In mil, Letters, I. T. 36. 
There are . . . vast mountains of a transparent rock ex- 
tremely solid, and as piqiumt to the tongue as salt. 
Addison, Remarks on Italy. 
2. Of a smart, lively, racy, or sparkling nature ; 
keenly interesting, or fitted to produce a sud- 
den or keen interest ; "taking": as, a piquant 
anecdote; njiiquant manner; &piquant style of 
female beauty; a piquant hat. 
The most piquant passages in the lives of Miss Ken- 
nedy, Miss Davis, and Nancy Parsons. 
Craik, Hist. Eng. Lit., IL 8O5. 
3. That pierces or wounds, or is fitted to pierce 
or wound; stinging; sharp or cutting to the 
feelings; biting; keen; pungent; severe. 
Some . . . think their wits have been asleep, except 
they dart out somewhat that It piquant, and to the quick. 
Bacon, (it Discourse. 
Men make their railleries as piquant as they can to wound 
the deeper. (Jooernment qf the Tontrue. 
"Yon can manifestly see their untruths in naming It a 
piquant letter," said Elizabeth, "for It has no sour or 
sharp word therein." Motley, United Netherlands, II. 240. 
= Syn, 3. Poiynant, etc. See pungent. 
piquantly (pe'kant-li), am-. In a piquant man- 
ner ; with sharpness or pungency ; tartly ; 
smartly ; livelily. 
Piquantly though wittily taunted. Locke. 
pique 1 (pek), M. [< F. pique, a point, pike : see 
pike 1 .] 1. A point or peak. [Rare.] 
1 turned In my saddle and made Its girths tight. 
Then shortened each stirrup, and set the pique right. 
Itrnii-nin'j, From Gnent to Aix. 
2f. A point of conduct; punctilio. 
Add long prescriptions of established laws 
And pique of honour to maintain a cause. 
Dryden, Hind and Panther, III. 401. 
The ambassador appeared before the Council early in the 
following month, and demanded, of his own motion, that 
her (Mary's) officers should be released, and her privilege 
nf worship restored until the Kinperorwere certified of the 
position of things. He was told that he spoke without 
warrant, and could have no answer from tne King, and 
was warned not to move those viytin without commission. 
R. W. Vixtm, HUt. Church of Eng., xviii. 
3. CM A blind tick, Argan nigra, capable of 
causing painful sores on cattle and men. See 
Argot, (h) The jiwr. chigoe, or cbique. See 
8areo)>*ytla.4. In the game of piquet, the 
winning of thirty points before one's opponent 
seores at nil in the same deal, entitling the win- 
ner to add thirty more to his wore. 
pique 1 (pek). r. t. : pret. and pp. piqued, ppr. 
piquimj. [Formerly also pin/ur; < pique 1 , n., 
I. ] To win a pique from. See pique 1 , n., 4. 
If I go to plcquet, though It be but with a novice In 't, 
be will piarut, and replcque, and capot me twenty times 
together. Dryden, Sir Martin Mar All. I. 
pique- (pek), r. t.; pret. and pp. pit/ueil, ppr. 
piquiny. [< V.piquir, prick, sting, nettle, gnll, 
pique: see yiV/.', pikt ', r. Cf. piqm '.] 1. To 
4808 
sting, in a figurative sense; nettle; irritate; 
offend; fret; excite a degree of anger in. 
I most first have a value for the thing I lose, before It 
piquet me. Cibber, Careless Husband, Iv. 
2. To stimulate or excite to action by arousing 
envy, jealousy, or other passion in a somewhat 
slight degree. 
Picqn'd by Protogenes'i fame, 
From Cos to Rhodes Apellet came. 
Prior, Protogenes and Apelles. 
I'm afraid to afront People, though I don't like their 
Faces; or to ruin their Reputations, thou* they pique 
me to It, by taking ever so much pains to preserve 'em. 
Sir J. Vanbrugh, Confederacy, L 
The mystery . . . had not only piqued his curiosity, but 
ruffled his temper. Barhttm, Ingoldsby Legends, I. 45. 
How the imagination Is piqued by anecdotes of some 
great man passing incognito ! Erne/nan, Conduct of Life. 
3. Reflexively, to pride or value (one's self). 
Men pique themselves on their skill in them [the learned 
languages]. Locke, Education, { 168. 
We pique ourselves upon nothing but simplicity, and 
have no earrings, gildings, paintings, inlayings, or taw- 
dry businesses. WalpoU, Letters, II. 340. 
= Syn. 1. To displease, vex, provoke. See piqued, n. 
pique- (pek), n. [Formerly also pike; < OF. 
pique, F. pique (= It. pica, picca), grudge, 
pique, < piquer, prick, sting, nettle, gall : see 
pique*, r.] If. A quarrel; dispute; strife. 
Consisting of manifold dispositions there was dayly 
wauerlng, sometimes pikes amongst themselues. 
Daniel, Hist. Eng., p. 151. 
It Is not only the case of Heresie which renders them 
obnoxious to the Popes censures, but particular piqttes and 
quarrels. StiUinyfleet, Sermons, II. ii. 
This dog and man at first were friends : 
But, when a pique began, 
The dog, to gain some private ends, 
Went mad, and bit the man. 
Goldsmith, Vicar, xvii. 
2. A feeling of anger, irritation, displeasure, or 
resentment arising from wounded pride, vanity, 
or self-love ; wounded pride; slight umbrage or 
offense taken. 
Men take up piquet and displeasures at others. 
Decay of Christian Pifty. 
Out of personal pique to those in service, he stands as a 
looker on when the government is attacked. .1 </"V'/i 
He had been crossed in love, and had offered his hand 
from pique to a lady who accepted it from Interest. 
Peacock, Nightmare Abbey, i. 
= 8yn. 2. Pique and umbrage differ from the words com- 
pared under animosity (which see) in that they are not 
necessarily or generally attended by a desire to injure the 
person toward whom the feeling Is entertained. They are 
both purely personal. IHque is more likely to be a matter 
of injured self-respect or self-conceit ; it is a quick feel- 
Ing, and is more fugitive in character. Umbrage is founded 
upon the idea of l>eing thrown into the shade or over- 
shadowed ; hence, It has the sense of offense at being 
slighted or not sufficiently recognized ; it Is indefinite as 
to the strength or the permanence of the feeling. 
piqu6 (pe-ka')i a. [P., prop. pp.ot piquer, pierce, 
sting: see jnV/tw 2 , v.,and cf. piquant.'] Slightly 
soured; beginning to have an acid taste: said 
of wine which has been exposed to heat, or left 
insufficiently corked. Also pricked. 
piqu (pe-ka'), n. and a. [F., < piqud, pp. of 
fnquer, prick, pierce: see pique*, t>.] I. . 
. A cotton material so woven as to have a 
small pattern in relief, usually rather thick 
and stiff, used for waistcoats, children's cloth- 
ing, etc. 
Alpacas, Printed Muslins, or Piquet may also be cleaned. 
Workshop Receipt*, 2d ser., p. 148. 
His silver-buttoned vest of white piquf reached low 
down. G. IT. CaUe, Stories of Louisiana, xii. 
2. (a) The pattern produced bv quilting with 
the needle, consisting of slightly raised parts 
between the depressions caused by the rows of 
stitches. Also called French quilting, (b) A 
.similar pattern in slight relief obtained in weav- 
ing, as in the material called pique (gee def . 1 ). 
3. Same aa pique-work. 
Konbonnlere of tortoise shell. Inlaid with scrolls of gold 
/'/" Hamilton Sale Cat., 1882, No. 1886. 
II. n. In music, same as picchetato. 
piquedevantt, n. Same as pike-devant. 
piqueert, piqueerert. See pickeer, pickeerer. 
piquet d>e-ket'). . [Also i>icket, and formerly 
///<//!/, < F. piquet, a picket, a game at cards': 
.ee/m-/.<'/i.] l. l&lt. See picket 1 . 2. A game 
at cards played between two persons \vitli 
thirty-two cards, all the deuces, threes, fours. 
fives, and sixes being set aside : players score 
for cnrtr Mam-he, or a hand of only plain cunl-. 
imiiit, or a hand with the strongest suit, ne- 
'/.(/, i/mti::r:f . inn. anil pique and repique. 
For all Historians say, 
lilorl commonly went up at Ten, 
Unleas Piquet was In the Way. 
/ ! -ih. tor* -t. n. 
phate 
piquette (pe-kef), H. [F., < piquet-, sting: see 
pique'*, r.J A drink made by steeping in water 
the skins, etc., of grapes that have already been 
pressed for wine-making; hence, thin, small, 
and sour wine. 
piquet-work, . Same as jrique-tcork. 
piqu6-work (pe-ka'werk), n. Decoration by 
menus of small points, sometimes pricked or 
impressed, and then generally forming pat- 
terns, sometimes inlaid in other materials flush 
with the surface or in slight relief. 
piquia-oil (pe'ki-ft-oil), n. [< 8. Amer. pii/iiitt 
+ E. oil."] A sweet concrete food-oil derived 
from the fruit of Caryocar Braailiense. 
piquillin (pi-kwil'in), n. [S. Amer.] A bush, 
Cinitlulia micrapltylla, of the Rliamnea, found in 
Chili and the Argentine Republic. It bears an 
edible sweet and succulent drupaceous fruit. 
piracy (pi'ra-si), . [< ML. piratia, for L. pi- 
ratica, piracy, fern, of piraticuf, piratic : see 
piratic.] 1. Robbery upon the sea; robbery 
by pirates; the practice of robbing on the high 
seas. Specifically, In the lair of nations, the crime of 
depredations or wilful and aggressive destruction of life 
or property committed on the seas by persons having no 
commission or authority from any established state. As 
commonly used it implies something more than a simple 
theft with violence at sea, and includes something of the 
Idea of general hostility to luw. According to the opin* 
ion of some, it implies only unlawful interference with a 
vessel ; according to others, it Includes also depredations 
on the coast by a force landing from the sea. The slave- 
trade was declared piracy by statute in the United States 
May 15, 1820, by Great Britain In 1S24, and since the treaty 
of 1841 by Austria, Prussia, and Russia. 
The traiiel thither [to Japan] both for cinil discord and 
great pirade, and often shipwrecks, Is very dangerous. 
HuHuiit'i Voyaaa, IL II. 80. 
Piracy is robbery on the sea, or by descent from the sea 
upon the coast, committed by persons not holding a com. 
mission from, or at the time pertaining to, any established 
state. Wooltey, Introd. to Inter. Law, { 137. 
2. Literary theft ; any unauthorized appro- 
priation of the mental or artistic conceptions 
or productions of another; specifically, an in- 
fringement of the law of copyright. 
piragua (pl-ril'gwjj), . Same as periagtia. 
pirai (pi-ri'). i. Same as piraya. 
pirameter (pi-ram'e-ter), H. [Irreg. < Gr. veipav, 
try, test, -t- uirpov, measure.] An instrument or 
apparatus for testing the relative resistance of 
roads to the draft of vehicles. The original Instru- 
ment was a rude form of dynamometer dragged on the 
ground, and Indicating resistance by a finger on a dial, 
raft-springs with graduated scales, resembling the ordi- 
nary spring-scales for weighing, are now used, the draft- 
power being applied directly to the springs. Also spelled 
peiratneter. 
piramidig (pi-ram'i-dig), . [So called, it is 
said, from its note.] Same as uiglit-hawk, 1. 
piramist, . See pyramis. 
piramuta (pir-a-m6't8), n. [Braz.] A silu- 
roid fish, I'iraniutaiia piramuta, of the common 
South American catfish type, but with teeth on 
the palate and with granulated head. It occurs 
in the Rio Negro and Rio Madeira. 
Piranga (pi-rang/ ga), n. [NL. (Vieillot. 1807), 
also Fyranya (Vieillot, 1816).] A genus of Tana- 
i/ridee, having the beak dentate near the middle 
of the tomia. It Is the only genus which is extensively 
represented In North America. There are several species, 
extending from Canada to Chili. Tin- common scarlet tana- 
ROM -throated Ta!UCT(/*f>-a*fa rtlffftilartt). 
KIT or black-winged redhlrd of the 1'nlted States Is P. ru 
bra. the male of which Is scarlet, with black wings and tall, 
and the female greenish and yellowish. The summer red- 
bird ls P. rttica ; the male Is entirely nwe-red. The Loui- 
siana tanager, P. ludoviciana, extensively distributed In 
the western parts of the Tutted States, Is brlght-)i ll.. 
with a black hack and wings and scarlet head. The rose- 
throated tanager, P. rwupiioru, Is a ran and beautiful 
pecles found In tropical America. The genus Is also called 
Phmieotoma. See also cut under tanagrr. 
pirate (pi'rat), ir. [Formerly also pirat, purnti-. 
I'ifriit; = I), piraiit =(!. S\v! Dan. iiirnt ; < OF. 
pirate. F. ptastosB8p.Pg.lt />iV/</,<L.;>i'rv/f, 
a pirate, < Or. -uii-i t i;. K pirate, lit. one who at- 
