piston-sleeve 
cross-head pin, and no piston-rod being used. This con- 
struction eimliles the cnnine lobe much shortened in the 
line of its stroke. See trunk-engine. 
piston-spring (pis'toii-spring), . A coil around 
or hudoe a piston which, by its tension, acts 
automatically as packing. 
piston-valve (pis'tou-valv), n. A reciprocat- 
ing valve resembling a working piston, moved 
in a tubular passage to open or close a port or 
ports for alternately admitting steam to or ex- 
hausting it from the cylinder of an engine, 
piston-wheel (pis'ton-hwel), n. 1. In a rotary 
engine or pump, a disk or wheel carrying at 
its outer margin one or more pistons. 2. In 
a chain-pump, a wheel carrying an endless 
chain to which are attached pistons working in 
a tube or barrel. See rotary engine (under ro- 
tary), and chain-pump. 
piston-whistle (pis'ton-hwis'l), n. A whistle 
in which, by shortening or lengthening the vi- 
brating air-column through the movement of a 
piston sliding in the tube (or bell, as it is called 
in steam-whistles), a sound of varying pitch is 
emitted. See Modoc whistle, under icliistle. 
Pisum (pi'sum), 11. [NL., < L. : see pease*, 
pea 1 .] 1. A genus of leguminous plants of 
the tribe Viciese, distinguished from the large 
related genus Lathyrus by the dilated summit 
of the style, which is iuflexed and hardened, 
with reflexed margins above, and bearded on 
the inner face. There are 2 species, one native of the 
Taurus in Asia Minor, the other, P. sativum, the common 
garden- and field-pea. Rivinut, 1681. See peal. 
2. Iii zoo!., a genus of bivalves. Aleyerle, 1811. 
pit 1 (pit), N. [< ME. pit, put, put, pette, putte, 
pytte, < AS. pyt, nytt, a pit, hole, = OFries. 
pet = D. put = OLG. piite, MLG. LG. putte = 
Each one reels 
Under the load towards the pit of death. 
Shelley, Prometheus Unbound, 11. 4. 
7. An inclosed place or area for the exhibition 
of combats of dogs or cocks, or where doga are 
i killing rats: as, a dog- 
Jern '"' 
cut and trimmed for the battle. 
make hlmaelf merry, 
.^ *b 
pitapat 
sure by or as by the fingers: as, in dropsy the 
skin i>itx on pressure. 
The Carriage Monthly tells Its readers how to remove 
varnish from a panel after It has pitted. 
Set Amor., N. 8,, LV1I. 476. 
), . [A var. of pip*, by confusion with 
_ The stone of a fruit, as of a cherry or 
plum. [U. 8.] 
lit 3 (pit), r. t. A Middle English and Scotch 
form of pufi. 
Hart MS:, No~ 6395, quoted In Strutt's SporU and pita (pe'tft), w. [Sp., < Mex. pita.] 1. The 
(Putlmes, p. 376. maguey, Agare Americana, and other species of 
the genus. 2. The fiber derived from Agare 
leaves. It U of great strength, utilized for cordage, etc.. 
and likely to be of commercial Importance. Sometimes 
called pila.Jlax, pita-hemp, or pita-thread. The name Is 
properly to the istle-ltber (see Mr) and to 
, ,1 i"fi' D * r )i " Same as pita, 2. 
?dThestTs. m inYhern1ted P itaha y a &*4*'jfi " [M-x. Sp.] Any 
"tSSSSZJ^SZSL ' tall columnar cactus bearing edible fruit, as 
Cereus giganteus, the giant cactus, and C. Tliur- 
beri. Also pitajaya. [Southwestern U. 8.] 
Cereus Thurberl Is commonly called pitahaya by the 
Mexicans, and this is the name by which It was known to 
the Aztecs. Sd. Amer., N. 8., LXI. 35. 
Pltahaya-woodpecker, Centum uropyyiala, the Olla 
woodpecker, which abounds In southern Arizona, and usu- 
What though her chamber be the very pit 
Where fight the prime cocks of the game for wit 
B. Jonton, An Epigram on the Court Pucell. 
8. That part of a theater which is on the floor 
of the house, somewhat below the level of the 
States it hag been superseded by orchcttra or parquet. 
I and my wife sat in the pitt, and saw " The Bondman " 
done to admiration. Pepyt, Diary, March 26, 1801. 
But we, the Actors, humbly will submit, 
Now, and at any time, to a full Pit. 
Wychertey, Country Wife, ProL 
All bad PoeU we are sure are Foes, 
And how their Number 's swell'd the Town well knows ; 
In shoals I've mark'd 'em Judging In the /'/'. 
Congreve, Way of the World, Epll. 
The Pit is an Amphitheater, flll'd with Benches without 
Back Imirds, and adorn'd and cover'd with green Cloth 
Quoted in AiMan'i Social Life in Reign of Queen Anne, 
III. 6. 
9. Those who occupy the pit in a theater; the 
people in the pit. 
Now, sir, your soliloquy hut speak more to the pit, if 
you please the soliloquy always to thepit that 's a rule. 
Sheridan, The Critic, ill. 1. 
He [King George IV.| was received with immense accla- 
mations, the whole pit standing up, hurrahing and waving 
their hands. Grerille, Memoirs, Feb. 7, 1821. 
OHG. puzzi, pliuzzi, pfuzi, also puzza, put:a, 
buzza, etc., MHG. bittze, biitze, pfiitze, G. pfiitze 
= Icel. pyltr = Sw. puss = Dtm.pyt = V. putts 
= Wall, putz = Pr. potz, poiitz = Sp. po:a = 
Pg.;>ofr>=It. pozzo, a well, < L. putcus, a well, 10. That part of the floor of an exchange 
a pit ; perhaps orig. a spring of pure water, < where a special kind of business is carried on : 
V pu input-its, pure: see pure.] 1. A hole or as, a grain-yiit; a provision-nit. [U. S.] 11 
cavity in the ground, whether natural or made The cockpit of a ship. 12. The framework 
by digging. in a belfry which supports the pivoted yoke 
of a swinging bell. .Sir K. Beckett, Clocks and 
Watches, p. 3. r >9. [Now little used.]-ojers 
soaking-pit, a cavity lined with refractory material, 
used In metal-working to inclose large Ingots, In order to 
preserve them at a high temperature, and thus avoid the 
necessity of reheating. Olfactory pits, certain hollows 
And fast* by it is a litylle pytt in the Krthe, where the 
foot of the Pileer is zit entered. Maiultcille, Travels, p. 94. 
And as the child gau forby for to pace, 
eld him faste, 
This cursed Jew him hent and hel 
And kit 1 1- his throte, and in a pit him caste. 
Chaucer, Prioress's Tale, 1. 119. 
Specifically- (a) An excavation or hole in the ground, 
covered or otherwise concealed, for snaring wild beasts; 
a pitfall. (6) A hole dug in the soil of a potato- or turnip 
Held, for storing potatoes, etc., during the winter. The 
of the embryonic skull which will become nasal passages, nitailo* notailo* r\fP 
-Plne-plt, in h,,rt., a pit adapted for raising young P ,, e /,' P?* a ,V et '. .". L M V'' 
plants to replenish pineries.- Pit and gallows, in feu- ]>etlatll; < Or. pitaille, piet 
dal times, the privilege granted by the crown to barons soldiers, infantry, the populace, <piet, ut/,foot. 
Pitahaya-wtxxlpecker (Crtiturui tirofyfiatis). 
ally nests in the giant cactus. Also called tayvaro nvod- 
pecJcer. 
pitaill. pilall, 
pitaille, pietaille, pedaile, foot- 
, , , 
field for storing potatoes etc., during the winter. The of executing persons convicted of theft by hanging the < L t>CS ( l>ed-) foot- Re* f not 
vegetables stored are usually piled up to some height and men on a (tallows and drowning the women In a pit Also ', i l^~ ' ' f J ' KK1 
covered with earth to keep out the frost. |(!reat Britain. 1 pot and gallon* - The bottomless pit hell soldiers; infantry rabble. 
1 
' -I 
(c) In hort. , an excavation in the soil, generally covered by 
a glazed frame, for protecting tender plants, or for propa- 
gation, (d) In founding, a cavity scooped in the floor to 
receive cast-metal, (e) The shaft of a coal-mine, or the 
mine itself. (/) A vat, such as is used in tanning, bleach- 
ing, dyeing, etc. 
2. A cavity or depression in the body : as, the 
pit of the stomach; the unnpits. 
For person and complexion, they haue broad and flat 
visages, . . . thin haired vpon the upper lip and pit of 
the chin, light and nimble-bodied with short legges. 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 421. 
I found him lying on his bed with his clothes on, his 
shoes merely slipped off, and his hat held securely over 
the pit of his stomach. //. /.. Stoite, Oldtown, p. 415. 
3. A very small depression or dent, such as ,,^ , 
Than Orlenx chese oute of peple as many as hym liked, 
that were welc \l>"i wlth-outen the prtaile that after hem 
folowcd. Merlin(E. E. T. 8.), II. 253. 
that left on the flesh by a pustule of the small- 
pox ; a dimple. 
Look what a pretty pit there 's in her chin ! 
Middleton, Spanish Gypsy, iii. 2. 
The sandstone surface Is distinctly marked by raindrop 
pitt and by ripple or wave marks. Science, IV. 273. 
4. In bot., one of the pores or thin places in 
the more or less lignified cell-walls of many 
plants. The bordered pits, which are especially charac- 
teristic of the wood of the Conifera, are composed of two 
concentric circles, which represent thin spots or pores in 
the walls of the tracheids. They are very regularly ar- 
ranged. 
5. A hollow or cup. 
Flowers on their stalks set 
Like vestal primroses, but dark velvet 
Edges them round, and they have golden pitt. 
Keatt, Endymion, i. 
6. A deep place ; a gulf; an abyss. Specifically 
(a) The grave. 
Frendes, I am poor and old, 
And almost, (jod wot, on my pittts bryiike. 
Chaucer, Merchant's Tale, 1. 157. 
Thou hast broupht up my soul from the grave ; thou hast 
kept me alive, that I should not go down to theptt. 
Ps. xxx. 3. 
(6) The abode of evil spirits ; hell. 
We also saw there the Hobgoblins. Satyrs, and Dragons 
of theptl. Banyan, Pilgrim's Progress, p 131. 
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having 
the key of the bottinnlem pit and a great chain in his hand. 
Your deep-conceited cutpurse.who by the dexterity of Pitaka (pit'a-kil), n. [Skt., lit. 'basket.'] A 
his knife will draw out the money and make a flame-col- collection of Buddhist scriptures, as made in 
oured purse show like the bottomleftx pit, but with never a Tibet. 
soul In r t. Middleton, The Black Book. -T, , TII . 
The great Tibetan teacher . . . had no access to the 
To shoot or fly the pit, to turn tail and try to escape, Pali Pitakas. Encuc. Brit. XIV 230 
like a craven cock In a pit. _i*_ M-.II i- i- i * 
pitancet, . A Middle English form ofniltanre. 
Thewhole nation ... expressing utmost detestation and nit*nima Cni to mr'rr^al , rR, 1 i -R.L V 
abhorrence of the Whig principles, which made the whole P.lt.ngua (pi-tang gwa), M. [Braz.] A Brazil 
party shoot the pit and retire. ian tyrant-flycatcher with an enormous bill, Mc- 
lloger fforth, Examen, p. 327. (Dariet.) garhynehits pitangua. See cut under Mcgarhyn- 
We were all to blame to make madam here fly the pit as <* " 
shedld. Kichardtan, Pamela, II. 308. (Danes.) PitangUS (pi-tang'gus), n. [NL. (Swainson, 
pret. and pp. pitied, ppr. pitting. 1827), < Braz. pitangua.'] A genus of clamato- 
. trans. 1. To catch, lay, or bury 
in 11 pit. 
They lived like beasts and were pillfil like beasts. 
Granger, Oil Ecclesiastes (1621), p. 213. (Latham.) 
2. To form a little pit or hollow in ; mark with 
little dents, as by the pustules of the smallpox. 
An anasarca, a species of dropsy, is characterized by the 
shining and softness of the skin, which gives way to the 
least impression, and remains pitted for some time. 
The red acid acts too powerfully and pitt the copper. 
Workshop Keceiptt, 1st ser., p. 172. 
3. To impress with rounded cup-like hollows, 
as the mold for a metal casting which is to 
have rounded bosses on it. 4. To put or set 
in the pit or area for fighting; match as con- 
testants or opponents, one against another, as 
dogs or cocks: used figuratively of any com- 
petitors: generally followed by again*-!. 
The pitting of them (cocks), as they call it, for the diver- 
sion and entertainment of man, . . . was, as I take It, a 
Grecian contrivance. Archxologia, III. 138. 
Socrates is pitted agaiiutt the famous atheist from Ionia., 
and has just brought him to a contradict!' 
rial passerine birds of the family Tyrannidee, 
or tyrant-flycatchers; the Derbian flycatchers, 
not including the pitangua. They have a long and 
straight stout bill hooked at the end, rounded wings longer 
than the nearly square tail, the plumage brown aoove and 
yellow below, the head marked with black, white, and 
orange, the wings and tail extensively rufous. There are 
several species, inhabiting the warmer puts of America, 
as P. mlphuratwt. One Is found In Mexico and Texas, P. 
derbiamu. about 10J inches long. Also called Sattrophayvt 
and Apoliteg. 
pitapat (pit'a-pat), adc. [Also pitpat, pituiit. 
pittypat; a varied reduplication of jw<l.J With 
a quick succession of beats; in a flutter; with 
palpitation. 
1'. Arch. Lord, how ray heart leaps ! 
Pet. Twill go pit-a-pat shortly. 
Fletcher, Loyal Subject, U. t 
His heart kcp' goln' pity-pat, 
But hern went pity Zekle. 
Lowell, The Courtln'. 
pitapat (pit'a-pat), a. [< pitapat, adr.] Flut- 
tering. 
She Immediately stepped out of her pew and fell Into 
the finest pitty-pnt air. Stedr, Spectator, No. son. 
II. in trans. To become marked or spotted with 
pits or depressions; retain the mark of pres- 
Now again I hemr the pit a -pat of a pretty foot through 
the daj-k alley. Drytlen, Don Sebastian, 
