pleasing 
pleasing (ple'zing), w. [< ME. plfxi/ni/r; verbal 
n. of pleaxr, r.] 1. Pleasure given or afforded; 
pleasurable or pleasure-giving quality; gratifi- 
cation; charm. 
He capers nimbly In a lady's chamber 
To the lascivious pleariivj of a lute. 
Shot., Eich. III., L 1. IS. 
2. Satisfaction; approbation. 
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleas- 
ing, being fruitful in every good work, and Increasing in 
the knowledge of God. Col. I. 10. 
3f. A matter of pleasure. 
Swichc manero necessaries as bee plesynges 
To folk that han ywedded hem with rynges. 
Chaucer, Man of Law's Tale, 1. 613. 
pleasing (ple'zing),7>. a. [( IfK.plesynge; ppr. 
of please, v.] Giving pleasure or satisfaction ; 
agreeable to the senses or to the mind ; grati- 
fying: as, a pleasing prospect; a. pleasing reflec- 
tion ; pleasing manners. 
It were plesynge to god that he hadde my doughter 
spoused. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 220. 
I do 
Protest my ears were never better fed 
With such delightful pleasing harmony. 
Shak., Pericles, II. 6. 28. 
I know there Is no music In your ears 
So pleasing as the groans of men in prison. 
Massinger and Field, Fatal Dowry, 1. 2. 
To be exempt from the passions with which others arc 
tormented is the only pleasing solitude. 
Steele, Spectator, No. 4. 
She formed a picture, not bright enough to dazzle, but 
fair enough to interest; not brilliantly striking, but very 
<\<-\ic:ile\y pleasing. Charlotte Bronte, Shirley, xvf. 
= Syil. Agreeable, Congenial, etc. See pleasant. 
pleasingly (ple'zing-li), adv. In a pleasing 
manner; so as to give pleasure. 
While all his soul. 
With trembling tenderness of hope and fear, 
Pleasingly pain'd, was all employ d for her. 
Mallet, Ainyntor and Theodora, III. 
pleasingness (ple'zing-nes), . The quality of 
being pleasing or of giving pleasure. 
Stafford's speech was esteemed full of weight, reason, 
and pleasingness; and so affectionate It was that it ob- 
tained pity and remorse in the generality. 
Wood, Athena) Oxon., II. 3P. 
pleasurable (plezh'ur-a-bl), . [< pleasure + 
-nli/r.] 1. Pleasing; giving or capable of giv- 
ing pleasure; gratifying; pleasant. 
On the restoration of his Majesty of pleasurable mem- 
ory, he hastened to court, where he rolled away and shone 
as in his native sphere. 
Brooke, Fool of Quality, I. 2. (Davie.) 
By feeling is meant any state of consciousness which is 
pleasurable or painful. 
J. Sully, Outlines of Psychol., p. 449. 
2. Pleasure-seeking; capable of receiving plea- 
sure. [Rare.] 
A person of his pleasurable turn and active spirit could 
never have submitted to take long or great pains In at- 
taining the qualifications he is master of. 
Richardson, Clarissa Harlowe, I. xii. (Danes.) 
I think we are a reasonable, but by no means Apleainir- 
nblf people ; and to mend us we must have a dash of the 
French and Italian ; yet I don't know how. 
Gray, Letters, I. 120. 
pleasurableness (plezh'ur-a-bl-nes), n. The 
quality of being pleasurable or of giving plea- 
sure: as, ike pleasurableness of the benevolent 
emotions. 
Able to discern the fraud and falned pleasurableness of 
the bad. Feltham, Resolves, ii. 61. 
The Sensations that have been considered have no In- 
herent quality of pleasurableness or painfulness. 
Mind, IX. 839. 
pleasurably (plezh'ur-a-bli), adv. In a plea- 
surable manner; with pleasure; with gratifi- 
cation of the senses or the mind. 
Woe to those that live securely and pleasurably in Zion, 
and that trust to the impregnable situation of the City of 
Samaria. Bp. Hall, Hard Texts, Amos vi. 1. 
4540 
the freedom from consequent pain, the number of persons 
whom It affects, etc. 
Babees Book (E E T 8) p S4!t 
I here Is a pleasure, sure, 
In being mad which nonebut madmen know. 
Dryden, Spanish Friar, ll. 
About three quarters of the way up the hill we came to 
level spot where there la a fountain, and every thing 
made very convenient for those who come here for their 
Pococke, Deripuon of the East, II. 1 146. 
like or prefer. 
plebiscita 
moner history of perdition than any single momeiiUmi 
bargain. Utorge KIM, MIddleniarch, Ixxix. 
pleasnrer (ple/.h'ur-er), . A pleasure-seeker. 
Let us turn now to another portion of the London popu- 
lation ; ... we mean the Sunday pleasurers. 
Dickens, Sketches, Scene*, Ix. 
pleasure-train (plezh'ur-trau), w. A railway 
excursion-train. [Collbq.] 
pleasure-trip (plezVur-trip), . A trip or ex- 
cursion for pleasure. 
pleasuristt (plezh'gr-ist), M. [(pleasure + -int.] 
' > worldly pleasure ; a plea- 
P etlte8 -~ 
" the mmd 
//. Sidgieiek, Methods of Ethics, p. 114. 
indulgence of the ap- 
That which pleases or gratifies the 
' J that which is delightful or 
and Crymsyn velvett, and other tbyngs mor than I knewe. 
Torkington, Marie of Eng. Travell, p. 18. 
O bonny, bonny was my love, 
A pleasure to behold. 
Jama Herries (Child's Ballads, I. 209). 
4. A favor; gratification. 
Felix, willing to shew the Jews a pleasure, left Paul 
bound. Acts xxiv. 27. 
He (Domitian] would have done us some pleasure In 
driving away those flies. Coryat, Crudities, I. 151. 
5. Will; desire; preference, or whatever one 
chooses, desires, or wills: as, it is ray pleasure 
to remain. 
My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. 
Isa. xlvi. 10. 
It Is his worship's pleamre, sir, to bail you. 
Middletna (and others), The Widow, 1L 2. 
Cannot a man of fashion, for his treasure, put on, now 
and then, his working-day robes of humility, but he must 
presently be subject to a beadle's rod of correction? 
Dekker and Ford, Sun's Darling, 1. 1. 
There is a prerogative of Ood and an arbitrary pleasure 
above the letter of his own law. 
Sir T. Broime, Rellglo Medici, I. 57. 
At pleasure, as or whenever one pleases : as, an officer 
removable at pleasure. 
Here are many Tortoises, and abundance of all sorts of 
foules, whose young ones we tooke and cate at our plea- 
sure. Quoted In Capt. John Smith's Works, I. 107. 
But if love be so dear to thee, thou hast a chambcr-sted 
Which Vulcan purposely contriu'd with all flt secrccle; 
There slcepe at pleamre. Chapman, Iliad, xiv. 288. 
Positive pleasure. See positive. TO take pleasure 
In, to have satisfaction or enjoyment in ; regard with ap- 
probation or favor. 
The Lord takrth pleasure in them that fear him. 
Ps. cxlvll. 11. 
= Syn. 1. Joy, Delight, etc. (see gladness), satisfaction, 
comfort, solace. 2. Self indulgence ; luxury, sensuality, 
voluptuousness. 4. Kindness. 
pleasure (plezh'ur), r. t. ; pret. and pp. plea- 
sured, i>i>r. pleasuring, [(pleasure, it.] To give 
pleasure to ; please ; gratify. 
I count it one of my greatest afflictions, say, that I can- 
not pleasure such an honourable gentleman. 
Shak., T. of A., lit 2. 63. 
.Sllvlus doth shew the cltty dames brave sighU, 
And they for that doeptooiun him a nightes. 
Times' Whistle (E. E. T. .S.), p. 90. 
You're In the happiest way t' enrich yourself 
And pleasun me. Middlelon, Chaste Maid, Hi. 3. 
Arlstldes . . . would do no man wrong with pleasuring 
his friends; nor yet would anger them by denying their 
request*. A'ortA, tr. of Plutarch, p. 273. 
The Birds rural Mustek too 
Is as melodious and free 
As if they sung to pleasure you. 
Coicley, The Mistress, Spring. 
Tost his ball and flown his kite and roll'd 
His hoop, to pleasure Edith. 
Tennyson, Aylmer's Field. 
pleasureful (plezh'ur-ful), a. [< pleasure + 
-ful.] Pleasant; agreeable. [Rare.] 
This country, for the fruitfulness of the land and the 
convenlency of the sea, hath been reputed a very commo- 
dious and pleasureful country. 
Abp. Abbot, Descrip. of the World. 
le delights wherein 
^"Christ Mor., UL I 28. 
pleat, n. and r. Seo plait. 
pleb (pleb), n. [< L. plebs : see plebe.] One of 
plebeian; a low-born 
The muggur [broad-snouted crocodile] Is a gross pleb, 
and his features stamp him lowborn. 
P. Robinton, Under the Sun, p. 78. 
plebe (pleb), . [< OP. plebe = Sp. Pg. It. plebe, 
( L. plcbs, the common people : see plebs.] If. 
The common people ; the populace ; plebs ; ple- 
beians. 
Which . . . wrought such Impression In the hearts of 
the plebe that in short space they excelled In civility and 
government, 
lleywood, Apology for Actors (1612). (Ualliin-ll.) 
2. A member of the lowest class in the United 
States naval and military academies; a fresh- 
man. [Slang.] 
Theplebesot the last fall had passed through squad and 
company drill, and the battalion was now proficient In the 
most intricate manoeuvre. The Century, XXXVII. 464. 
plebeian (ple-be'an ), n. and . [< OF. plfbeirn, 
F. plcbfien, extended with suffix -en, E. -an (cf. 
Sp.plcbryo = Pg. plebeo = It. plebeo, plebrjo, ple- 
beian), < L. plcbcius, of or belonging to the com- 
mon people, < plcbx, plebt-x, the common people : 
tseeplcbx.] I. a. 1. Of or pertaining to or char- 
acteristic of the plebs or common people; vul- 
gar. 
Distinguishing the senator's garded robe 
From & plebeian habit. 
Massinger, Believe as you List, L 2. 
Wordsworth . . . confounded plebeian modes of thought 
with rustic forms of phrase, and then atoned for his blun- 
der by absconding Into a diction more Latinized than (hat 
of any poet of his century. 
Lotcell, Among my Books, 1st ser., p. 150. 
2. Belonging to the lower ranks. 
He through the midst unmark'd, 
In show plebeian angel militant 
Of lowest order, pass'd. Milton, P. L., x. 442. 
II. w. One of the common people or lower 
ranks : first applied to the common people of 
ancient Rome, comprising those free citizens 
who were not descended from the original or 
patrician families. See plebs. 
They haue no gentlemen, but eucry man is a Plebeian 
vnt ill his merits raise him. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 438. 
The word plebeian. In its strict sense, Is no more con- 
temptuous than the word commoner In England. 
Eneyc. Brit., XVII. 626. 
plebeianism (ple-be'an-izm), n. [< plebeian + 
-ism.] The state or character of being ple- 
beian; the conduct or manners of plebeians; 
vulgarity. 
Thor himself engages In all manner of rough manual 
work, scorns no business for its plebeianism. Cartyle. 
plebeianize (ple-be'an-iz), v. t. ; pret. and pp. 
plebeianizfd, ppr. plcbeianizing. [( plebeian + 
-ize.] To render plebeian or common. Imp. 
Diet. 
plebicolist (ple-bik'o-list), n. [< L. plebiculu, 
one who courts the common people ((plebs, the 
common people, + colere, cultivate), + -itt.] 
One who courts the favor of the common people ; 
a friend of the people ; a demagogue. [Rare.] 
(E. E. T. S.), 1. 3471. 
pleasure (plezh'ur), . [Early mod. E. also 
l>l<-it.*itr, /ilixiir; 'with termination accommo- 
dated to the noun suffix -tire (as also in leisure), 
please, inf. used as noun: see please.] 'l. That 
character of a feeling by virtue of which it 
gratifies the sentient being that experiences 
it, so that there is an impulse to its continu- 
ance or renewal. As being a character of a mere 
feeling, pleasure is distinguished from hapi>ine*s, which 
is a general state of consciousness arising from such an 
writers, happiness consists in an excess of pleasure over 
palu. Pleasure is measured by its intensity, its duration, 
286 
amusement. 
On his Tuscan villa he [Pliny) Is more diffuse ; the gar- 
den makes a considerable part of the description ; and 
what was the principal beauty < ' 
make : see -fy.] "The act of making plebeian 
or common ; the act of deteriorating by vulgar- 
izing. 
pleasure-house (plezh'ur-hous), n. A house to 
which one retires for recreation or pleasure. 
I built my soul a lordly pleasure-house, 
Wherein at ease for aye to dwell 
Tennyson, Palace of Art. 
pleasureless (plezh'ur-les), a. [( pleasure + 
Devoid of pleasure ; without enjoyment 
ledge. 
What is practically meant by the plebijication of opinion, 
as a danger to be dreaded, Is, when put in its extremest 
form, the tyranny of unintelligent or half intelligent mobs. 
U. If. Oxenham, Short Studies, p. 127. 
plebify (pleb'i-fi), r. t. ; pret. and pp. _, 
. 
}>}<T. /ilthiti/inij. | , L. plebs, the common peo- 
pie, + -ficart, make: see -/.] To make pie- 
' 
ll 
He himself was sliding Into that pleamrelem yielding to or *'." 
the small solicitations of circumstance which Is a com- pleblSCita, . Plural of plebiidtum. 
