plectrum 
of the temporal 1>one. (2) The uvula. (3) The tongue. 
Kiir.yc. Did. (b) In ornith., a spur or claw on the wing or 
foot. (') In cnttnn., a small bristle or point on the costal 
margin of the wing, and standing out from It. 
pled (pled). An occasional (less correct) pret- 
erit and past participle of plead. 
pledge (plej), a. [< ME. plegge, < OF. plege , 
plciye, plaigc, ploigc, ploge, plage, m., = Pr. 
/ilii-u, pleya = Olt. pieggio, a pledge, surety, 
bail (person or thing), prob. < LL. "priebium, 
found only in ML. forms reflecting the Rom., 
/ilii-iiini. /il iiriniii. itli-giiim, ueut., a^ pledge, 
surety, jiiirinx, pleniuy, in., one who gives a 
pledge, surety (cf. L. prxbrum, in pi. prtebru, 
an amulet), < L. preeoere, proffer, offer, give, 
grant, atl'ord (prtebtre fidem, give promise or 
security) : see prebend, and cf. plevin, from the 
same source. Hence pledge, v.] 1. In law: 
(af) A person who goes surety or gives bail for 
another; especially, a surety whom early Eng- 
lish law required of a plaintiff on bringing an 
action. After a time "John Doe" and '' Rich- 
ard Roe " did duty as such pledges. (6) A bail- 
ment of personal property as a security for some 
debt or engagement. Story, J. it differs from a 
chattel mortgage In three essential characteristics : (1) It 
may lie constituted without any contract In writing, merely 
by delivery of the thing pledged ; (2) it requires a delivery 
of the thing pledged, and is continued only so long as the 
possession remains with the creditor ; (3) It does not gen* 
erally pass the title to the thing pledged, but gives only a 
lien to the creditor, and the debtor retains the general 
property. But, as regards choses in action, the distinction 
that a mortgage is a transfer of the title, while a pledge Is 
a mere lien without a transfer of title, does not always hold 
good ; for in most cases a pledge of choses in action can 
be made effectual only by a transfer of the legal title. (See 
mortgage.) A pledge of a chose in action is now more com- 
monly termed trilateral security, or collateral. (<) The 
thing pawned or delivered as security; a pawn. 
2. Anything given or considered as security 
for the performance of an act; a guaranty. Thus, 
a man gives his word or makes a promise to another, which 
is received as a pledge for fulfilment ; a candidate for par* 
liainentary honors gives promises or pledges to support cer- 
tain measures ; the mutual affection of husband and wife 
is a pledge for the faithful performance of the marriage 
covenant ; mutual interest is the best pledge for the per- 
formance of treaties. 
Him lltle answerd th' angry Elfin knight, . . . 
But threw his gauntlet, as a sacred pledge, 
His cause in combat the next day to try. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. iv. 48. 
I had been insulted by the boy that belonged to the 
gate, who demanded money of me, and snatched my hand- 
kt'irhief from me as a pledge. 
Pococke, Description of the East, II. I. 7. 
(a) Figuratively, a child ; offspring. 
'Tis the curse 
Of great estates to want those pledget which 
The poor are happy in : they, in a cottage, 
With joy behold the models of their youth. 
Fleteher, Spanish Curate, 1. ::. 
(b) A surety ; a hostage. 
Command my eldest son, nay, all my sons, 
As pledges of my fealty and love. 
Shot., 2 Hen. VI., v. 1. 50. 
Samuel, their other consort, Powhatan kept for their 
pledge. Quoted in Copt. John Smith's Works, I. 218. 
(c) A formal obligation whereby one voluntarily binds 
himself to abstain from the use of intoxicating drink. 
3. A token or sign of favor, agreement, etc. 
Let it therefore suffice us to receive Sacraments as sure 
pledges of God's favour, signs infallible that the hand of 
his saving mercy doth thereby reach forth Itself towards 
us. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, v., App. 1. 
Here, boldly take 
.My hand in pledge, this hand, that never yet 
Was given away to any. 
Fletcher, Faithful Shepherdess, I. 3. 
4. An expression of good will, or a promise of 
friendship and support, conveyed by drinking 
together; hence, in a more general sense, the 
act of drinking together; the drinking of a 
health. 
Suppose that you winked at our friends drinking those 
pledges. Scott. 
To hold in pledge, to keep as security. To pat in 
pledge, to pawn. To take the pledge, to bind one's 
self to observe principles of temperance or of total ab- 
stinence from intoxicating drink. = Syn. 2. Covenant, etc. 
See promise, ., and earnest. 
pledge (plej), v. t. ; pret. and pp. pledged, pnr. 
plnlgiiig. [< ME. pleggen, < OF. pleiger, ML. 
reflex plegiare, plegire (beside plevire, plirire, 
etc., after the OF. plevir, pledge: see plevin); 
from the noun: see pledge, u.] 1. To give as 
a pledge or pawn ; deposit in pawn ; deposit or 
leave in possession of a person as security. 
See pledgr, n. 2. To give or formally and 
solemnly offer as a guaranty or security. 
And so her father pledg'd his word, 
And so his promise plight. 
The Gay Unes-Hawlc (Child's Ballads, III. 281). 
Ab*. But my vows Are pledged to her. 
Sir A. Let her foreclose, Jack : let her foreclose ; they 
are not worth redeeming. Sheridan, The Bivals, II. 1. 
4551 
We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, 
and our sacreu honour. Declaration of Independence. 
3. To bind to something by a pledge, promise, 
or engagement ; engage solemnly : as, to pledge 
one's self. 
Here [shall] Patriot Truth her glorious precepts draw, 
Pledged to Religion, Liberty, and Law. 
Story, Life and Letters, I. 127. 
4f. To guarantee the performance of by or as 
by a pledge. 
Yes. I accept her, for she well deserves it ; 
And here, to pledge my vow, I give my hand. 
Shale. ,3 Hen. VI., III. ;i. 250. 
5. To give assurance of friendship to, or prom- 
ise friendship to, by or in the act of drinking; 
hence, to dnnk a health to or with. [The use of 
the word in this sense is said to have arisen from the 
fact that, in the rude and lawless society of former times, 
the person who called upon another to drink virtually 
pledged himself that the other would not be attacked 
while drinking or poisoned by the liquor. I 
Pledge me, my Friend, and drink till thou be'st Wise. 
Covley, Ode. 
Ill pledge you, Sir : so there - for your ale, and farewell. 
Cotton, in Walton's Angler, II. 228. 
.Sipping beverage divine, 
And pledging with contented smack 
The Mermaid In the Zodiac. 
Keats, Lines on the Mermaid Tavern. 
Reach me my golden cup that stands by thee, 
And pledge me In it first for courtesy. 
M. Arnold, Tristram and Iseult. 
6. To assure solemnly or in a binding manner; 
guarantee. 
Ve have pleyned me vpon youre lyves that I shall have 
no drede of deth. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), I. S5. 
= Byn. 1-3. To pawn, hypothecate. SGepUgUl, p. 
pledge-cup (plej'kup), n. A cup for drinking 
healths or pledges; especially, a large cup de- 
signed to pass from hum! to hand. 
pledgee (ple-je'), w. [< pledge + -re 1 .} The 
person to whom anything is pledged. 
pledgeless (plej'les), a. [< pledge + -ley*.] 
Having no pledges. 
pledgeor (plej'or;, n. [< pledge + -or 1 .] In 
law, one who gives a pledge; a pledger. 
pledger (plej'er), . 1. One who pledges or of- 
fers a pledge. 
If a pawnbroker receives plate or jewels as a pledge or 
security for the repayment of money lent thereon at a day 
certain, he has them upon an express contract or condition 
to restore them if the pledger performs his part by re- 
deeming them In due time. Slaetstvne, Coin., II. xxx. 
2. One who accepts an invitation to drink af- 
ter another, or who pledges himself, his honor, 
word, etc., to another !>y drinking with him. 
If the pledger be inwardlyc sicke, or have some Inflrmi- 
tie, whereby too much drinke doe empayre his health. 
(jaacoigne, Delicate Diet for Droonkardcs 
pledge-ring (plej'ring), H. A ring capable of 
being divided into three parts, each of which 
could be worn separately, one part for each of 
the parties to an agreement and one for the 
witness. 
pledgeryt (plej'er-i), . [< OF. pirgcrie, pleige- 
rie, etc., (.pleger, pledge: seep/edge, r.] Sure- 
tyship. Sailey, 1731. 
pledget (plej'et), . [Perhaps for 'pludget, as- 
sibilated dim. of plug: see plug.] A small 
plug; in surg., a small flat mass of lint, ab- 
sorbent cotton, etc., used, for example, to lay 
over a wound to absorb the matter discharged. 
Get my rollers, bolsters, and pledgets armed. 
Middleton, Anything for a Quiet Life, ii. 4. 
pleet, . An early modern English and Middle 
English spelling of plea. 
Plegadls (pleg'a-dis), . [NL. (Kaup, 1829).] 
A genus otlbididep, having the plumage more or 
pleiophylly 
less metallic and iridescent; I he glossv ibises. 
The type is the common bay ibis, l'.fulci> linn. 
P. gvaranna is the white-faced ibis of America. 
plegaphonia (pleg-a-fo'ni-tt), . [NL., < Or. 
T//,; ;/, a blow, stroke, + -juvta, < eurnr, produce 
a sound or tone.] The sound yielded in auscul- 
tation of the chest when the larynx is percussed. 
pleghan (pleg'an), n. [Cf. Gael, ploicean, a 
plump-cheeked boy.] A stripling; a lad; a 
haflin. [Scotch.] 
The ordinary farmer's household consisted of a big man, 
a little man, and a pleghan, 1. e. a lad of fifteen to drive the 
plough. Quarterly Itei:, CXLVI. S8. 
plegometer (ple-gom'e-ter), . [< Or. ir/^jf/, a 
stroke, + fttrpov, measure.] Same wpleximeter. 
Pleiad (pli'ad), .; pi. Pleiads, Pleiades (-adz, 
-a-dez). [< L. Pleias, Pleias (-ad-), < Or. Wjfiaf, 
tlfaiaf (-o<t-), pi. IIAfi<5rc. one of the Pleiads or 
Seven Stars, traditionally BO called as indicat- 
ing by their rising the time of safe navigation : 
< -'/in; sail.] One of a close group of small 
stars in the constellation Taurus, very con- 
spicuous on winter evenings, about twenty- 
four degrees north of the equator, and coming 
to the meridian at midnight in the middle of 
November. For some unknown reason, there were 
anciently said to be seven Pleiads, although only six 
were conspicuous then as now ; hence the suggestion of 
a lost Pleiad. In mythology the Pleiads were said to be 
the daughters of Atlas and Pleione, and were named 
Alcyone, Merope, Celeno, Electra, Sterope or Asterope, 
Taygeta, and Mala. These names, with those of the pa- 
rents, have been applied by modern astronomers since 
Rlcciolo (A. 1>. 166ft) to the principal stars of the group. 
Four of the brightest stars are at the corners of a trapc- 
zoid, with one In the base near the star at the northern 
angle, and one outside the trapezold, like a handle to u 
dipper. Alcyone, the brightest of the group, Is a greenish 
star, of magnitude 3.0, at the east end of the base of the 
trapezoid; it Is i Tauri. Electra Is a very white star, of 
magnitude 3.8, at the westernmost comer of the trape. 
/ill, on the short side opposite the base. Taygeta is a 
yellowish star, of magnitude 4.4, at the northern corner 
on the base. Merope is a yellowish star, of magnitude 4.2, 
at the southernmost corner, not on the base. It Id sur- 
rounded by a faint nebula, discovered by Tempel many 
years ago, and visible with a telescope of moderate dimen- 
sions. But photographs show that the cluster is nlso full 
of Invisible wisps anu filaments of nebulosity, which are 
for the most part attached to the larger stars. Mala Is a 
yellowish star, of magnitude 4.0, on the base of the trape* 
gold, close to the northern angle, but not In it. Asterope 
is a double star, of magnitude .'.", not very conspicuous, 
forming an equilateral triangle with Taygeta and Mala, 
and lying outside of the trapezold. Ccltcno is a star of mag- 
nltuilc.VZ, half-way between Electra and Taygeta, Just a 
little outside the western slanting side of the trapezold. 
Atlas Is a yellowish star, of magnitude 3.8, the second or 
third brightest in the groujs which lies out of the trape- 
zold, considerably to the east, as In the handle of the dip- 
per, flelone i- a sUr of magnitude 51, a little north of 
Atlas. 
Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or 
loose the bands of Orion '.' Job xxxvlli. 31. 
Many a night I saw the I'lriad*, rising thro' the mellow 
shade, 
(illttet like a swarm of Are-flies tangled In a silver braid. 
Tei tnystin, Locksley Hall. 
pleint, a. [ME., < OF. pleiii, F. pleiii = Sp. 
Pg. plfiio = It. pieno, \ L. plentts, full : see 
plenty.] Full; perfect. Chaucer. 
pleinlyt, adv. [ME. plegnly; < pl'in + -ty'*.] 
Fully. Chaucer. 
pleio-. For words so beginning and not found 
below, see forms beginning with plio-. 
pleiochasimn (pli-o-ka'si-um), n. [NL., < Or. 
v'/eiuv, more, + x a tc separation, < jaww, gape, 
yawn: see chasm.'] In hot., a cyme with three 
or more lateral axes. Also called multiparoux 
iyme. 
pleiomorphic (pli-o-m6r'fik), n. [< pleiomot- 
phism + -to.] In liot., exhibiting or character- 
ized by pleiomorphism. 
pleiomorphism (pli-o-m&r'fizm), M. [tpMomor- 
phy + -ism.] In hot., the occurrence of more 
than one independent stage or form in the life- 
cycle of a species, as in certain uredineous fungi, 
such as Pucciiiiti gruminis, which passes through 
three stages. See hetercecism, Puccinin, I'mli- 
nete, etc. Also spelled pleomorphism. 
pleiomorphy (pli'o-m6r-fi), n. [< Or. Tt'/.ciur, 
more, + ^o^//, form.] 1. In bot., same as pi< /"- 
morpliism. 2. In regetabte teratol., the state of 
a normally irregular flower when it, becomes 
regular by the increase in the number of its 
irregular elements. It is due to an excessive 
development. Compare pelaria. Also spelled 
iileomorplii/. 
eiophyllous (pli-o-nTus), a. [< (ir. ~/>..r. 
"more, + <pi-'/./oi>, leaf.] In bot., exhibiting or 
characterized by pleiophylly; also, having sev- 
eral or many leaves. 
pleiophylly "(pli'o-fil-i). w. [< pMopfty0-0M + 
-// :i .] In rti/< tiiliir It ml, ,1.. a condition in which 
there is an abnormal increase in the number <>f 
