plodder 
Simll have continual plodders ever won 
Save base authority from others' hooks. 
Shalt., L. L. L., L 1. 86. 
45G1 
plounce 
plodding (plod'ing), ;>. . Moving or working 
with slow and patient diligence ; patiently la- 
borious: as, a man of plodding habits. 
I saw an Innumerable company of little plot* of come, plot 2 (plot), r. t. ; pret. and pp. plotted, ppr. 
atefliftL*" " to ^^d'mea, 1 ". ^ * B **^te ''""'i''' | f SS^**"? 1 "** 
Some Btnpid, plodding, money-loving wight. 
Young, Love of Faroe, 1L 181. 
Fortune . . . fixes on the ptoddimj mechanic, who stays 
at home and minds his business. 
HMmiitli, Citizen of the World, Ixx. 
ploddingly (plod'ing-li), adv. In a plodding 
manner; drudgingly. 
pledge (ploj), r. .; pret. and pp. pledged, ppr. 
plixliiin;/. [Appar. an extended form of plod 2 , 
r.] To walk in mud or water; plunge. Hal- 
Inn /I. [Prov. Eng.] 
Ploima (plo'i-mft), n. }>l. [NL. (C. T. Hudson, 
1884), < Gr. ir).ui/joc, fit for sailing, < ir?.uni>, var. 
of vleetv, sail, float.] One of three orders of lipo- 
pod Jlotifera, contrasted with Rdellngrada and 
Khi:ota, containing those wheel-animalcules 
which move only by swimming. Most rotifers, 
whether loricate or illoricate, are ploiinate. 
ploimate (plo'i-mat), a. [< Ploima + -cite 1 .] 
Of or pertaining to the order Ploima. 
plokket, >' t. A Middle English form of pitted . 
plomt, n. A Middle English form of plumb 2 . 
plombt, ii. and r. An obsolete form of plumb 2 . 
plombee, plommee (plom-ba', -ma'), . [OP.,< 
f>tom6,lead: see pin mil 2 .'] 
. A variety of the mace 
or martel-de-fer to which 
weight was given by lead 
combined with the ne 
Plom We (def. i), middle of 151(1 
century. 
bead: 
a common form bore a 
mass of lead at the end 
of the handle, and pro- 
jecting from it in oppo- 
site directions two points 
of steel. 2. A variety 
of the war-flail. Compare mnrniny-xttir (fc). 
plombgomme, H. Same &s pliimbotiuiitmite. 
plombierite (plom'ber-it), H. [< Plambierm 
(see def.) + -ite 2 .~\ A hydrated calcium sili- 
cate occurring in gelatinous forms (hardening 
on exposure) at Plombiftres, Vosges, France, 
where, with several zeolites, it is the result of 
the action of thermal waters upon the brick and 
mortar of a Roman aqueduct. 
plomet, 11. A Middle English form of phi nil. 
plomett, " A Middle English form of plum- 
met. 
plomm6, plomm6e. . Sw plombee. 
plongeH, f. A Middle English form of plniit/e. 
plonge 2 (ploni). r. t. ; pret. and pp.ploiir/c<l, ppr. 
plunging. [(V.plouger, plunge: see plunge, r.] 
To cleanse, as open sewers, by stirnng up the 
mud with a pole as the tide in a tidal river is 
on the ebb. Plonging is distinguished from 
flushing, the method used for covered sewers. 
Mayliew. 
plonge'- (plonj), 11. [F. : see plunge, n.] 1. 
J/fYf'/., the superior slope of a parapet. 2. 
The course of a bomb from its greatest altitude 
to the point of fall ; the descending branch of 
its trajectory. 
plonge'ie (pl&n-zha'), M. [F. : see plonge 2 , .] 
Same as plonge 2 . 
plook, plooky, n. See plo>rk, plowky. 
plop (plop), p. .; pret. and pp. plopped, ppr. 
plopping. [Imitative. Cf. plop.] To fall or 
plump into water. Mm. (iaxkell, Mary Barton. 
[Prov. Eng.] 
plot 1 (plot), n. [Also plat (see plat 2 ); < ME. 
plot, plottc, < AS. plot (rare), a plot of ground ; 
cf. Goth, plats, a patch: see patch. The 
sense 'scheme' (whence later 'stratagem, con- 
spiracy ') appar. arose from that of ' plan ' or 
'plat' of a piece of ground, as plan, 'scheme,' 
tromplan, 'plat,' 'draft.' The sense has prob. 
been affected by association with complot, but 
plot, ' scheme,' can hardly be an abbr. of com- 
l>lnt. Instances of the loss of the prefix com-, 
con- are scarcely to be found except recently 
in humorous or childish use (as in 'jess for con- 
fess).] 1. A piece of ground; specifically, a 
small piece of ground of well-defined shape ; a 
patch or spot of ground. 
Loke ye, take gode hede of this plottf of grounde that 
ye now sitte on, whan that ye be ageiu repelred. 
Meriin (E. E. T. S.\ li. 150. 
They [the citiesl be all set and situate alike, and in all 
points fashioned alike, as far forth as the place or pint suf- 
feretb. Sir T. More, Utopia (tr. by BohinsonX li. 1. 
Tills blessed pint, this earth, this realm, this England. 
Sltalc., Rich. II., ii. 1. 60. 
2f. A patch, spot, or splotch of any kind, as in 
a garment. 
He had a cote of Crystendome as holyklrke blleueth, 
Ac it was moled In many places with many sondrle plotter. 
Of Prnyde here a plotte, and there a plntte of unbuxome 
speche. Fieri Plowman (B), xiii. 27.'.. 
3. In sim:, a plan or draft of a field, farm, es- 
tate, etc., surveyed and delineated on paper; a 
map or plan. 
I am a yonng beginner, and am building 
Of a new shop, an 't like your worship, just 
At corner of a street : Here Is the plot on 't 
B. Jomon, Alchemist, I. 1. 
In another roome are represented at large mapps and 
plottt of most countries In the world. 
Evelyn, Diary, Jan. 18, 1645. 
4. A fully formulated scheme or plan; a sys- 
tematized purpose ; design ; aim. 
Thus was not the law of England ever properly apply i -d 
unto the Irish nation as by a purposed ptott of govern- 
ment, but as they could insinuat and steale themselves 
under the same by theyr humble carriadge and submis- 
sion. Spenser, State of Ireland. 
Then doth the crafty fox begin to fill 
Ills bralnes with cunning; if his plotet doe hit 
To his desire, his landlordes want of wit 
Shall make him rich for ever. 
rime*' Whittle (E. E. T. S.), p. 65. 
All things cannot 
But suit aright when Heav'n do's lay the plot. 
J. Beaumont, Psyche, ii. 93. 
5. A stratagem or secret plan; a secret pro- 
ject ; an intrigue ; a conspiracy. 
I thank you, fine fool, for your most fine plot ; 
This was a subtle one, a stiff device 
To have caught dotterels with. 
Beau, and Ft., Scornful Lady, iv. 1. 
But the Gunpowder Plot there was a get-penny! 
/?. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, v. 1. 
oh think what anxious moments pass between 
The birth of pint* and their last fatal periods. 
Addimn, Cato, i. 3. 
The iii'it was the most wicked and desperate ever known. 
Macaulay, History. 
6. The story of a piny, poem, novel, or romance, 
comprising a complication of incidents which 
are at last unfolded by unexpected means; the 
intrigue. 
If the plot or intrigue must be natural, and such as 
springs from the very subject, as has been already urged, 
then the winding-Dp of the plot, by a more sure claim, 
must have this qualification, and be a probable conse- 
quence of all that went before, 
Le Bossu, tr. in Prcf. to Pope's Odyssey. 
O lud. sir, if people who want to listen or overhear were 
not always connived at in a tragedy, there would be no car- 
rying on any plot in the world. Sheridan, The Critic, II. 2. 
7. Contrivance ; deep reach of thought ; ability 
to plan. 
Who say's he was not 
A man of much plot 
May repent that false accusation. 
SirJ. li. nl, nin. Return of Mr. Killegrew. 
Gunpowder plot See gunpowder. Popish plot, in 
Kti'i. hit.. an alleged conspiracy of Roman Catholics In 
1678, by which, according to the testimony of Titus oaten 
and other informers, the king. Charles II.. was to be killed, 
and the government and the ProtesUnt religion were to be 
overthrown. Several Roman Catholics were executed for 
supposed complicity In these measures. Rye House 
plot, in Eng. hist. , a conspiracy of some radical Whigs for 
the assassination of Charles II. at Rye House, Hertford- 
shire, In 1688. Algernon Sidney and Lord Russell were 
executed for alleged implication in this iil"t. -Syn. 5. 
Combination, machination, cabaL 
plot 1 (plot), r. ; pret. and pp. plotted, ppr. plot- 
ting. [<.ptot l ,n.~\ I. trans. 1 . To malte a map 
or plan of; lay down on paper according to 
scale : as, to plot a farm or an estate ; to plot 
a ship's course on a chart. 2. To determine 
or fix by measurements on a map or chart. 
The position of 97 (water- Jspouta, jccuning on 60 differ- 
ent dates, . . . has been plotted with respect to the centre 
of low pressure areas. Amer. Meteor. Jour., III. 121. 
3. To plan; form plans for; devise; contrive: 
conspire to effect or bring about : now rarely 
used in a good sense. 
Let your reason 
1'lni your revenge, and not your passion. 
Beau, and fl.. Maid's Tragedy, iv. 2. 
Conning Submission's language as he went, 
And plotting how his Brethren to content. 
J. Beaumont, Psyche, I. 125. 
Plotting an unprofitable crime. 
Dryden, Cock and Fox, 1. 775. 
The good man and woman are long since in their graves 
who used to sit and plot the welfare of us their children. 
Steele, Spectator, No. 203. 
= Syn. 3. To concoct, brew, hatch, plan. 
fi. intrans. To form a plan or plot; scheme; 
especially, to conspire. 
The wicked plotteth against the Just. Ps. XKTil. 12. 
hot. [Scotch in both senses.] 
plotcht (ploch), M. [A var. of plot, perhaps due 
to association with splotch.] A patch ; splotch ; 
blotch; scab. 
An Idle vagrant person . . . who stood at the Temple 
gate demanding of almes, with certalne counterfeit plntenei 
of a leper. 
Bencenulo, Passengers' Dialogues (1612). (Xarri.) 
Ploteres (plo-te'rez), M. pi. [NL. (F. ploterex 
Latreille), < Gr. x'/.urr/p, a sailor, < ir'/.ortv, sail.] 
A group of hemipterous insects of the tribe Geo- 
cores, or land-bugs, containing such as have very 
long legs and run on the surface of the water. 
plotfonnt, ii. An obsolete form of platform. 
plotful(plot'ful),a. [< plot* + -//.] Abound- 
ing with plots. Wriylit. 
Plotidae (plot'i-de). . pi. [NL., < Plains + 
-ii-te.] A family of totipalmate birds of the 
order 8tega*opodMf the darters, auhingas, or 
snake-birds. They have a very long, slim, sinuous neck ; 
long,slcnder,8traight,and acute bill ; broad fan-shaped tall, 
with stiff rectrices, of which the middle pair are crinkled 
or fluted; naked lores; and rudimentary gularsac. There 
is only one genus, Plotus or Anhinga, with several species, 
inhabiting swamps and marshes of warm countries in both 
hemispheres. See anhinga, darter, Plotut. 
Plotinian (plo-tin'i-an), a. [< Plotinus (see 
Plotiiiixni) + -ian.] Of or pertaining to Plo- 
tinus or the Plotinists, or their doctrines. 
Plotinism (plo-ti'uizm), . [< LL. Plotinus, < 
Gr. \\furifof, Plotiuus, a Greek philosopher of 
the M century, + -ixiii.'j The doctrine of Plo- 
tinus or of the Plotinists. 
Plotinist (plo-ti'nist), H. [< Plotin-ux + -wt.] 
A disciple of Plotinus. See Xcoplatonism. 
plot-proof (plot'prof), a. Proof against plots; 
not to be hurt by a plot or plots. [Rare.] 
The harlot-klng 
Is quite beyond mine arm, out of the blank 
And level of my brain, plot-proof. 
Shot., W. T., 11.3.6. 
plotter 1 (plot'pr), n. [< plofl, v., + -erl.] One 
who plots, in any sense; especially, one who 
contrives; a contriver; a conspirator. 
plotter 2 (plot'er), v. i. Same as plouter. 
Miss's pony has trodden claim two rigs o' corn, and plnt- 
tered through, might o'er Into t' meadow. 
E. Brontr, Wuthertng Heights, Ix. 
plottie (plot'i). n. [< plot 2 .'] A sort of mulled 
wine. [Scotch.] 
Get us a jug of mulled wine plottie, as you call It. 
Scott, St. Ronan's Well, xxvlll. 
plotting 1 (plot'ing), H. [Verbal n. otplofl, c.] 
The act of making aplot. Specifically -(o) The act 
of making a plan or map. (6) The act of forming or at- 
tempting a stratagem or conspiracy. 
plotting 2 (plot'ing', H. [Verbal n. of 'plot, v., 
< P. pelotcr (pron. plo-ta ), form into a ball, < 
pelote, a ball : see pellet. Cf. platoon.] \n soap- 
making, the operation of forming the paste into 
cakes by means of heavy pressure. 
The soap Is ready for the final operation, known ta plot- 
ting (from the French pelotage), in which the paste Is sub- 
jected to enormous pressure, sometimes 3000-4OOO Ib. a 
so. in., to form it into cakes, or into continuous bars from 
which cakes may be cut. 
W. L. Carpenter, Soap and Candles, p. 200. 
plottingly (plot'ing-li), aili: In a plotting man- 
ner; as a plotter. 
The walls were covered with curious old Dutch prints. 
. . . There was Frederick the Great, with head drooped 
plotting!;/, and keen sidelong glance from under the three- 
cornered hat. LoictU, Cambridge Thirty Yean Ago. 
plotting-machine (plot'ing-m-sheu'), . A 
form of press for shaping soap-paste into bars 
or cakes. See plotting 2 . 
plotting-scale (plot'ing-skal), n. A scale used 
for setting off the lengths of lines in surveying. 
It consists of two graduated scales, made of ivory, silver, 
brass, or boxwood. One of these scales Is pierced along 
nearly Its whole length by a dovetail-shaped groove, for 
the reception of a sliding-plece. The second scale la at- 
tached to this sllding-piece, and moves along with It, the 
edge of the second scale being always at right angles to 
the edge of the first. By this means the rectangular co- 
ordinates of a point are measured at once on the TCTlfft, 
IT the position of the point is laid down on the plan. 
Plotus (plo'tus), n. [NL. (Linnaeus, 1766), < 
Gr. ir?MTof, sailing, floating, < jr?.<ie(v, var. of irXf- 
etv, ffXtiiv, sail : seefloic 1 .] The only genus of the 
family J'lutiiljp. p. anhinga Is the common darter, 
anhinga. snake-bird, or water-turkey of America ; P. le- 
rfillanti is African ; P. melanoiiatter, Indian ; P. now 
hoUandi*, Australian. Also called Ptynx and Plothu. See 
cut under anhinga. 
plough, ploughable, etc. SIT /<//ir, etc. 
plouncet (plouns). r. i.; pret. and pp. plounced, 
ppr. pliiunriixj. [Appar. a var. of plunge (ME. 
