pomposo 
pomposo (pom-po'so), a. [It.: see pompous.] 
In music, dignified; grand: noting a passage or 
movement to be rendered in a grand and dig- 
nified style. 
pompous (pom'pus), a. [= D. pompeus = G. 
I'Hiiipds, pompon = Sw. Dan. pompon, < F. pom- 
peux = Sp. Pg. It. pomposo, < LL. pomposus, 
stately, pompous, < L. pompa, pomp : see pomp.] 
1. Full of or characterized by pomp or showy 
display ; ostentatiously grand , digni fied, or mag- 
nificent ; splendid ; stately : as, a pompous tri- 
umph; a pompous procession. 
I will make relation of those pompous ceremonies that 
were publiqnely solemnized. 
Coryat, Crudities, I. 3, slg. D. 
But nothing is here so pompous as double red and strlpt 
stocks; which they multiply with care; and their I'ains 
are Justly Rewarded. Luster, Journey to Paris, p. 194. 
2. Exhibiting self-importance or an exagger- 
ated sense of dignity; ostentatiously dignified 
or self-important ; lofty: as, & pompous style; 
pompous in manners. 
We reprove a sinning brother, but do it with a pompous 
spirit : we separate from scandal, and do it with glory and 
a gaudy heart. Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), I. 079. 
The pompous vanity of the old school-mistress . . . an- 
noyed ner. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, ii. 
= 8yn. 1. Superb, grand, august, lofty, dignified. 2. 
Magisterial, swelling, inflated, bombastic, grandiloquent, 
pretentious. That which gives pompous its distinctive 
character among these words and the words used in de- 
fining it is the idea of the display of magnificence for the 
sake of enhancing, properly or improperly, the dignity, 
etc., of the person or thing most concerned. A ptnnpous 
procession givea dignity to a person thus welcomed to a 
city; a pompous deportment or manner of speech arises 
from the feeling of one's own importance and the effort 
to seem what one thinks himself to )>e. Pompous is used 
in a good sense now only when npplied to public ceremo- 
nies or celebrations or the ways of courts. 
pompously (ponn'pnu-li), adc. In a pompous 
manner; with great parade or display; mag- 
nificently; splendidly; ostentatiously; loftily. 
pompousness (pom'pus-nes), n. The character 
of being pompous; also, pompous conduct; 
magnificence ; splendor ; great display or show ; 
osteutatiousness. 
In verse he (Dryden] had a pomp which, excellent In 
itself, became pompowtnefts in his imitators. 
Lotcell, Among my Books, 1st scr., p. 76. 
= Sy n . See pompous. 
pomster, r. '. [Origin obscure.] To doctor or 
play the quack with salves and slops; apply a 
medicament to a wound or contusion, or ad- 
minister medicine internally, nulliicell. [Prov. 
Eng.] 
pomum (po'mum), it. [L., an apple: see pome.] 
1. An apple. 2. In anat., the apple of the 
throat; Adam's apple, more fully called pomum 
Attaint. See Adam. 3. Same as calefactory. 
pomwatert, . Same as pomcicater. 
ponceau 1 (pon-so'), . [< F. ponceau, < L. as if 
'punicellux, dim. otpiinieeits, red, < piniicnx, red. 
prop. Punic, i. e. Phenician: see 1'iinic.] 1. 
In hot., a corn-poppy. 2. Corn-poppy color; 
a flame-color. 3. In dyeing, the name for va- 
rious coal-tar colors of different red shades. 
ponceau- (pon-so'), . [F., a culvert, dim. of 
pout, < ii. pon(t-)s, a bridge: seejtous.] In en- 
din., a small bridge or culvert. 
poncelet (pons'let), . [Named after .1. V. Ponce- 
let, a French mathematician (1788-1867).] A 
unit of rate of expenditure of energy, equivalent 
to 100 kilogramrneters per second. 
poncert, " See pouncerl. 
poncho (pon'cho), H. [< Sp. (S. Amer.) ponclio, 
a poncho; cf. Sp. ponclio, lazy, indolent.] 1. 
A sort of cloak or loose garment worn by the 
South American Indians, and also by many of 
the Spanish inhabitants of South America and 
Mexico. It resembles a narrow blanket with a slit in the 
middle for the head to pass through, so that it hangs down 
before and behind, leaving the arms free. Garments sim- 
ilar to the above in general shape are made and used else- 
where, especially by sportsmen as rain-cloaks. 
2. A trade-name for camlet or strong worsted. 
pond 1 (pond), . [< ME. pond, ponde,poonde, 
a pond: another use and form of pound, an in- 
closure: see pound?.] A body of water, nat- 
ural or artificial, of less extent than a lake : as, 
a mill-i 
Make choice of such a place for your pond that It may 
! refreshed with a little rill, or with rain water, running 
or falling into It. /. Walton, Complete Angler, p. 199. 
Big pond. See pasture, 4. Great pond, In the fishery 
laws of Massachusetts, a pond exceeding 20 acres in area. 
as distinguished f rorn a sinuU pond, or one of not more than 
20 acres. Sale-pond, a fish-pond used only for fish ready 
to be sold. 
pond 1 (pond), r. [< pondl, it.] I. tmu. To 
(lain or pen up; make into a pond by dani- 
niinft; collect iu a pond by stopping the cur- 
rent, of a river. 
4616 
Another flood-gate . . . ponds the whole river, so as to 
throw the waste water orer a strong stone weir Into its 
natural channel. 
Dtfot, Tour thro' Great Britain, I. 379. (Danes.) 
H. iiiiriiii.i. To form pools or ponds ; collect 
in the manner of water in a pond. 
The use of turning the paper upside down Is to neutral- 
ise the increase of darkness towards the bottom of the 
squares, which would otherwise take place from the pnnd. 
iny of the colour. /<u*K), Element* of Drawing. 
pond'-'t, . A Middle English form of pound 1 . 
pond 3 t (pond), r. t. [Abbr. of ponder.'} To 
ponder. 
my liege Lord, the Ood of my Life, 
1'leaaeth you pond (In later editions, ponder] your Suppli- 
ant* Plaint. 
Speiuer, shep. Cal., February (ed. 1750X L 161. 
pondage 1 (pon'daj), . [< potuft + -age.] In 
the construction of dams for mills, reservoirs, 
etc., the amount of water (usually estimated in 
feet for mill purposes, and in gallons for water- 
works) that can be restrained from overflow by 
the dam. It is the content of the Irregular concavity 
below a horizontal plane on a level with the upper edge 
of the dam. 
The stream was surveyed, . . . and . . . demonstrated 
the practicability of poiutaye far beyond the necessities of 
city supply. Sanitary Engineer, XIII. SO. 
Basins having limited pondaye or available storage of 
rainfall. ./. T. Faultily, Water-Supply Engineering, i 47. 
pondage-t, . Same as poundage 1 . 
pond-apple (pond'ap'l), n. A small tree, Anona 
1 a ii i- i folia, of the West Indies and southern 
Florida ; also, its scarcely edible fruit, which is 
from half a foot to a foot long. 
pond-carp (poml'karp), H. Tlie common carp, 
t'ypriiiuy carpio, as bred in ponds: distinguished 
from rirer-carp. It is fleshierthan the latter, but 
not so well-flavored. See cut under carp. 
pond-dogwood (pond'dog'irtd), . The but- 
ton-bran, a North American shrub of wet 
places. See button-busk, 
ponder (ixm'der), r. [= F. ponderer = Sp. Pg. 
ponderar^\\.. ponderare, < Ii. ponderare, weigh, 
ponder, ML. also load, < pundiin (ponder-), 
weight, < pcuderr, weigh: see pendent and 
pound 1 .] I. trann. If. To weigh. 
An innocent with a nnceiit, a man ungylty with a gylty, 
was pondered in an eqall balaunce. 
Hall, Hen. IV., fol. 14 (a). 
2. To weigh carefully in the mind; consider 
carefully; think about; reflect upon. 
Let vs heare, and as well as wee can ponder, what oblec- 
tlnns may bee made against this Arte. 
Sir /'. Sidney. Apol. for Poetrle. 
Mar)' kept all these things, and pondered them in her 
heart. Luke it. 19. 
Tell me, that I may ponder It when gone. 
M. Arnold, Haider Dead. 
= Syn. 2. To consider, reflect upon, etc. See list under 
contemplate. 
H. iiitrans. To think; muse; reflect; delib- 
erate: with OH or oeer: as, to ponder over what 
one has heard. 
This tempest will not give me leave to ponder 
On things would hurt me more. 
Skat., Lear, HI. 4. 24. 
The forest sages pondered, and at length 
Concluded In a body to escort her 
Vp to her father's home of pride and strength. 
Whittier, Bridal of Pennacook, v. 
pondert (pon'der), . [<ponder,r.] Something 
to ponder on. [Rare.] 
He laughed a little, and soon after took his leave, not 
without one little flight to give me for a ponder. 
Hme. D'ArUay, Diary, IV. 27. (Danes.) 
ponderability (pon'der-a-bil'i-ti), . [=F.iwi- 
de'rabilite = ft. ponder a6ilita ; as ]tonderable + 
-ity (see -bility).] The property of being pon- 
derable ; the property of having weight. 
ponderable (pon'der-a-bl), a. and n. [= F. 
ponderable = Sp. ponderable = Pg. ponderavel 
= It. ponderabile, < LL. ponderabilis, that can 
be weighed, < L. ponderare, weigh : see ponder. ,] 
I. a. Capable of being weighed; having weight. 
If the bite of an asp will kill within an hoar, yet the im- 
pression scarce visible, and the|K>lson communicated not 
ponderable ; we cannot as impossible reject this way of 
destruction. Sir T. Brotrne, Vulg. Err., iii. 27. 
Immense as Is the difference In density between ether 
and potiderable matter, the waves of the one can set the 
atoms of the other In motion. 
//. Spencer, Prill, of Biol., I. 30. 
II. . A substance that has weight. 
ponderableneS8(poii'der-a-bl-nes), n. Ponder- 
ability. 
ponderal ( pon'der-al), a. [= F. pondi'-ral = Sp. 
]>riderul, < LL. 'pondrralis (in neut. ptnuli- 
rale, the public scales), < L. ponditx ( pomlir-), 
weight: see ponder and pound 1 .] Estimated 
or ascertained by weight, as distinguished from 
numeral or monetary. [Kare.] 
ponderous 
Thus did the money drachma in process of time de- 
crease ; but all the while we may suppose the ponderal 
drachma to have remained the same. 
ArtmUuuil, Auc. Coins. 
ponderance (pon'der-ans), a. [< L. ponde- 
ran(t-)s, ppr. of ponderart), weigh: see ponder.] 
Weight; gravity. [Rare.] 
ponderate (pou'der-at), v.; pret. and pp. jton- 
derated, ppr. ponderating. [< L. jyonderatus, 
p. of ponderare, weigh, ponder: see ponder.] 
.t brant. To ponder; consider. Wriyht. 
H. intrans. To weigh; have weight or pon- 
derosity Ponderating sinker, an anglers' linker 
made in two sections of lead like truncated cone*, fitting 
closely together and held fast by means of a brass screw. 
ponderation (pon-de-ra'shon), . [< OF. pon- 
deration, F. ponderation = Sp. ponderacion = 
Pg. ppnderaytlo = It. ponderasione, < L. pon- 
deratio(n-), a weighing, < pouderure, pp. pon- 
deratus, weigh: see ponder.] If. The act of 
weighing. 
While we perspire we absorb the outward air, and the 
quantity of perspired matter, found by ponderation, is 
only the difference between that and the air imbil>ed. 
ArbutAtiot. 
2. Weight. [Rare.] 
It Is not the ponderation of personal evidence for or 
against a word that should accredit or discredit it. 
/ . //.-'/ Mod. Eng., p. SA. 
3f. Something that has weight; a considera- 
tion. 
Now, because his heart told him how light those proofs 
were, he lays in the scales with them certalne grave pon- 
deratiuiu, which, all put together, will prove almost as 
weighty as the feather he wrote wlthall. 
Bp. UaU, Honour of Married Clergy, 111. is. 
ponderer (pon'der-er), . [< ponder + -erl.] 
One who ponders or reflects ; one who weighs 
in his mind. 
ponderingly (pon'der-ing-li), adv. In a pon- 
dering manner; with consideration or delibera- 
tion. Hammond, Works, IV. 497. 
ponderling (pon'der-ling), . [< ponder + 
-Md*/ 1 .] A thing of little weight. [Kare.] 
She hushed her ponderlinq against her bosom, and stood 
aloof watching, whilst another woman brought her child 
to scale. C. Keade, Cloister and Hearth, xiivl. 
ponderment (pon'der-ment), n. [< ponder + 
-nient.] The act of pondering. [Rare.] 
In deep and serious ponderment 
I watch'd the motions of Ills next intent. 
Ryri'in, Robbery of the Cambridge Coach. 
ponderomotive (pon'dr-o-m6'tiv), a. [Irreg. 
< L. pondus (ponder-), weight, + ML. motirus, 
motive: see motire.] Tending to produce mo- 
tion in a body; specifically, in eleet., noting 
the electrodynamic force excited between two 
adjacent conductors carrying currents, in dis- 
tinction from electromotive force. 
ponderoset (pon'der-os), a. [< L. ponderoxus, 
of great weight: see ponderous.] Sameasjwu- 
drrous. 
A grand alliance with the Empernr and Spain brought 
down & pondrrose- army out of Germany. 
Koyer Xorlh. Examen, p. 470. 
ponderosity (pon-de-ros'j-ti), H. [< F. ponde- 
roxitc = Sp. pondcrosidail = It. ponderositd, < 
ML. ponderosita(t-)n, weightiness, ponderous- 
ness, < L. poHderOKiis, weighty, ponderous : see 
ponderous.] 1. Weightiness; heaviness; pon- 
derous character or quality; gravity: literally 
and figuratively. 
A nd t h ' Earle of Surrey with Syr Thomas Wyat, the most 
excellent makers of their time, more i>eraduentu re res pect- 
Ing the fltnesse and pondmmtie of their wordea then the 
true cadence or slmphonle, were very licenclous In this 
point Puttettham, Arte of Eng. Poesle, p. 145. 
All the mynes which yow shall fvnde, . . . after that at 
the fyrste syght they haue shewed tliem seines to bee mynes 
of metals, yow owght to consyder of what ptntderositif of 
weyght they are. 
It. Kden, tr. of Vannucclo Birlngucclo (First Books on 
(America, ed. Arber, p. 368). 
Gold Is remarkable for Its admirable ductility and pan- 
density. Kay, Works of Creation, p. 98. 
2. A weight; something heavy, literally or fig- 
uratively; heavy matter. 
Learned Dacange denies this fact, which the Verman- 
dols genealogists maintain : these contests sport auiklit 
the potideroaties of archeology. 
Sir F. Pal'jmx, Hist Eng. and Normandy, II. 197. 
ponderous (pon'der-us\ a. [< F. pondfreui = 
Sp. Pg. It. ponderatto, < L. ponderonug, of great 
weight, weighty, heavy, < pondus (ponder-), 
weight: sue ponder, pmindi.] 1. llavingweight; 
weighty; heavy; especially, very heavy: ln'ii.-o, 
clumsy or unwieldy by reason of weight : used 
both literally and figuratively. 
The sepulchre . . . 
Hath oped his punderuut and marble jaws. 
., Hamlet, i. 4. 50. 
