porcupine 
The spines grow mostly on t hrnimp mil hack of the broad 
flat Ull : they are quite loosely attached, and when the 
animal slaps with Its tall(l(a usual mudr uf defensc)some 
quills may I* flirted to a distance. Something like this, 
no doubt, give* rise to the popular notion that the | >r.-u- 
Urson, or Canada Porcupine (1-rethizon dorsatus). 
pine "shoots" its quills at an enemy. These small quills 
re strikingly like (he spines of the prickly -pear (Opuntia) 
in size and shape, and like them are minutely barbed at 
the end, so that they stick In the flesh of one who receives 
a blow from the tall. They are much used by the Indians 
for trimming buckskin garments anil ornamenting moc- 
casins. Other American tree-porcupines constitute the 
genera Spkinyvna and Chxtomys; they are of smaller 
size and arboreal habits, and range from southern Mexico 
through a great part of South America. See Hyttrieidte, 
Hyttrix; also cut under prehensile-tailed. 
2. (a) An apparatus for heckling flax. (&) A cy- 
lindrical heckle for worsted yarn. E. H. Knight. 
Porcupine ant-eater, a monotreme of the family 
Kr/iiilniilir or Tachyijloandx, having spines or quills In the 
pelage resembling those of the porcupine. Echidna or 
rachyijlnanu hi/atrix la the best-known species, inhabiting 
Australia. There are several others. See cut under Echul 
niii/e. 
porcupinet (p6r'ku-pin), r. t. [< porcupine, .] 
To i-iin-i- to stand up like a porcupine s quills. 
[Bare.] 
Thus did the cooks on Billy Ramus stare, 
Whose frightful presence porcupined each hair. 
Wdcot (Peter Pindar), The Lousiad, Iv. 
4626 
And gathering virtue In at erery pore. 
Lowell, I'nder the Willows. 
2. One of the small interstices between the 
particles or molecules of the matter of which a 
body is composed. The compressibility of matter, Its 
expansion and contraction with changes of temperature, 
and other considerations lead to the conclusion that even 
the densest bodies are porous that Is, that the molecules 
forming them are not in actual contact, but separated by 
spaces which, though extremely minute, may have a mag- 
nitude considerable as compared with their own size. 
Which Atoms are still hovering up and down, and never 
rest till they meet with some /'oraproportionable and cog- 
nate to their figures, where they acquiesce. 
Huu-rll, Letters, Iv. 60. 
3. In bot., a small aperture or hole, as that at 
the apex of the anthers in certain Ericacese; in 
J'yrenomycctcs, same as nstiole; in Hymenomy- 
cetes, same as tubulua. See cut under anther. 
Abdominal, branchial, calyctne pore. See the 
adjectives. Cortical pore, in bot., same as lenticel. 
Crural or femoral pores. See crural. Hetasternal 
pores. See mftaxternal. 
pore*t, i'. An obsolete form of pour 1 . 
pore 4 , a. An obsolete or dialectal form of poor. 
poreblindt, a. An obsolete form of purblind. 
porencephalia (po-ren-se-fa'li-a), . [NL., 
< Gr. n-opoc, pore,' + kvxtjcAof, train.] The 
presence of a defect in the cerebral hemi- 
sphere such that a depression or hollow, which 
may lead into the ventricle, is formed. It is 
congenital, or from early life, and may be 
caused by inflammation, embolus, or hemor- 
rhage. 
porencephalic (po-ren-se-fal'ik orpo-ren-sef'a- 
lik), a. [< porenreplial-y + -ic.~\ Of or pertain- 
ing to or of the nature of porencephaly ; poren- 
cephalous. 
porencephalous (po-ren-sef 'a-lus), a. [< poren- 
ccphal-y + -OKU.} Pertaining to, of the nature 
of, or characterized by porencephalia. 
porencephaly (po-ren-sef'a-li), . [< NL. po- 
renceplialin , ] Same as porenceplialia. 
porett, . Seoporret. 
porfllt, ' and n, See purfle. 
POrgy (por'gi), n. ; pi. porrjics (-giz). [Also por- 
pork 
gans: contrasted with Jfcmatopliora, and more 
fully called Ceelentera porifera. it is a name of 
sponges when these are regarded as coelenterates, to dis- 
tinguish them from the true coelentei-ates, then called 
Xemaioplvira. A usoul division of I'vrijcra Is Into Cold- 
tpotigia or MegamcuHctora, the chalk-sponges ; and SM. 
cotponguioT Hicrmnanlictiira, all other sponges ; but near- 
ly every writer on sponges has his own classification. See 
Spunyia, and cuts under tpange and SpongiUa. Also called 
Pur(/erata. 
2. Same as Foraminifera. 
poriferal (po-rif'e-ral), a. [< porifer-ous + -a/.] 
Poriferous, as a sponge ; of or pertaining to the 
forifera or Spongix. 
poriferan (po-rif 'e-ran), n. and a. [< porifer-ovt 
+ -an.] I. n. A porifer; a sponge. 
II. a. Same as poriferous Poriferan theory 
that theory which considers the trachea; or tubes of pome 
animals as having a common origin with the Incurrent 
tubes of the Porifera or sponges. 
poriferous (po-rif'e-rus), a. [< NL. porifer, 
having pores, < L. porus, pore, 4- ferre = E. 
bear 1 .] Provided with pores; specifically, of 
or pertain ing to the Porifcra; poriferal: distin- 
guished from oscvliferous. 
poriform (pd'ri-f6rm), . [< L. poms, a pore, 
+ forma, form.] Having the character or form 
of a pore. 
porime (po'rim), n. Same as porism. 
porism (po'rizm), n. [ME. porysme, < OF. (and 
P.) porisme = Sp. porisma = It. porisma, ports- 
mate, porismato; < Gr. iropia/ja(T-), a corollary, 
< Kopi(.eiv, bring about, procure, deduce, < ir6pt>f, 
a way, passage: see pore 2 , n.] A form of 
mathematical proposition among the Greeks, 
concerning the nature of which there continues 
to be much dispute. The corollaries to Euclid's ele- 
ments that is, extra propositions, inserted by commenta- 
tors nnd readily deducible from his theorems are called 
by tins name. But the word had a more general meaning, 
which C'hasles defines as follows: A porism Is an incom- 
plete theorem expresslnga relation between things variable 
according to a common law, thestatement being left incom- 
plete in regard to some magnitude which would be stated 
T (p6r'ku-pin-krab), n. A kind 
of crab, Lithodexhystrix, inhabiting Japan, hav- 
ing the carapace and limbs spiny. 
porcupine-disease (por'ku-pin-di-zez '), n. 
Same as hyutrieismus. 
porcupine-fish (pdr'ku-pin-fish), H. A diodon- 
toid hsh, as Diodon hystrijc, whose skin is stud- 
ded with prickles ; a sea-porcupine. The vari- 
ous species inhabit tropical seas. See Diodoti- 
tidff, and cuts under Dtorton and xtrell-fish. 
porcupine-grass (pdr'ku-pin-grtis), . A grass, 
Ktijm Kpartea, found from Illinois and Michigan 
northwestward: so named from the long, strong 
awns of its flowering glume. 
porcupine-wood (por'ku-pin-wud), it. The outer 
wood of the cocoanut-palm, which is very hard 
and durable, and when cut horizontally dis- 
plays beautiful markings resembling those of 
porcupine-spines. 
pore 1 (por), r. . ; pret. and pp. pored, ppr. por- 
ing. [Early mod. E. also poor; < ME. poren, 
pouren, prob. < Sw. dial. ]>ora, pura, pAra, work 
slowly and gradually, do anything slowly, 8w. 
purra, turn out; cf. I), iwrrrii, poke, stir, move, 
!fic, pogyy, poggie, paitgliie; said to be corrupt- 
ed from NL. pagrus: see 1'agrus.] One of sev- 
eral different fishes, (a) A fish of the genus Sparut 
In a restricted sense, or of the genus Pagnu; speclfl- 
cally, Span* pairru* or Pairnit vulyaris, supposed to be 
in part confused with peer, ME. piren, ptiren, 
look: M6JMM*.] To gaze earnestly or steadily; 
look with close and steady attention or applica- 
tion ; read or examine anything with steady 
perseverance : generally followed by on, upon, 
or over. 
What [why! sholde he studlc and make hymselven wood 
Upon a book in cloystre alwey \apmtnt 
Chaucer, (cn. Prol. to C. T., 1. 185. 
Painfully to port upon a book 
To seek the llghtof truth. Shale., L. L L., i. 1. 74. 
Msiny of the Pilgrims, by ponrinn on hot bricks, do vol- 
untarlly perish their sights. Sandy*, Travalles, p. 07. 
pore 2 (por), 14. [< F. pore = Pr. pars = 8p. Pg. 
It. poro = D. porie = Q. nore = Sw. por = Dan. 
pore, < L. poruti, a pore, < Gr. wipoc, a pore, ford, 
passage, way, means, pore, fiber of the nerves, 
etc., <V **/> in irtnav, pass: see/arci, fortl.] 1. 
A small opening or orifice; a hole, aperture, or 
perforation; a foramen; an opening tn general: 
as, the pores of a sponge. The term it especially used 
for a minute perforation, invisible to the naked eye. In 
a membrane, through which fluids may pasa. Such are 
the pores of the skin, formed by the ducts of the sweat- 
The sweate came gushing out of euery pore. 
Chapman, Odyssey, xi. 
Por^y (Sfarus fafrnsi. 
the pa'irm of the ancients, Inhabiting the Mediterranean 
and Atlantic waters, of a silvery color, with the back rosy. 
(n) A flsh of the related genus Slrnotomtu. S an/itropi 
i the well known porgy, scnp, or scuppaug, found from 
(ape Cod to Florida. See neap, (c) An cphippioid fish, 
I lurtmtiptmi* faber, the angel-fish. See cut under CA*- 
toaatonu. (di One of several viviparous perches, or em- 
biotocoids, as Dilretna jaclnoni or DamaUchlhi/s aniurnto- 
m(orraa). (California.) (ir)Aclupcold fish, themen- 
hailen, Bremortia tyranniut: by confusion with a different 
v/OTd.pogy. [local, t;. S ] (/)Thc toa<ifl8h, Chilmnuctmw 
ffeometricus. [Florida.) (y) With a qualifying word, one 
of several other fishes. See phrases below.- Flannel- 
mouthed POrgy, Orthnprintit chnjmptenu. Goat-head 
POrgy, Calamut mer/acrphalun. IBerniudas.) - Rhom- 
Doidal porgy, iMjodim rkotnlx-ide*. Sheep'svlieadpor- 
gy, Calamut nrlrilaritu. (Bennlldas.)- Spanish porgv 
(n) The rhomlKi<lal porgy. (Bennudas.) (6) A scaroiii 
HsIi.Xmni* radiant. -Three-tailed porgy, the moonflsh, 
< A.rrm/i/yrriHi nr Parephippiu/aber. 
pori, n. Plural of porus. 
porifer (po'ri-fer), . [< NL. porifer, having 
pores: see /wn/rroiw.] That which has pores, 
as a sponge ; a member of the Porifcra. 
Porifera (pcVrif'e-rft). n. pi. [NL., neut. pi. of 
porifer, q. v.] 1. The sponges as a prime 
division of cralenterates, or superclass of Cce- 
lentcra, having a system of pores or incurrent 
and exc.urrent openings, but no stinging-or- 
... the theorem properly so called. For example, to say that 
there is within every triangle a point every line through 
which has for the sum of its distances from the two ver. 
tlces which lie on one side of it its distance from the third 
vertex, is a porism In substance. But the porism was fur- 
ther distinguished by a peculiar mode of enunciation, 
namely, that which in modem language Is made to be con- 
stant, is called In the porism " given." The definition of 
Hayfair, which has had great currency, is as follows: A 
porism is a proposition affirming the possibility of finding 
such conditions as will render a certain problem Indeter- 
minate, or capable of Innumerable solutions. This is the 
sense in which the word would ordinarily be understood 
to-day. Other widely different definitions have been given. 
Ryht as thyse geometryens, whan they have shewyd hyr 
proposiclimns, ben wont to bryngcn in thinges that they 
clepen porysiitrii, or dcclaracioiins of forscyde thinges. 
Chaucer, Boethius, ill. prose 10. 
= Syn. See infer ence. 
porismatic (po-ris-mat'ik), . [< Gr. wopta- 
IIH(T-), a porism, + -if.'] Of or pertaining to a 
porism. [As used by modern mathematicians, 
it usually refers to Playfair's sense of porism. 
See7>omm.] 
porismatical (pd-ris-mat'i-kal), a. [< poris- 
matic + -/.] Same as porisniatic. 
poristic (po-ris'tik), a. [= F. poristique = Pg. 
poristica = It. poristico; < Gr. iropt<mnof, able to 
bring about or procure, < nopifriv, bring about, 
procure: see pot-ism.] Reducing a determinate 
problem to an indeterminate one Poristic 
points, a set of points of the number which usually Biitlicc 
to determine a curve of a given order, but so situated that 
an Indefinite number of such curves can be drawn through 
them. 
poristical(po-ris'ti-kal), a. [< poristic + -/.] 
Same as poristic. 
porite (po'rit), H. [<NL. Porites.] A coral of 
the family Poritida. 
[NL., < L. porns, a pore : 
Porites (l>6-ri'tez), n. 
see pore*.*] 1. The 
typical genus of 
the family Porituise, 
established by La- 
marck. 2. A genus 
of millepores. Also 
ffeliolites. Lonsdttlc, 
1849. 
Poritidae (po-rit'i 
' 
Hypothetical Sectioi 
a, fuperfklal layer; t. Inhale 
chamber*, liued with a l 
; dltatcd or tanllatcd 
ethelmllvl.lual 
< .i.ui>ci% IIIK-I. wn 1-iycntiipot.feceiu.wiikb areth imllvi h.,,1 
.uiiiH4lculn (ckncly rcscmMiiw chowK-flacelUtc infuwriant^ < 
rt of the rtnictiin: l.n tf the fTWou* skeleton which they impure in 
common; m, on o*cumm,or exhalent ajicrture ; t, deeper %utnUm:e of 
the MK>OKC. 
Poritidffl (po-rit'i- 
de), w. pi. [NL., < v 1 ^- 
PoritC8+ -,>?*.] 'A \ 
family of perforate 
sc lerodermatous cor- 
als, typified by the """" ''""" 
genus Poritfg. Thecorallumlsi-ompowd of reticulated 
sclerenchyme, with ireU-devlopad septa In the form of 
Jtylate processes which unite in a kind of lattlci ,,rk. 
The walls are reticulate, not distinct from the *< I in 
chyme, and there are few dissepiments and no Lilnihf. 
pork (pork), H. [< MK. ;.r/.-. /,</.; i,,,,;; < Or 1 , 
(nnd !'.) pore = K|>. p,,,,;;, = pg. It. por"-, a 
hog, pork, < L. porcux (= Gr. (Italic t) 
