potgun 
2. A -hurt wide canmm for firing salutes; a 
mortar: so railed from its resemblance toapot 
in shape. 
They haue ... * great many of morter piece* or pot- 
ftau, out of which pieces they shoote wild fire. 
Uatluyt's Voyaga, I. 316. 
poHrutted(pot'gut'ed),a. Pot-bellied, droves, 
Spiritual Quixote, iv. 8. 
pot-hanger (pot'hang'er), n. Same as potitOok, 
pot-hanglet (pot'hang'gl), . Same as pot- 
hook. 
Item, a fryeng panne and a peyre of j>vt-han : /If aold to 
the seyd Scudamour. 
Inventory o/Ooadi, 30 Hen. VIII. (Kara.) 
pot-hat (pot'hat), . Same as chimney-pot hat 
(which see, under haft). 
pothead (pot'hed), n. A stupid fellow. 
She WHS too good for a poor pot-head like me. 
Kingaey, W eatward Ho, xv. (Danes.) 
pothecaryt, An obsolete aphetic form of 
apothecary. 
potheen (po-then'), n. Same as poteen. 
pot-hellion (pot'hel'ion), M. A large pie made 
of beef.pork, potatoes, and onions baked in a 
pan. [Gloucester, Massachusetts.] 
pot-helmet (pot'hel'met), n. In a general 
sense, any defensive head-covering which has 
little opening, and covers the head completely, 
like the great heaume of the twelfth and thir- 
teenth centuries. Compare pofl, 13. 
pother (poTH'er), n. [Also pudde r ; origin un- 
certain. The sense 'a suffocating cloud' seems 
to rest on tlA assumption that pother stands 
for powder (dial, panther, etc.). Cf. pothery.'] 
A tumult ; disturbance ; confusion ; bustle ; 
nutter. 
Let the great gods, 
That keep this dreadful pother o'er our heads, 
Find out their enemies now. Shale., Lear, ill. 2. SO. 
And suddenly unties the poke, 
Which out of it sent such a smoke 
As ready was them all to choke, 
Ho grievous was the pother. 
Drayton, Xymphidia, st. 82. 
Lucretius keeps a mighty Pother 
With Cupid, and hi- fancy'd Mother. 
Prior, Alma, i. 
The Pother that is made about Precedence. 
Steele, Grief A-la-Mode, i. 1. 
pother (poTH'er), r. ['Ace pother, .] I. intrant;. 
To make a pother or bustle; make a stir. 
II. trans. To harass and perplex; bother; 
puzzle; tease. Locke. (Imp. Diet.) 
pot-herb (pot'erb), n. Any herb prepared for 
use by boiling in a pot; particularly, one of 
which the tops or the whole plant is boiled. 
A gentleman. 
Well rend, deeply learned, and thoroughly 
Grounded in the hidden knowledge of all Ballada 
And pot herb* whatsoever. 
Bran, and Fl., Woman-Hater, i. 3. 
Black pot-herb, in old use, the Smyrnium OlunatruiH 
(see alfraii'I'-rn), in distinction from the corn-salad, Valt- 
rianella nlitnria, the white poUierb. Pot-herb butter- 
fly, Pierix oleracea, ait American congener of the Imported 
Pot-hcrt> Butterfly (Mfrfs oltrafta}. a. Urva ; *, pupa. 
cabbage butterfly /'. rapie. The wings are white, the 
body Is black, and the Urva I* pale-green. 
pothery (poTH'er-i), a. [< pother + -yi.] Hot; 
close; muggy. Hallivjell. [Prov. Kug. | 
pothicar (poth'i-kttr), n. An aphetic form of 
iipotlii'i'itry. Scott',' Abbot. [Scotch.] 
Pothoideae (poth-o-id'e-e), . j>l. [NL. (A. 
Engler, 1879), < Pothon *' -iiiesp."] A subfamily 
of mouocotyledonouti plants, of the order Arn- 
cea, characterized by the netted-veineil or lat- 
eral-veined two-ranked or spiral leaves, by flic 
flowers usually having both stamens and pistils 
and anatropous ovules, and by the absence of 
laticiferoug vessels and intercellular hairs. It 
Include* In 8 tribes about 15 genera, of which Pothoi (the 
type), Anthiiriiim, and Cvlrtuia are In cultivation for their 
handsome leavea. See Caiia, 1, Aeonu, Orantium. and 
for important genera native In the I nit.-.l 
4652 
pot-hole (pot 'hoi), H. A cavity more or less 
nearly cylindrical in form, and from a few inches 
to several feet in depth and diameter, made by 
an eddying current of water, which causes a 
stone or a collection of detrital material to re- 
volve and thus wear away the rock with which 
it is in contact. Such pot-holes are common, especially 
In and near the beds of streams running over bare rocks, 
and under glaciers in regions of present or past glacla- 
tlon, or In any locality where there Is, or was formerly, a 
rapid current of water. A group of pot-holes, some of 
which are of great size, Is one of the curiosities of Lucerne 
in Switzerland (the "Glacier Garden "), where they appeur 
to have been made at the time of the former greater exten- 
sion of the glaciers in the Alpine range : also called giant* 
kettles. The large conical or more rarely pot-shaped cavi- 
ties formed by water In the chalk and other limestone 
rocks of England and the United States are called, besides 
pot-holes, by various names, as twaUow-htiles, sink-hole*, 
butter-tubs, icater-rinto, and pott. See twalluw-hole. 
pothook (pot'huk), n. 1. A hook, secured in 
a chimney in any manner (as upon a crane), 
for supporting a pot over a fire. 
The great black crane . . . swung over it, with Its mul- 
tiplicity of pot-hooks and trammels. 
B. B. Stoux, Oldtown, p. 62 
2. A short bar or rod of iron, usually curved, 
and with a hook at the end, used to lift hot pots, 
irons, or stove-lids from a stove. 3. A letter, 
character, or curve shaped like a pothook (def. 
1); an elementary character consisting of a 
stroke terminating in a curve, practised upon 
by children in learning to write; hence, any 
irregular, struggling written character. 
Also pot-hanger. 
Pothooks and hangers. See hanger. 
Pothos (po'thos), n. [NL. (LinnsBus, 1737), 
< potho, a native name in Ceylon.] A genus 
of plants, of the order Aracex, type of the 
tribe Pothoidex, characterized by an ovary with 
three cells, each with one ovule, a large embryo 
without albumen, and a spathe enlarging after 
flowering. It includes about 29 species, natives of Asia, 
the Pacific islands, Australia, and Madagascar. They are 
shrubby climbers, fastening themselves by rooting branch- 
es below and more spreading above. When grown under 
glass, they often adhere, perfectly flat, to damp vertical 
wooden surfaces, forming a sinuous upward line with the 
leaves facing the horizon. The leaves are two-ranked, ob- 
lique, and usually ovate or narrower, sometimes replaced 
by a broad leaf -like petiole (phyllodinm). The small green 
retlexed spathe is ovate or shell-shaped, and contains a 
short or roundish spadix, sometimes twisted or bent, bear- 
ing small close or scattered flowers above, each with a 
six-parted perianth. 
pot-house (pot'hous), . An ale-house; a liquor- 
saloon Pot-house politician. See politician. 
pot-hunter (pofhun'ter). . One who hunts 
or fishes for profit, regardless of close seasons, 
the waste of game, or the pleasure to be de- 
rived from the pursuit. Sportsotan's Ga:etteer. 
Poachers and pot-hunters are encouraged [in Rumania!, 
that they may keep the tables of their friends in office 
well supplied with game. IT. W. Greener, The Gun, p. 670. 
pot-hunting (pot'hun'ting), . The act or 
practice of hunting for the sake of profit^ re- 
gardless of the regulations or conventionalities 
of the sport. 
The Chinese have an original and effective manner of 
pot hunting after Wild-fowl. 
W. W. Greener, The Gun, p. 575. 
poticaryt, An aphetic form of apothecary. 
potiche (F. pron. po-tesh'), n. [F., <pot, pot: 
see 7>ofi.] A vase or jar of 
rounded form and short neck, 
with or without a cover. The 
shape usually denoted by this term 
approaches more or less that of an in- 
verted truncated cone below, finished 
above In a hemispheroldal form, and 
with a cylindrical neck. 
potichomania (pot*i-ko-ma'ni- 
&), n. [Also potichomanie, < F. 
potichomanie ; < F. potiche, a 
kind of pot (see potiche), + L. 
mania, madness.] Cheap deco- 
ration, consisting in coating a 
glass vessel with paintings on 
paper or linen, the interstices 
being filled with opaque paint, 
or varnish. 
potin (F. pron. po-tan'), . [F., < OV.potin.tto- 
tiiin, potein, pottin, a mixed metal (see def.), < 
pot, pot: see /jo* 1 , n. Ct. putty.] A mixed met- 
al. consisting of copper, zinc, lead, and tin, of 
which certain coins of ancient Gaul were com- 
poseil. The term Is sometimes, though Incorrectly, ap- 
plied by numismatists to some ancient coins(for example, 
those of Alexandria) of mixed metal Into the composition 
of which some silver enters : such coins should lie called 
In/1.1,, 
potinger. . See 
poting-siickt, . 
Saiin- :i* 
potomania 
Pins, points, and laces, 
Potimj stielci for young wines, for young wenches glaum. 
Ware of all sorts, which I bore at my back. 
Ileywood, If you Know not Me (Works, ed. Pearson, 1874, 
(L 286). 
potion (po'shpn), . [< ME. pocion, < OF. po- 
ci<m, potion (eilso poinon, > E.poio). F. potion 
= Sp. pocion = Pg. jioc.80 = It. pozione, < L. po- 
tio(n-), a drink; cf. potus, drunken, potare, 
drink: see potation. Cf. poison, a doublet of 
iKitnliii .] A drink; a draught; especially, a 
liquid medicine. 
Would you haue one potion ministered to the burning 
Feuer and to the cold Palsey? /.///;/, Euphues, p. 43. 
Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned bane, 
Drink oil thlspution. Shale., Hamlet, v. 2. 387. 
potiont (po'shou), F. t. [< potion, v. Ct. poison, 
v.'J To drug. " 
Lord Roger Mortimer, . . . hailing corrupted his keep- 
ers, or (as some others write) hailing potioited them with 
a sleepy drinke, escaped out of the Tower of London. 
Speed, Hist. Great Britain, ix. 11. (Danes.) 
pot-knight (pot'nit), n. A drunken fellow. 
Halliicell. 
pot-lace (pot/las), w. See lace. 
potlatch (pot'lach), >. [Also potlaehe ,- < Amer. 
Ind. (Xpotka) jiottatsh, pahtlatnh, a gift; as a 
verb, give.] 1. Among some American In- 
dians, a gift. 
They [Klickatat Indians) . . . expressed the friendliest 
sentiments, perhaps with a view to a liberal potlatch of 
trinkets. Theodore Winthrop, Canoe and Saddle, iv. 
2. An Indian feast, often lasting several days, 
given to the tribe by a member who aspires to 
the position of chief, and whose reputation is 
estimated by the number and value of the gifts 
distributed at the feast. 
It may also, very probably, happen that delay arises be- 
cause the man about to give the potlatch has not obtained 
the requisite number of blankets. 
Pop. Sri. Mo., XXX. 350. 
On his return he again called the people together and 
held a \)lg potlatch, giving the Indians what appeared to 
them at that time great curiosities. 
Amer. Antiquarian, XII. 76. 
pot-lead (pot'led), . Black-lead or graphite : 
as, a pot-lead crucible. (The word is now used chiefly 
of graphite in stove-polish applied to the hulls of racing- 
yachts below the water-line to diminish the friction of the 
water by giving a smooth surface.) 
pot-lead (pot'led), r. t. [< pot-lead, w.] To 
coat with pot-lead : as, to pot-lead a yacht. 
pot-leecht (pot 'lech), H. One who sucks at 
the pot; hence, one who drinks to excess; a 
drunkard. 
This valiant pot-leach, that upon his knees 
Has drunke a thousand pottles up-se-freese. 
John Taylor, Works (1630). (Naret.) 
pot-lid (pot'lid), . 1. The lid or cover of a pot. 
2. A concretion occurring in various sand- 
stones and shales, especially those of different 
parts of the Jurassic series. [In this sense 
properly po tlid.] Pot-lid valve. See val ve. 
pot-liquor (pot'lik'er), n. The liquor in which 
meat has been boiled ; thin broth. 
Mr. Geoffry ordered her to come dally to his mother's 
kitchen, where, together with her broth or pot-liqOor he 
contrived to slip something more substantial into Dor- 
othy's pipkin. Oravei, Spiritual Quixote, t. 9. (Daviet.) 
ppt-luck (pot'luk' ), . What may chance to be 
in the pot, in provision for a meal ; hence, a 
meal at which no special preparation has been 
made for guests. 
He never contradicted Mrs. Hackit a woman whose 
pot-luck was always to be relied on. 
George Eliot, Amos Barton, 1. (Dacict.) 
To take pot-luck, to accept an Impromptu Invitation to 
a meal ; partake of a meal In which no special preparation 
has been made for guests. 
Do, pray, stop and dine 
You will take our pot-luck and we've decentlsh wine. 
liarham, Ingoldsby Legends, I. an. 
pot-man (pot'man), n. 1. A pot-companion. 
Eddisbury carried it by the Juniors and pot-men, he be- 
ing one himself. HfeofA. Wood, p. 486. (Latham) 
2. Same as pot-boy. 
Tlie pitman thrust thu last brawling drunkard* Into the 
street. Itictms, Uncommercial Traveller, xlll. (Varies.) 
pot-marigold (j>ot'mar'i-g61d), . See Cakn- 
[< poting, ppr. of pote, r., + 
' 
pot-metal (pot'met'al), n. I. An alloy of cop- 
per and lead, formerly used for making fauceta 
and various large vestels employed in the arts. 
2. Same as pot-Metal ylaxg (which see, mulct 
//"--). 3. A kind of cast-iron suitable for 
milking hollow ware. 
pot-miser (pot'mi'zer), H. See miner*. 
poto, " See i>tl<>. 
potomania ii>o-to-mfi'iii-ii), . [XL., < !->>- 
In.", drinking (see initiilioii), + IIIIIHUI. < Or. 
uaviu.\ -el- niiniiii. | Dipsomania. 
