pusher 
the interior: as, the pitxlter of an electric signal 
or a system of electric bells, whereby an electric 
circuit in completed or broken. 3. One of the 
levers of a type-setting machine, which, when 
touched on the keyboard, dislodges and pushes 
out a type. 
push-hoe (push'ho), n. See hoe*. 
push-hole (push'hol), n. In glass-makinij, a 
hole in a flattening furnace for annealing and 
flattening plate-glass. E. H. Knit/lit. 
pushing (push'ing), p. a. [Ppr. of ;iAi, r.] 
Pressing forward in business; putting one's 
self forward ; self-assertive. 
An intriguing, pushing Irishman named White. 
Macavlay, Hist. Eng., vl. 
pushing-jack (push'ing-jak), H. An implement 
for moving a large and heavy object, such as a 
railroad-car, fora short distance. In one form it is 
a toggle-bar, one end of which Is put against a tic, ami tile 
other against the car, which is moved l>y the action of the 
lever. 
pushingly (push ' ing -li), tulr. In a pushing, 
vigorous, energetic manner. 
pushm. n. [Pen. Hind, pashm, wool, fur, hair, 
down.] Same M postal. 
pushmina (push-me'nil), n. [Pers. Hind, pasli- 
minn, woolen cloth.] Woolen cloth: used at- 
tributively: as, a pushmina shawl. The word Is 
applied to true Cashmere shawls of fine quality, as dis- 
tinguished from imitations or inferior manufactures. Also 
pathinina. 
push-pick (push'pik), n. A tool with a short 
handle and a heart-shaped blade, used in mili- 
tary mining for loosening the earth behind the 
cases of galleries preparatory to inserting new 
cases. See cut under pick 1 . 
push-pin (push/pin), n. [< pushl, >:, + obj. 
/MM 1 .] A children's play in which pins are 
pushed alternately. Also put-pin. 
Lot. Once more anil you shall go play, Tony. 
Ant. Ay, play nt push-pin, cousin. 
Mitldleton and Ktnrletj, Changeling, i. 2. 
Push-pin is a very silly sport, being nothing more than 
simply pushing one pin across another. 
Strutt, Sports and Pastimes, p. 506. 
pushti (push'ti), 11. [Pers. pushti, a support 
(for the back), cf. pushta, a bundle, load, hil- 
lock, < punlit, the back.] A square of material, 
often embroidered silk, used in Persia and the 
East to cover the wall where a sofa touches it, 
so that a person seated leans against it. 
Pushtu, PushtOO (push/to), w. [Also Piixlitn, 
Paslito ; Afghan.] The language of the Af- 
ghans: it belongs to the Iranian group of the 
Indo-European languages. 
pusilt (pu'sil), a. [= It. pusillo, < L. puxitlus, 
very little, petty, insignificant, dim. otpusiis, a 
boy, a little boy ; cf . pupux, a boy, puer, boy, 
child: see pupil*-.] Very little. 'Bacon. 
pusillanimity (pu'si-la-nim'j-ti), n. [< F. pu- 
sillanimite = Pr. pustillanimitnt = Sp. pusila- 
nimidad = Pg. piisillaiiimMade = It. piiitillaiii- 
mitti,<. 'Llj.pnsillnnimita(t-)s, faint-heartedness, 
< puisitlanimis, faint-hearted, timid: see pusil- 
lanimous.] The state or condition of being 
pusillanimous ; lack of that spirit which con- 
stitutes courage or fortitude; cowardliness; 
timidity. 
The liver white and pale, which is the badge of pusil- 
lanimity and cowardice. Shut., 2. Hen. IV., iv. S. 114. 
There may be a pusillanimity even towards Ood ; a man 
may over-clog his own conscience, and belie himself in his 
confessions, out of a distempered jealousy. 
Donne, Sermons, \i. 
= Syn. Poltroonery. See coward, n. 
pusillanimous (pu-si-lau'i-mus), a. [= F. pii- 
xillanime = Sp. pusildnime = Pg. jisillanime = 
It. pusillanime, piisillaiiimo, < LL. piixillaniinis, 
faint-hearted, timid, < L. pusillus, very little, + 
animus, mind, heart : see pusil and animus.] 1. 
Lacking strength and firmness of mind; want- 
ing in courage and fortitude; being of weak 
courage; faint-hearted; mean-spirited; cow- 
ardly. 
The dangers which he avoided with a caution almost 
pturillanimout never confused his perceptions. 
Macaulay, Machiavelli. 
Pow'r nsnrp'd 
Is weakness when oppos'd ; conscious of wrong, 
Tis pumllanimous and prone to flight. 
Cmrper, Task, v. S78. 
He was a man of incurably commonplace intellect, and 
of no character hut a hollow, blustery, pusillanimous, and 
unsound one. Cariylr, Sterling, ill. S. 
2. Proceeding from lack of courage; indicating 
timidity. 
An argument flt for great and mighty princes, . . . that, 
neither, by over-measuring then- forces, they lose them- 
selves in vain enterprises ; nor, on the "(her side, liy un- 
dervaluing them, descend to fearful and putillammnut 
counsels, 
Bacon, True Greatness of Kingdoms and Kstatesfed. 1887). 
4863 
He Is slow and full of Wariness, and not without a Mix- 
ture of Fear : I do not mean a puMlaniminu, but politic 
Fear. UoweU, Letters, I. L 10. 
= Syn. 1. Poltroon, Dastard, etc. See coward. 1 and 2. 
Weak, feeble, timorous, spiritless, effeminate, dastardly, 
pusillanimously(pii-si-lan'i-mus-li), adv. In a 
pusillanimous manner; mean-spiritedly; with 
want of courage. 
The rebels, pwriUanimouMy opposing that new torrent 
of destruction, gaze awhile. SfrT. Werfcrrt, Travels, p. 86. 
pusillanimousness (pu-si-lan'i-mus-nes), N. 
Pusillanimous character; pusillanimity. 
pusio, a. ; pi. pusiones. Same as /'./-. 
pusley (pus'li), n. See puxslu. 
pusont, M. and r. A late Middle English form 
of poixon. Catli. Aug., p. 295. 
puss (pus), . [= D. poes = LG. pus, bus (in 
comp. puskatte) = Dan. pus = Sw. dial, pus = 
Norw. puse, a cat, = Ir./>, a cat, = Gael, puis, 
IT. dim. puixin, a kitten ; similar forms are found 
in some remote tongues, and the word is sup- 
posed to have been orig. imitative, perhaps 
of the noise made by the cat when "spitting." 
Cf. Hind, fisli, fish, popularly pliix, phis, 'puss! 
puss ! ' used in calling a cat.] 1 . A cat ; a pussy 
or pussy-cat. 
Thus Itorset, purring like a thoughtful cat, 
Married, but wiser puss ne'er thought of that. 
fcyden, Essay upon Satire, 1. 179. 
2. A hare or rabbit. 
Thou shall not give Puts a hint to steal away we must 
catch her in her form. Scott, Kenilworth, xxlx. 
3. A puss-moth. 4. A pet name for a child or 
young woman. 
Gone ! what a pox had I just run her down, and is the 
little puts stole away at last.' Caiman, Jealous Wife, H. :f. 
The little /"'-- seems already to have airs enough to make 
a husband as miserable as it 's a law of nature for a quiet 
man to be when he marries a beauty. 
Oeurije Eliot, Adam Bede, ix. 
Fuss-in-the-corner, a children's game. "A certain num- 
ber of boys or girls stand singly at different distances ; 
suppose we say for instance one at each of the four cor- 
ners of a room, a fifth is then placed in the middle; the 
business of those who occupy the comers is to keep chang- 
ing their positions in a regular succession, and of the out- 
player to gain one of the corners vacated by the change 
before the successor can reach it; if done, he retains it, 
and the loser takes his place in the middle. " (Strutt, Sports 
and I'astimes, p. 4S8.) 
puss-Clover (ptls'klo'ver), . The rabbit's-foot 
or stone-clover, Trifolium arvense : so named 
from its silky heads. 
pussel (pus'el), M. The large scallop, I'ecttn 
mayellanicux. [Local, Labrador.] 
puss-gentleman (pus'jen'tl-man), . An ef- 
feminate dandy. [Rare.] 
A fine puts-gtntltman that's all perfume. 
Cmrper, Conversation, 1. 284. 
pussly (pus'li), n. A corruption of purslane. 
Also written pusley. [U.S.] 
When asked to select the most offensive among the 
worst weeds, the task becomes an exceedingly difficult 
one. Among the annuals, especially in gardens, the purs- 
lane or pudcy perhaps takes the lead. 
Amer. Sat., XXII. 778. 
puss-moth (pus'moth), M. A moth of the genus 
Centra, c. (or Dicranvra) vinula is a handsome large- 
iKxlied bonibycid moth of Europe, of a whitish color with 
black spots. The larva, which feeds on poplars and wil- 
lows, is blackish when young, pale-green when full-grown, 
and provided with two long anal projections ; it ejects an 
acrid fluid when irritated. See cut under Centra, 
pusstail (pus'tal), n. A common grass of the 
genus Setaria : so called on account of the 
bristly cylindrical spikes. More often called 
foxtail. 
pussy 1 (pus'i). M. ; pi. pussies (-iz). [< pugs + 
dim. -#.] A diminutive of puss. 
pussy 2 (pus'i), a. [< pusi + -yl.] Filled with 
pus. 
The most pussy gland ruptured during extrication. 
sWEJta^UILWk 
pussy 3 (pus'i), a. A dialectal form of pursy. 
pussy-cat (pus'i-kat), n. [= LG. pusekatte; < 
ptixxyi + cat 1 .] 1. A puss or cat. 2. The 
silky catkin of various willows, in England 
chiefly of Salix f'aprea, the common sallow. 
Also applied to the catkins of 1'npiiliix alba. 
pussy-willow (pus'i-wil'o), . A common 
American willow, >So/tj" discolor, producing in 
earliest spring catkins that are very silky when 
young. It Is a shrnb or small tree with glaucous leaves, 
growing in moist ground. The name Is also applied to 
other willows whose young catkins are silvery. Some- 
times culled glaucous \rillme, and 
put 
as, a piixtulur disease. 2. In hot. and zool., 
having low elevations like blisters. Also puxtu- 
latf, uustttloxe. 
pustulate (pus'tu-lat), v. i.; pret. and pp. pux- 
tulateil, ppr. pustulating. [< L. pustulatus, pp. 
of pustulare. blister, < pustula, a blister, pim- 
ple: see pustule.] To form pustules. 
The blanes [of Job] pustulated to afflict his body. 
Stackhmue, Hist lllble, I. 3K4. 
pustulate (pus'tu-lat), a. [< L. pustulatus, pp. : 
see the verb.] 1. In hot., same as pustular, 2. 
2. In entom., covered with small spots, or 
with slight rounded elevations legs distinct 
and regular than those of a granulated surface. 
pustulation (pus-tu-la'shon), n. [< LL.piwfH- 
latio(n-), a breaking out into pustules, < L. pus- 
tula re, pp. pustulatus, blister: see jiustitlate.] 
The formation or breaking out of pustuleg. 
pustulatous (pus'tu-la-tus), a. [< pvxtulatf + 
-otis.] Pustulate.-Purtulatous mosa, a commer- 
clal name of certain lichens of the genera l.rcaiumi and 
I'lirnifliii, used in the preparation of archil. Lindsav. 
British Lichens. 
pustule (pus'tul), n. [= F. pustule = Sp. pus- 
tula = Pg. pustula = It. pustula, jiustola, < L. 
pustula, a blister, pimple, pustule ; cf . pusula, 
a bubble, blister, pimple; perhaps akin to Or. 
In his dreams he hunts tut pussy-irilltnr*, as he did when 
a boy. Harper ' Mag., LXXVII. 924 
pustular (pus'tu-lar). (i. [< pits/ill/- + -ftr'3.] 
1. Of the nature of n pustule: proceeding from 
pustules, or characterized by their presein-e : 
$vaa)i<;, tyvaa^Mf, a bladder: see plnjsalis.] 1. 
In med., a small inflammatory tumor contain- 
ing pus; a small pimple containing pus. 2. 
In hot., a slight elevation like a pimple or little 
blister. 3. In zoiil.: (a) A small rounded ele- 
vation of surface, like a blister; a papule or 
pimple. (6) A spot of color larger than a dot. 
and suggestive of a blister Malignant pustule, 
a pustule forming the initial lesion of anthrax. See waliy- 
nant anthrax, under anthrax. Pustules of the sea, 
sailors' name of sessile barnacles or acorn-shells. Also 
called tfa-thnrnt. 
pustuliform (pus'tu-li-form), a. [< L. piixtula, 
a blister, pustule, + forma, form.] In but. anil 
:ool., having the form of a pustule. 
pustulocrustaceous (pus-tu-lo-krus-ta'shms). 
a. [< L. pustula, a blister, pustule, + rruxta. 
crust: see eruxtareoiix.] Pertaining to pus- 
tules which, discharging, form more or less ex- 
tensive crusts ; having or characterized by such 
pustules. 
pUStulose (pus'tu-los), a. [< L. pustulomut : 
see pustulous.] In but., same axjiustular, 2. 
pustulous (pns'Ju-lus), a. [= F. pttxttileux = 
Pr. puxtulox = I'g.pustiiloso, <,L.piixtuloxnx,t\\ 
of pustules, < pustula, a blister, pustule : see 
pustule.] Full of or covered with pustules ; 
resembling a pustule or pustules ; pustular. 
put 1 (put), r. ; pret. and pp. put, ppr. putting. 
[Formerly also putt (did. pit); < ME. putte'n, 
puten, a secondary form or variant otpoten, < 
AK.potitni, push, thrust; cf. Dan. jmtle (< E. T), 
put; prob. of Celtic origin: < W. ptetio = 
Com.jioot =Gael. put, push, thrust. Cf.potr.] 
1. trans. 1. To push; thrust: literally or figura- 
tively. 
Ther as the mene peple were fledde In to caves for soc 
our, the! putt in fler, and brent hem ther-ynne. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.\ il. )B6. 
Seem you but sorry for what you haue done. 
And straight shelejml the finger in the eye, 
With comfort now, since it cannot be helpt. 
lleyirood, 1 Edw. IV. (Works, ed. Pearson, 1874, I. 5). 
2. Tocast; throw; particularly, to throw with 
an upward and forward motion of the arm : as, 
to put the stone ; to put the shot. Compare 
putt. [In this sense pronounced put in Scot- 
land.] 
In the square are wooden benches for looking on at the 
tossing of the caber, pttttiwi the stone, and other High 
land games. W. Black, In Far Lochaber, 11. 
The sports will include a 100-yard dash, running broad 
jump. 220 yard hurdle (low), puttiny sixteen-pound shot, 
running high jump, and a one-mile run. 
New York Tribune, May 11, 1890. 
3. To drive; impel; force, either literally or fig- 
uratively; hence, to oblige ; constrain; compel. 
A-bove idle other was Sir Gawein contended, ffor 
thourgh his proweste the! were putte bakke and chaced 
to the town. Merlin (E. E. T. 8.), IIL 460. 
Rashly I thought her false, and put her from me. 
Fletcher, Loyal Subject, T. 2. 
Sheeput him soone after to his choyce. whether he would 
enioy what he had seeue, and the kingdoinc fnrdnwiie. 
without other ioynture then Oandaules blond, or would 
there hlmselfe be slalne. Purchat, Pilgrimage, p. 330. 
He espied two ships more riding by them, put in by the 
storm. Capt. John Smith, True Travel 
That triek 
Was well ptrt home. 
B. Jonsnn, Sejanus, II. 2. 
They all agreed to censure him, and put him from that 
employment. Winthmp, Hist. New England, I. .17:,. 
