P E D 
PEC 
the older phyficians, were all thofe medicines which were 
appropriated to the relief of the diforders of the bread: or 
lungs. The epithet, however, was indefinite, inafmuch 
as it included demulcents, attenuants, aftringents, and 
even anodynes, or whatever contributed to eafe the 
breathing and cough,. It has, therefore, been difcarded. 
The more limited term, expectorants, is preferable. Cyclo¬ 
pedia. 
PEC'TORAL,/! A medicine intended againft difeafes 
of the breaft.—Being troubled with a. cough,peftorals were 
prefcribed; and he was thereby relieved. Wifeman. —A 
breaft-plate.—The twelve Hones in the pettoral of the 
high prieft. Hammond. 
PEC'TORALLY, adv. In the habit of ufing peftorals. 
—Be regular, and live peflorally. Chejlerfield. 
PEC'TOREL, J'. In our old writers, armour for the 
breaft ; a breaft-plate, or petral, for a horfe. It is men¬ 
tioned ftat. 14 Car. II. cap. 3. 
PE'CUL, or Picul, f. A weight ufed in fome parts of 
the Eaft Indies. The bahar of three peculs, or 300 
catties, in Bantam weighs 3961b. avoirdupois. The 
pecul of 100 catties at Cheriboti weighs 1251b. Dutch 
troy-weight, or 132 lb. avoirdupois. What is called the 
China pecul at Malacca weighs only 125 lb. avoirdupois. 
Rice is fold by the coyang of 40 peculs, or 5400 lb. avoir¬ 
dupois. The Siam pecul weighs 1291b. avoirdupois. 
To PEC'ULATE, v. n. To rob or defraud the public. 
—An oppreftive, irregular, capricious, unfteady, rapa¬ 
cious, and peculating, defpotifm. Burke. 
PEC'ULATE, or Peculation, f. [peculatus, Lat. pe- 
culat, Fr.] Robbery of the public ; theft of public money. 
—The popular clamours of corruption and peculate, with 
which the nation had been fo much polfelfed, were in a 
great meafure diflipated. Burnet's Hijl. of his own Times. 
—One of thefe gentlemen was accufed of the grofieft pe¬ 
culations. Burke. 
PEC'ULATOR, f. [Latin.] A robber of the public. 
PECULIAR, adj. [ peculiar!s, from peculium, Laf.] 
Appropriate; belonging to any one with exclufion of 
others.—I agree with fir William Temple, that the word 
humour is peculiar to our Engliili tongue; but not that 
the thing itfelf is peculiar to the Englilh, becaufe the 
contrary may be found in many Spanilh, Italian, and 
French,prod u6tions.6V//if.—Not common toother things. 
—The only facred hymns they are that Chriftianity hath 
peculiar unto itfelf, the other being fongs too of praife 
and of thankfgiving, but fongs wherewith as we ferve 
God, fo the Jews likewife. Hooker. —Particular; fingle. 
To join moft with peculiar, though found in Dryden, is 
improper.—Space and duration being ideas that have 
fomething very abftrufe and peculiar in their nature, the 
comparing them one with another may be of ufe for their 
illuftration. Locke. 
One peculiar nation to felefl 
From all the reft, of whom to be invok’d. Milton. 
I neither fear, nor will provoke, the war; 
My fate is Juno’s moft peculiar care. Dryden. 
PECU'LIAR, f. The property ; the exclufive pro¬ 
perty.—Revenge is fo abfolutely the peculiar of heaven, 
that no confideration whatever can empower even the belt 
men to alfume the execution of it. South. 
By tincture or refledtion, they augment 
Their finall peculiar. Milton's P. L. 
Something abfeinded from the ordinary jurifdidlion.—A 
particular parilh or church, that hath jurifdidtion within 
itfelf, and power to grant adminiftration or probate of 
wills, &c. exempt from the ordinary. Jacob. —See vol. v. 
p. 300. 
PECULIARITY, f. Particularity; fomething found 
only in one.—If an author pqffefted any diftinguiflung 
marks of ftyle or peculiaiity of thinking, there would re¬ 
main in his lealt fucceisful writings fome few tokens 
whereby todifeover him. Swift. 
To PECU'LIARIZE, v. a. To appropriate; to make 
449 
peculiar.—There was to be no more diftindlion betwixt 
the children of Abraham and other people, and no one 
land more peculiarized than another. Nelfon's Fejl. 
PECU'LIARLY, adv. Particularly; fingly.—That is 
peculiarly the effedl of the fun’s variation. Woodward. — 
In a manner not common to others.—When his danger 
encreafed, he then thought fit to pray peculiarly for him. 
Fell. 
PECU'LIARNESS, f. Appropriation.—Mankind by 
tradition had learned to accommodate the worlhip of their 
God, by appropriating fome place to that ufe ; nature 
teaching them, that the work was honoured and digni¬ 
fied by th e peculiarnej's of the place appointed for the fame. 
Me dels Rev. of God's Houfe, 1638. 
PECU'LIUM, J’. [Latin.] The ftock which-a perfon in 
the power or property of another, as a Have, minor, or 
the like, might acquire by his own induftry, without any 
advance or afliftance from his father or mailer ; but mere¬ 
ly by their permiflion. The flaves among the Romans 
frequently amaffed confiderable fums in this way. The 
word is generally taken to fignify the advanced price 
which a Have could get for his mailer’s cattle (pecus) or 
other goods, beyond the price fixed upon them by the 
mailer : this became the Have’s own property. 
In the Romilh church, peculium denotes the property 
which each monk or religious referves, and poffeffes to 
liimfelf. 
PECU'NIA,^ [Latin.] Money. But pecunia, in our 
old law-books, is fometimes ufed for cattle, and fome- 
times for other goods as well as money. In the emen¬ 
dation of the laws of Edward the Confelfor, by William I. 
it is ordered, that no viva pecunia “living money,” 
i. e. cattle, be bought or fold, except within cities, and 
that before three fufficient witnelfes. So in Domefday 
book, pecunia is frequently ufed, pro pecude; as, pafture 
ad pecuniam villa. 
PECU'NIA, a goddefs among the Romans, whom they 
invoked with a view of procuring money in abundance. 
But, as the fpecie was coined of different metals, efpe- 
cially of gold, filver, and brafs, and as one divinity would 
have too much occupation in taking care of the different 
coinages, a particular one was appointed for each. The 
three goddeffes reprefented upon fome medals of the em¬ 
peror Commodus and his fucceffors, with a pair of feales, 
the cornucopia, and a heap of money, by them, prove 
that there was at lead that number, and the antiquaries 
agree that they prefided over the coinage of three metals. 
Beiides thefe three divinities, there was alfoZEs or ABfcu- 
lanus, for the brafs coin. 
PECU'NIARY, adj. [ preuniarius, from pecunia, Lat. 
pecuniare, Fr.] Relating to money.—Their impollures 
delude not only unto pecuniary defraudations, but the 
irreparable deceit of death. Brown. —Confining of mo¬ 
ney.—Pain of infamy is a feverer punilhment upon in¬ 
genuous natures than a pecuniary mulct. Bacon. 
PECU'NIOUS, adj. [pecunieux, Fr.] Full of money. 
Not in life. 
PECU'NIUS, a deity of the ancient Pruffians, in ho¬ 
nour of whom they kept a fire lighted with oak perpe¬ 
tually burning. A prieft conftantly attended ; and, if 
the fire happened to go out by his neglect, he was in- 
llantly put to death. When it thundered, they ima¬ 
gined that their grand prieft converled with their god, 
and for that realon they fell proftrate on the earth, pray¬ 
ing for feafonable weather. James's Mil. Diet. 
FED, f. [properly pad, from pay a. Span, ftraw; See 
Pad.] A final 1 packfaddie.— A ped is much fhorter than 
a pannel, and is railed before and behind, and ferves for 
(mail burdens. JoknJ'on. —A pannel and wanty, packfad¬ 
die and ped. Tuffer. —A balket ; a hamper.—A liaIk is a 
wicker ped, wherein they ufed to carry filh. E. K. Notes 
on Spenjir's Skep. Cal. 
PED'ACE, a town of Naples, in Calabria Citra : fix 
miles fouth of Cofenza. 
PED'AGE,yi [pedagiitm, from pes, Lat. foot.] Toll, 
ora local due, exacted on perfons, goods, and carriages, 
palling 
