<B>permit</B> (1), verb, <B>-mitted,</B> <B>-mitting,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1a. </B>to allow (a person) to do something; give leave to. <BR> <I>Ex. Most parents will not permit their young children to stay up late. Permit me to explain. The farmer permitted us to swim in his pond.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to provide opportunity for; allow. <BR> <I>Ex. vents permitting the escape of gases, conditions permitting no delay.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to let (something) be done or occur; authorize. <BR> <I>Ex. The law does not permit smoking in this store. It is not permitted unto them to speak (I Corinthians 14:34).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Obsolete.) to hand over or give up. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to give leave or opportunity; allow. <BR> <I>Ex. I will go on Monday, if the weather permits.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a formal written order giving permission to do something. <BR> <I>Ex. Have you a permit to fish in this lake?</I> <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=permission.</B> <BR><I>expr. <B>permit of,</B> </I>to admit of. <BR> <I>Ex. rules that permit of no exceptions.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="permit">
<B>permit</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a large pompano, about three feet long, found in the sea from Florida to the West Indies; great pompano. </DL>
<A NAME="permitter">
<B>permitter, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who permits. </DL>
<A NAME="permittivity">
<B>permittivity, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Electricity.) dielectric constant or coefficient. </DL>
<B>permutate, </B>transitive verb, <B>-tated,</B> <B>-tating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to change; alter. <DD><B> 2. </B>to exchange; change the order of. </DL>
<A NAME="permutation">
<B>permutation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a change from one state, position, order, or form, to another; alteration. <BR> <I>Ex. A good deal of the score ... is based on various permutations of the simple interval of a fifth (New Yorker). After trying hundreds of permutations of nutrient media we hit on several which suited the microorganisms (Hutner and McLaughlin).</I> (SYN) mutation, modification. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Mathematics.) <DD><B> a. </B>a changing of the order of a set of things; arranging in different orders. <DD><B> b. </B>such an arrangement or group. The permutations of <I>a, b,</I> and <I>c</I> are <I>abc, acb, bac, bca, cab, cba.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="permutational">
<B>permutational, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with permutation or permutations. </DL>
<A NAME="permute">
<B>permute, </B>transitive verb, <B>-muted,</B> <B>-muting.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to change; alter. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Mathematics.) to change the order of (numbers, letters, or other symbols); subject to permutation. noun <B>permuter.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="pern">
<B>pern, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of various Old World hawks of moderate size that eat chiefly insects. </DL>
<A NAME="pernambucowood">
<B>Pernambuco wood, =brazilwood.</B></DL>
<A NAME="pernicious">
<B>pernicious, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>that will destroy or ruin; causing great harm or damage; injurious. <BR> <I>Ex. Most doctors agree that smoking is a pernicious habit.</I> (SYN) noxious. <DD><B> 2. </B>fatal; deadly. <DD><B> 3. </B>wicked; villainous. <BR> <I>Ex. O most pernicious woman! (Shakespeare).</I> adv. <B>perniciously.</B> noun <B>perniciousness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="perniciousanemia">
<B>pernicious anemia,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a very severe form of anemia in which the number of red corpuscles in the blood decreases. It is accompanied by paleness, fatigue, and digestive and nervous disturbances. It is caused by a deficiency of the intrinsic factor needed to utilize vitamin B-12. </DL>
<B>pernickety, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) <DD><B> 1. </B>overly fastidious; fussy. <BR> <I>Ex. It is clear that the planning, no matter how grandiose, is also much too pernickety (London Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>requiring precise and careful handling; ticklish. Also, <B>persnickety.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="pernod">
<B>Pernod</B> or <B>pernod, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a yellowish-green, anise-flavored aperitif, similar to absinthe, made in France. </DL>
<A NAME="peroneal">
<B>peroneal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Anatomy.) <DD><B> 1. </B>of or having to do with the fibula. <DD><B> 2. </B>in the region of the fibula. </DL>
<A NAME="peronism">
<B>Peronism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the beliefs, policies, and government of, or typical of, Juan Peron (1895-1974), former president of Argentina. </DL>
<B>Peronista, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Spanish.) <DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with Juan Peron or Peronism. <DD><I>noun </I> a supporter of Peronism. </DL>
<A NAME="perorate">
<B>perorate, </B>intransitive verb, <B>-rated,</B> <B>-rating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to make a formal conclusion to a speech. <DD><B> 2. </B>to speak at length; make a speech; harangue. (SYN) descant, expatiate. </DL>
<A NAME="peroration">
<B>peroration, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the last part of an oration or discussion. It sums up what has been said and is usually delivered with considerable force. <DD><B> 2. </B>a rhetorical speech or passage. <BR> <I>Ex. a fiery peroration.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B><B>=discourse.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="perorational">
<B>perorational, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with a peroration. </DL>
<A NAME="peroxidase">
<B>peroxidase, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an enzyme found in many plants, leucocytes, and bacteria, which catalyzes the transfer of oxygen from organic peroxides to another substance which is able to receive it. </DL>
<A NAME="peroxide">
<B>peroxide, </B>noun, verb, <B>-ided,</B> <B>-iding.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>an oxide of a given element or radical that contains the greatest possible, or an unusual, amount of oxygen, especially one containing an oxygen atom joined to another oxygen atom. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=hydrogen peroxide.</B> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to bleach (hair) by applying hydrogen peroxide. </DL>
<A NAME="peroxideofhydrogen">
<B>peroxide of hydrogen,</B> <B>=hydrogen peroxide.</B></DL>
<A NAME="peroxisomal">
<B>peroxisomal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the peroxisome. </DL>
<A NAME="peroxisome">
<B>peroxisome, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an organelle thought to protect cells from oxygen. Peroxisomes contain enzymes that catalyze the direct reduction of oxygen molecules through the oxidation of metabolites, such as amino acids and other organic acids. </DL>
<A NAME="peroxyacetylnitrate">
<B>peroxyacetyl nitrate,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a highly toxic compound that is the principal constituent of smog. </DL>
<A NAME="peroxyacid">
<B>peroxyacid, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an acid in which the -OH group has been replaced by the -OOH group. </DL>
<A NAME="peroxyborate">
<B>peroxyborate, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a salt of peroxyboric acid; perborate. </DL>
<A NAME="peroxyboricacid">
<B>peroxyboric acid, =perboric acid.</B></DL>
<A NAME="perp">
<B>perp, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) a person who has committed a crime. </DL>
<A NAME="perpend">
<B>perpend,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Archaic.) <DD><I>v.t. </I> to weigh mentally; ponder; consider. <BR> <I>Ex. Perpend my words (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to ponder; reflect. <BR> <I>Ex. Therefore perpend, my princess, and give ear (Shakespeare).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="perpendicular">
<B>perpendicular, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>standing straight up; upright. <BR> <I>Ex. The tree was leaning against the house and no longer perpendicular.</I> (SYN) vertical, erect. <DD><B> 2. </B>very steep; precipitous. <BR> <I>Ex. a perpendicular cliff.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>at right angles. One line is perpendicular to another when it makes a square corner with another. The floor of a room is perpendicular to the side and parallel to the ceiling. <DD><B> 4. </B>Often, <B>Perpendicular.</B> of or having to do with English Gothic architecture of the 1400's and 1500's, characterized by emphasis on vertical lines, especially in window tracery. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a perpendicular line or plane. <BR> <I>Ex. The sagging walls of the old barn were no longer on the perpendicular.</I> <DD><B> 2a. </B>an upright or erect position. <BR> <I>Ex. Springing to her accustomed perpendicular like a bowed sapling (Thomas Hardy).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a steep or precipitous slope. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) moral uprightness; rectitude. <DD><B> 4. </B>an instrument or appliance for indicating the vertical line from any point, such as a plumb rule. adv. <B>perpendicularly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="perpendicularity">
<B>perpendicularity, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the position or direction at right angles to a given line, surface, or plane; vertical or upright attitude or position. (SYN) verticality. </DL>
<A NAME="perpetrate">
<B>perpetrate, </B>verb, <B>-trated,</B> <B>-trating,</B> adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to do or commit (a crime, fraud, trick, or anything bad or foolish). <BR> <I>Ex. The two thieves perpetrated the robbery of the jewelry store.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Informal.) to do or make (something implied to be bad or atrocious). <BR> <I>Ex. to perpetrate a pun. Sir Philip induced two of his sisters to perpetrate a duet (Charlotte Bronte).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> (Obsolete.) perpetrated. noun <B>perpetration.</B> noun <B>perpetrator.</B> </DL>
