<B>pH,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a symbol used (with a number) to indicate acidity or alkalinity in testing soils for suitability to specific crops, in analyzing body secretions, and in various industrial applications. It represents the relative concentration of hydrogen ions (in gram atoms per liter) in a given solution, usually determined by the use of a substance (indicator) known to change color at a certain concentration. The pH common scale ranges from 0 to 14, pH7 (the hydrogen-ion concentration, (10 to the power of minus 7) or .0000001, in pure water) being taken as neutral, 6 to 0 increasingly acid, and 8 to 14 increasingly alkaline. Most soils range between pH3 and pH10. </DL>
<B>Ph</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> (Chemistry.) phenyl. </DL>
<A NAME="ph">
<B>P.H.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> Purple Heart. </DL>
<A NAME="pha">
<B>PHA</B> (no periods) or <B>P.H.A.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> Public Housing Administration. </DL>
<A NAME="phaedra">
<B>Phaedra, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Greek Legend.) the daughter of Minos and Pasiphae, and wife of Theseus, king of Athens. She loved her stepson Hippolytus, but caused his death by falsely accusing him. </DL>
<B>Phaethon, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Greek and Roman Mythology.) the son of Helios and Clymene, who tried for one day to drive the sun, his father's chariot. He so nearly set the earth on fire that Zeus had to strike him dead with a thunderbolt. </DL>
<A NAME="phaeton">
<B>phaeton, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a lightweight, four-wheeled carriage with or without a top. It is pulled by one or two horses, and has one or two seats. <DD><B> 2. </B>an open automobile similar to a touring car. <DD><B> 3. </B>the body of such an automobile. </DL>
<A NAME="phage">
<B>phage, </B>noun. =bacteriophage.</DL>
<A NAME="phage">
<B>-phage,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (combining form.) that eats or devours. <BR> <I>Ex. Bacteriophage = that devours bacteria.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="phagedena">
<B>phagedena</B> or <B>phagedaena, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Medicine.) <DD><B> 1. </B>an ulcer or ulceration that spreads rapidly and destroys the surrounding parts. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=gangrene.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="phagedenic">
<B>phagedenic</B> or <B>phagedaenic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Medicine.) <DD><B> 1. </B>like phagedena. <DD><B> 2. </B>characterized by phagedena. <DD><B> 3. </B>affected with phagedena. </DL>
<A NAME="phagocyte">
<B>phagocyte, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a cell, such as a white blood cell, capable of absorbing and destroying waste or harmful material, such as disease-producing bacteria. Phagocytes occur in body fluids and tissues. <BR> <I>Ex. All through [Fleming's] life he never abandoned the search for a substance which would kill the microbes without weakening the phagocytes (Andre Maurois).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="phagocytic">
<B>phagocytic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having to do with a phagocyte or phagocytes. <DD><B> 2. </B>having the nature of function of a phagocyte. </DL>
<A NAME="phagocyticindex">
<B>phagocytic index,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the average number of bacteria destroyed by each phagocyte during an incubation of phagocytes, bacteria, and serum. </DL>
<A NAME="phagocytize">
<B>phagocytize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (of phagocytes) to absorb or destroy (foreign matter or bacteria). </DL>
<A NAME="phagocytosis">
<B>phagocytosis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the absorption or destruction of foreign matter or bacteria by a phagocyte or phagocytes. </DL>
<A NAME="phagocytotic">
<B>phagocytotic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with phagocytosis. </DL>
<A NAME="phagolysis">
<B>phagolysis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the dissolution or destruction of phagocytes. </DL>
<A NAME="phagosome">
<B>phagosome, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a pouchlike structure formed by a cell membrane to hold bacteria and other foreign substances which the cell has ingested. <BR> <I>Ex. Lysosome and invader, now packaged in a phagosome, are drawn together and fuse (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="phainopepla">
<B>phainopepla, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a bird of the southwestern United States and Mexico, related to the waxwings. It has shiny black plumage and a pointed crest. </DL>
<A NAME="phalaenopsis">
<B>phalaenopsis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a group of orchids native to India, Malaya, and the Philippines, used in bridal bouquets and for other decorative purposes. </DL>
<A NAME="phalangal">
<B>phalangal, </B>adjective. =phalangeal.</DL>
<A NAME="phalange">
<B>phalange, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Anatomy.) any bone of the fingers or toes; phalanx. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Botany.) a bundle of stamens united by their filaments; phalanx. </DL>
<A NAME="phalangeal">
<B>phalangeal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Anatomy.) <DD><B> 1. </B>of or having to do with a phalanx or phalanges. <DD><B> 2. </B>like a phalanx or phalanges. </DL>
<A NAME="phalanger">
<B>phalanger, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of several general of comparatively small, tree-climbing mammals of Australia and New Guinea. They hunt chiefly at night, carry their young in a pouch, and have long tails. </DL>
<A NAME="phalanges">
<B>phalanges, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a plural of <B>phalanx.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="phalangid">
<B>phalangid, </B>noun. =daddy longlegs.</DL>
<A NAME="phalangist">
<B>Phalangist, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a member of a right-wing Christian political and military group in Lebanon, modeled after the Spanish Falangists. <BR> <I>Ex. Rightist forces in the capital, composed mostly of Phalangists, ... attacked two Moslem slum areas (Time).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> of or belonging to this group. </DL>
<A NAME="phalansterian">
<B>phalansterian, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or having to do with a phalanstery. <DD><B> 2. </B>of or having to do with phalansterianism. <DD><I>noun </I><B>1. </B>a member of a phalanstery. <DD><B> 2. </B>a supporter of phalansterianism; Fourierist. </DL>
<A NAME="phalansterianism">
<B>phalansterianism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the system of phalansteries; Fourierism. </DL>
<B>phalanstery, </B>noun, pl. <B>-steries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>in Fourierism: <DD><B> a. </B>the building or set of buildings occupied by a phalanx. <DD><B> b. </B>a socialistic community; phalanx. <DD><B> 2a. </B>any similar association of persons. <DD><B> b. </B>the building or buildings occupied by them. </DL>
<A NAME="phalanx">
<B>phalanx, </B>noun, pl. <B>-lanxes</B> or <B>-langes.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>(in ancient Greece), a special battle formation of infantry fighting in close ranks with their shields joined and long spears overlapping each other. <DD><B> b. </B>any body of troops in close array. <BR> <I>Ex. Anon they [the demons] move in perfect phalanx (Milton).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a compact or closely massed body of persons, animals, or things. <BR> <I>Ex. A phalanx of sheep blocked the road.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) a number of persons united for a common purpose. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Anatomy.) any bone in the fingers or toes. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Botany.) a bundle of stamens united by their filaments in plants with two or more groups of stamens. <DD><B> 6. </B>(in Fourierism) a community of about 1,600 persons living in a phalanstery as one family, with property held in common. <BR><I>expr. <B>in phalanx,</B> </I>in combination; unitedly; solidly. <BR> <I>Ex. On this occasion, the crown lawyers opposed in phalanx (James Mill).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="phalarope">
<B>phalarope, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of three species of small swimming and wading birds that breed in the Northern Hemisphere, resembling the sandpipers but with lobate toes. The females are larger and more brightly colored than the males, which brood the eggs. </DL>
<A NAME="phallic">
<B>phallic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with a phallus or phallicism; symbolic of male generative power. adv. <B>phallically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="phallicism">
<B>phallicism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> worship of the phallus or of the organs of sex as symbols of the generative power in nature. </DL>
<A NAME="phallocrat">
<B>phallocrat, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a believer in the superiority of the male sex; male chauvinist. adj. <B>phallocratic.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="phallus">
<B>phallus, </B>noun, pl. <B>phalli.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Anatomy.) <DD><B> a. </B>the penis or clitoris. <DD><B> b. </B>the embryonic structure from which either develops. <DD><B> 2. </B>an image or model of the penis, symbolizing the generative power of nature, venerated and carried in solemn procession in Bacchic and other ceremonies, and commonly worn as part of his costume by any actor in the Old Comedy, in ancient Greece. </DL>
<A NAME="phanariot">
<B>Phanariot, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> one of a class of Greeks of Constantinople who, after the Turkish conquest, held important official positions under the Turks. </DL>
<A NAME="phanerogam">
<B>phanerogam, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Botany.) an old term for plants that produce seeds. They are now called spermatophytes. </DL>
<A NAME="phanerogamic">
<B>phanerogamic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the phanerogams; resembling phanerogams. </DL>
<B>phanerophyte, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a perennial plant whose buds are high enough above the ground to project freely into the air. </DL>
<A NAME="phanerozoic">
<B>Phanerozoic, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with the geological eon comprising the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras. <DD><I>noun </I> the Phanerozoic eon. <BR> <I>Ex. At most times during the Phanerozoic, the sea covered much more of the continents than it does at present (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="phantascope">
<B>phantascope, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the first film projector of life-size motion pictures, developed between 1891 and 1894. </DL>
