<HEAD><TITLE>DICTIONARY: pi - picayunish</TITLE></HEAD>
<BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff">
<A HREF="a.dic">A</A>
<A HREF="b.dic">B</A>
<A HREF="c.dic">C</A>
<A HREF="d.dic">D</A>
<A HREF="e.dic">E</A>
<A HREF="f.dic">F</A>
<A HREF="g.dic">G</A>
<A HREF="h.dic">H</A>
<A HREF="i.dic">I</A>
<A HREF="j.dic">J</A>
<A HREF="k.dic">K</A>
<A HREF="l.dic">L</A>
<A HREF="m.dic">M</A>
<A HREF="n.dic">N</A>
<A HREF="o.dic">O</A>
<A HREF="p.dic">P</A>
<A HREF="q.dic">Q</A>
<A HREF="r.dic">R</A>
<A HREF="s.dic">S</A>
<A HREF="t.dic">T</A>
<A HREF="u.dic">U</A>
<A HREF="v.dic">V</A>
<A HREF="w.dic">W</A>
<A HREF="x.dic">X</A>
<A HREF="y.dic">Y</A>
<A HREF="z.dic">Z</A>
<P>
<A NAME="pi">
<B>pi</B> (1), noun, pl. <B>pis.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the ratio of the circumference of any circle to its diameter, usually written as the Greek symbol <I>pi</I> and equal to 3.14159+. <DD><B> 2. </B>the 16th letter of the Greek alphabet, equivalent to English <I>P, p.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="pi">
<B>pi</B> (2), noun, pl. <B>pis,</B> verb, <B>pied,</B> <B>piing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>printing types all mixed up. <DD><B> 2. </B>any confused mixture. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to mix up (type). Also, <B>pie.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="pi">
<B>pi</B> (3), adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British Informal.) pious. <BR> <I>Ex. God's grace (and I don't mean to sound pi) is what England seems to lack at the moment (Listener).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="pi">
<B>pi.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> piaster. </DL>
<A NAME="pi">
<B>PI</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>photo interpretation. <DD><B> 2. </B>principal investigator (in a scientific experiment or study). <DD><B> 3. </B>private investigator. <DD><B> 4. </B>programed instruction. </DL>
<B>pia</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a perennial herb of Polynesia, the East Indies, and surrounding areas, with a tuberous root that yields a nutritious starch, so-called South Sea arrowroot. </DL>
<B>piaffe, </B>intransitive verb, <B>piaffed,</B> <B>piaffing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> in horsemanship: <DD><B> 1. </B>to move the diagonally opposite legs, as in the trot, but without going forward, backward, or sideways. <DD><B> 2. </B>to move at a very slow trotting pace forward, backward, or sideways. </DL>
<A NAME="piaffer">
<B>piaffer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the act of piaffing. </DL>
<A NAME="piagetian">
<B>Piagetian, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget (born 1896) or his theories of child development. <BR> <I>Ex. [In] articles representative of the theoretical and empirical research derived from Piagetian theory, focus is on intellectual development of the young elementary school child (Science News).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> an advocate or supporter of Jean Piaget and his theories. <BR> <I>Ex. Quite possibly, Piagetians sometimes speculate, adolescents' fascination with their ability to visualize alternatives is what makes them so eager to test new life-styles and utopian ideals (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="pial">
<B>pial, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the pia mater. <BR> <I>Ex. the pial surface.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="piamater">
<B>pia mater,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Anatomy.) the delicate, vascular membrane which is the innermost of three membranes enveloping the brain and spinal cord. </DL>
<A NAME="pianette">
<B>pianette, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a small upright piano. <DD><B> 2. </B>a street piano. </DL>
<A NAME="pianism">
<B>pianism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> performance on the piano; technique or skill in playing the piano. <BR> <I>Ex. His pianism has refined, and he achieved beautiful tone coloring in the fourth poetical variation of the slow movement (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="pianissimo">
<B>pianissimo, </B>adjective, adverb, noun, pl. <B>-mos,</B> <B>-mi.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Music.) <DD><I>adj. </I> very soft (used as a direction). <DD><I>adv. </I> very softly. <BR> <I>Ex. We simply paid closer attention to the score. When it said pianissimo, we played pianissimo (Time).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a very soft passage or movement. <BR> <I>Ex. I especially admired the orchestra's dry, understated pianissimos (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="pianist">
<B>pianist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who plays the piano. <BR> <I>Ex. a concert pianist.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="pianiste">
<B>pianiste, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) a pianist. </DL>
<A NAME="pianistic">
<B>pianistic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of, having to do with, or characteristic of a pianist. <BR> <I>Ex. pianistic artistry.</I> adv. <B>pianistically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="piankashaw">
<B>Piankashaw, </B>noun, pl. <B>-shaw</B> or <B>-shaws.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a member of a North American Indian tribe within the Miami, formerly occupying the Wabash River valley in Indiana and Illinois. </DL>
<A NAME="piano">
<B>piano</B> (1), noun, pl. <B>-os.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large musical instrument whose tones come from many wires and range over several octaves. The wires are sounded by felt-covered hammers that are worked by striking keys on a keyboard. <BR> <I>Ex. Although the piano is the only true solo instrument among our standard concert instruments, it is the exception, rather than the rule, to find it unaccompanied in modern jazz (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="piano">
<B>piano</B> (2), adjective, adverb, noun, pl. <B>-nos.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Music.) <DD><I>adj. </I> soft; low (used as a direction). <BR> <I>Ex. In piano singing her tone remains pure (London Times).</I> <DD><I>adv. </I> softly. <DD><I>noun </I> a soft passage or movement. </DL>
<A NAME="pianoforte">
<B>pianoforte, </B>noun. <B>=piano</B> (1).</DL>
<A NAME="pianola">
<B>pianola, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a piano played by machinery; player piano. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>Pianola,</B> a trademark for a player piano. </DL>
<A NAME="pianonobile">
<B>piano nobile, </B>noun, pl. <B>piani nobili.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Italian.) the main floor of a palazzo. <BR> <I>Ex. The first floor of her palace on the Tiber had been converted into shops, and she lived on the piano nobile (John Cheever).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="piassaba">
<B>piassaba</B> or <B>piasaba, </B>noun. <B>=piassava.</B></DL>
<A NAME="piassava">
<B>piassava</B> or <B>piasava, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a stout woody fiber obtained from the leafstalks of two Brazilian palms, one of which also yields the coquilla nut, used in making coarse brooms, brushes, and ropes. <DD><B> 2. </B>a stiff, coarse fiber obtained from an African palm. <DD><B> 3. </B>one of these palms. </DL>
<A NAME="piaster">
<B>piaster</B> or <B>piastre, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any of the various coins worth of 1/100 a pound, used in Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Syria, and Turkey. <DD><B> 2. </B>the unit of money in former South Vietnam. <DD><B> 3. </B>a former Spanish silver coin worth about a dollar; peso. </DL>
<A NAME="piazza">
<B>piazza, </B>noun, pl. <B>-zas,</B> (Italian) <B>-ze.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a large porch along one or more sides of a house; veranda. <BR> <I>Ex. the low projecting eaves forming a piazza along the front, capable of being closed up in bad weather (Washington Irving).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>an open public square in Italian cities and towns. <BR> <I>Ex. Rome's II Tempo suggests that "statues be built to him and piazzas named in his honor" (Time).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(British.) an exterior covered walk with columns. </DL>
<A NAME="pib">
<B>PIB</B> (no periods) or <B>P.I.B.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> Prices and Incomes Board (of Great Britain). </DL>
<A NAME="pibroch">
<B>pibroch, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a kind of musical piece performed on the bagpipe. It is usually warlike or sad. <BR> <I>Ex. Some pipe of war Sends the bold pibroch from afar (Scott).</I> </DL>
<B>pic</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the lance used by a picador. </DL>
<A NAME="pica">
<B>pica</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>a size of type (12 point). <DD><B> b. </B>this size used as a unit of linear measure; about 1/6 inch. <DD><B> 2. </B>a size of typewriter type, larger than elite, having 10 characters to the inch (the equivalent of 12-point printing type). </DL>
<A NAME="pica">
<B>pica</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a craving for substances unfit for food, such as chalk or clay. It is a form of geophagy, sometimes occurring during pregnancy. </DL>
<A NAME="picador">
<B>picador, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>one of the horsemen who open a bullfight by lancing the bull to weaken the neck muscles so that it will charge with lowered head. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) an agile debater; witty person. </DL>
<A NAME="picard">
<B>Picard, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the dialect of French spoken in Picardy. </DL>
<A NAME="picardythird">
<B>Picardy third,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Music.) <DD><B> 1. </B>the major third in the final chord of a passage composed in the minor key. <DD><B> 2. </B>the effect that it produces. </DL>
<A NAME="picaresque">
<B>picaresque, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> dealing with rogues and their adventures. <BR> <I>Ex. "Gil Blas," "Moll Flanders," and "Anthony Adverse" are picaresque works.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a picaresque work of fiction. <BR> <I>Ex. The more lasting and important kind of novel of the open road in England and America is the modern picaresque, such as Kingsley Amis's "Lucky Jim" and Saul Bellow's "Adventures of Augie March" (Harper's).</I> adv. <B>picaresquely.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="picaro">
<B>picaro, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ros.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a rogue; knave. </DL>
<A NAME="picaroon">
<B>picaroon, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a rogue, thief, or brigand. <BR> <I>Ex. I see in thy countenance something of the pedlar--something of the picaroon (Scott).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a pirate. <BR> <I>Ex. He was somewhat of a trader, something more of a smuggler, with a considerable dash of the picaroon (Washington Irving).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a piratical or privateering ship. <BR> <I>Ex. Kennelled in the picaroon a weary band were we (Rudyard Kipling).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to act or cruise as a brigand or pirate. </DL>
<A NAME="picayune">
<B>picayune, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> small; petty; mean; paltry. <BR> <I>Ex. picayune criticism. My accent was excellent, but my vocabulary picayune (Atlantic).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>an insignificant person or thing; trifle. <DD><B> 2. </B>any coin of small value, especially the 5-cent piece. <DD><B> 3. </B>the Spanish half real (formerly used in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas). </DL>
