Pechblende or Pech-urane, Germ. An ore of uranium and iron, used in porcelain painting and glass, producing a handsome greenish-yellow pigment.
Pecten, Egyp. and R. (pecto, to comb). (1) A comb for the hair; among the Egyptians and Romans they were made of box-wood or ivory. (See Comb.) (2) A weaver’s comb for pressing the threads of the web firmly together. (3) A comb for carding flax or wool. (4) A reaper’s “comb,” used in several countries, especially Gaul, instead of a sickle, for plucking the ears of wheat from the stalk. (5) A haymaker’s rake, &c.
Pectinated. Having teeth like a comb.
Pectoral, Gen. (pectus, the breast). A plate forming the front of a cuirass, and thus covering the chest.
Peculium, R. Property or earnings which a slave or a filius familias was permitted to acquire and consider as his own, although in strict law it belonged to the master or father. The slave was sometimes allowed by agreement to use this peculium for the purpose of purchasing his liberty.
Pecunia, R. Money; so called from pecus, a herd of cattle, Man’s primitive medium of exchange.
Pedal. In Music, a passage where the harmony moves upon a sustained sound, which is either the dominant or the tonic of the key.
Pede-cloth, Chr. A carpet laid on the space between the altar and the rails.
Fig. 527. Pedestal of Trajan’s Column.