Peep O’Day Boys. Irish insurrectionists who broke into the houses of the people at peep of day in search of arms. They were not averse to carrying off other plunder at the same time.
Peewit. This bird is so called from its characteristic notes.
Peg Away. Originally a camping phrase. When a tent is being put up it is necessary to secure its ropes to the ground on all sides before the work can be left, lest the whole structure, caught by the wind, should be blown down.
Pekin. Chinese for “northern capital.”
Pelican State. Louisiana, from the pelican in her arms.
Pembroke. Called by the Welsh “Penbroshire,” signifying the pen or head of the bro or country; literally the Land’s End.
Pembroke College. Founded at Cambridge in 1348 by the widow of Aylmar de Valence, Earl of Pembroke.
Peninsula State. Florida.
Penitentiary. The modern name for a “Magdalen Hospital,” designed as a home or refuge for fallen women who are penitent. This term was adopted also by the Quakers of Philadelphia in 1786 for a prison.
Penknife. A small pocket-knife intended primarily for cutting quill pens. Though quills are no longer in fashion, save among lawyers and bankers, and the penknife is serviceable only for trimming one’s finger nails, its original name survives.