Pemmican, Pemican, pem′i-kan, n. a North American Indian preparation, consisting of lean venison, dried, pounded, and pressed into cakes, now made of beef and used in Arctic expeditions, &c.
Pemphigus, pem′fi-gus, n. an affection of the skin with pustules.—adj. Pem′phigoid. [Gr.]
Pen, pen, v.t. to shut up: to confine in a small enclosure:—pr.p. pen′ning; pa.t. and pa.p. penned or pent.—n. a small enclosure: a fold for animals: a coop. [A.S. pennan, to shut up, in comp. on pennan, to unpen. Prop. to fasten with a pin.]
Pen, pen, n. one of the large feathers of the wing of a bird: an instrument used for writing, formerly made of the feather of a bird, but now of steel, &c.: style of writing: a female swan—opp. to Cob.—v.t. to write, to commit to paper:—pr.p. pen′ning; pa.t. and pa.p. penned.—adj. Pen′-and-ink′, written, literary: executed with pen and ink, as a drawing.—ns. Pen′-case, a holder for a pen or pens; Pen′craft, skill in penmanship: the art of composition; Pen′-driv′er, a clerk; Pen′ful, what one can write with one dip of ink; Pen′-hold′er, a holder for pens or nibs; Pen′-wī′per, a piece of cloth, leather, &c. for wiping pens after use; Pen′-wom′an, a female writer. [O. Fr. penne—L. penna, a feather.]
Penal, pē′nal, adj. pertaining to, incurring, or constituting punishment: used for punishment.—v.t. Pē′nalise, to lay under penalty.—adv. Pē′nally.—Penal laws, laws prohibiting certain actions under penalties; Penal servitude, hard labour in a prison as a punishment for crime—introduced in England in 1853 instead of transportation; Penal statute, a statute imposing a penalty or punishment for crime. [Fr.,—L. pœnalis—pœna, Gr. poinē, punishment.]
Penalty, pen′al-ti, n. punishment: suffering in person or property for wrong-doing or for breach of a law: a fine or loss which a person agrees to pay or bear in case of his non-fulfilment of some undertaking: a fine.—Under penalty of, so as to suffer, or (after a negative) without suffering the punishment of.
Penance, pen′ans, n. repentance: external acts performed to manifest sorrow for sin, to seek to atone for the sin and to avert the punishment which, even after the guilt has been remitted, may still remain due to the offence—also the sacrament by which absolution is conveyed (involving contrition, confession, and satisfaction): any instrument of self-punishment.—v.t. to impose penance on: to punish. [O. Fr.; cf. Penitence.]
Penang-lawyer, pe-nang′-law′yėr, n. a walking-stick made from the stem of a Penang palm. [Prob. a corr. of Penang liyar, the wild areca.]
Penannular, pē-nan′ū-lar, adj. shaped almost like a ring. [L. pæna, almost, annularis, annular.]
Penates, pē-nā′tēs, n.pl. the household gods of ancient Rome who presided over and were worshipped by each family. [L., from root pen- in L. penitus, within, penetralia, the inner part of anything.]