PORBEAGLE
Por"bea`gle, n. (Zoöl.)
Defn: A species of shark (Lamna cornubica), about eight feet long, having a pointed nose and a crescent-shaped tail; — called also mackerel shark. [Written also probeagle.]
PORCATE
Por"cate, a. Etym: [L. porca a ridge between two furrows.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: Having grooves or furrows broader than the intervening ridges; furrowed.
PORCELAIN
Por"ce*lain, n. (Bot.)
Defn: Purslain. [Obs.]
PORCELAIN Por"ce*lain (277), n. Etym: [F. porcelaine, It. porcellana, orig., the porcelain shell, or Venus shell (Cypræa porcellana), from a dim. fr. L. porcus pig, probably from the resemblance of the shell in shape to a pig's back. Porcelain was called after this shell, either on account of its smoothness and whiteness, or because it was believed to be made from it. See Pork.]
Defn: A fine translucent or semitransculent kind of earthenware, made first in China and Japan, but now also in Europe and America; — called also China, or China ware. Porcelain, by being pure, is apt to break. Dryden. Ivory porcelain, porcelain with a surface like ivory, produced by depolishing. See Depolishing. — Porcelain clay. See under Clay. — Porcelain crab (Zoöl.), any crab of the genus Porcellana and allied genera (family Porcellanidæ). They have a smooth, polished carapace. — Porcelain jasper. (Min.) See Porcelanite. — Porcelain printing, the transferring of an impression of an engraving to porcelain. — Porcelain shell (Zoöl.), a cowry.
PORCELAINIZED
Por"ce*lain*ized, a. (Geol.)
Defn: Baked like potter's lay; — applied to clay shales that have been converted by heat into a substance resembling porcelain.