peise, paise, weight, heaviness; ‘A stone of such a paise’, Chapman, tr. Iliad, xii. 167; peaze, a heavy blow, Spenser, F. Q. iii. 2. 20; to weigh, ‘To weigh and peise the mountains’, Holland, Amm. Marcell. 28 (NED.); to estimate the weight of a thing, Dekker, Old Fortunatus, ii. 1 (Soldan); to poise, ‘The workeman . . . Did peise his bodie on his wings’, Golding, tr. Metam. viii. 188; ‘Ne was it (the island) paysd Amid the ocean waves’, Spenser, F. Q., ii. 10. 5; to weigh down, Richard III, v. 3. 100; Middleton, Family of Love, ii. 4 (Maria); to put a weight upon, so as to retard, ‘ ’Tis to peize the time’, Merch. Ven. iii. 2. 22. ME. peisen, to weigh: ‘I wolde that my synnes . . . weren peisid, in a balaunce’ (Wyclif, Job vi. 2); Anglo-F. peise, pres. s. of peser; to weigh, to ponder, think (Ch. Rol. 1279); L. pensare, to weigh, ponder.
pelamis, a young tunny-fish. Middleton, Game at Chess, v. 3. 11. L. pelamys; Gk. πηλαμύς.
peld, ‘peeled’, stripped; ‘Of all thing bare and peld’, Phaer, Aeneid i, 599 (L. egenos). See [peeled].
pelican, a retort with a fine end, like a bird’s beak. B. Jonson, Alchem. ii. 1 (Face); iii. 2 (Subtle); iv. 3 (Face).
pelowre, a plunderer, Morte Arthur, leaf 245, back, 31; bk. x, c. 48. ME. pelowre, thiefe, ‘appellator’ (Prompt. EETS. 331).
pelt, a light shield. Fisher, True Trojans, ii. 5 (Belinus). L. pelta, Gk. πέλτη, a leathern shield.
pelt, to strike a bargain; ‘I found the people nothing prest [not at all ready] to pelt’, Mirror for Mag., Severus, st. 16. Perhaps the same word as pelt, to strike. See NED.
pelting, petty, trashy, contemptible. Richard III, ii. 1. 60; Meas. for M. ii. 2. 112; Two Noble Kinsmen, ii. 2. 328.
peltish, irritable, ill-tempered; ‘Peltish wasps’, Herrick, Oberon’s Palace, 17. Cp. ‘pelt’, in prov. use for a fit of ill-temper, see EDD. (s.v. Pelt, sb.5 8).
penner, a pen-case, case for holding pens. Two Noble Kinsmen, iii. 5. 139. A Scottish word for a tin cylinder used for holding pens, pencils, &c. (EDD.). ME. pennere, ‘calamarium’ (Prompt.).