PLAY, is occasionally applied to a military action; as the cannon play upon the enemy, &c.
PLEBEIAN. From the Latin Plebius, a distinction made between the poor and rich, in a very early period of Rome; which tended to its ultimate destruction. The term is chiefly used in speaking of the ancient Romans, who were divided into senators, knights, plebians, and common.
PLEDGET, the same as bolster, compress, in surgery, a kind of flat tent, which is laid over a wound, to imbibe the superfluous humors that ooze out, and to keep it clean.
PLEIN du Mur, Fr. The main part or body of a wall.
PLEIN fouet, direct shot; or firing so as to hit the mark by the trajectory line.
PLIER, Fr. To give way.
Une aile qui PLIE, Fr. in a military sense, the wing of an army, which gives way. When this occurs, it behoves a wise and executive general, to send immediate support, for the whole army is endangered by the least impression on that quarter.
PLINTH, the square member which serves as a foundation to the base of a pillar.
PLOMB, Fr. literally means lead. It is sometimes used in a military sense, to signify musquet shot, &c.
A Plomb, Fr. The perpendicular position of any body or substance. Une muraille est à plomb. A wall built in a straight perpendicular direction.