pet rost ear in, petrostearine (pet rost ear in)

[ -ine2.] Mineral stearin; ozocerite. petrous (pet'rus or pē'trus), a . [= F. pétreux (OF. pierreux , F. pierreux ) = Pg. It. petroso , petrosus , rocky, petra , πέτρα , rock, πέτρος , a stone: see pier .] 1. Like stone in hardne ; stony; rocky.-2. Pertaining to the part of the temporal bone so called; petrosal: as, a petrous vein or sinus; a petrous ganglion. - Petrous ganglion. See ganglion. - Petrous part of the temporal bone, in human an at., that part which contains the internal auditory organs: so named from its dense structure. It forms a three-sided pyramid, with its base at the mouth of the external auditory meatus, and its apex directed obliquely forward and inward, received in the notch be tween the occipital and sphenoid bones. Of its three sur Fearle the Petticoat contemns his Frowns; The Hoop secures whatever it surrounds. Prior , Epilogue to Mrs. Manley's Lucius. Disarmed-defied by a petticoat . What! afraid of a woman? W. H. Ains worth , Rookwood, ii. 6. ( Latham . ) 4. A garment worn by fishermen in warm weather, made of oilcloth or coarse canvas, very wide and descending to the calf of the leg, generally with an insertion for each leg, but sometimes like a woman's petticoat, with no intersecting seam, and worn over the common dre . -5. In archery , the ground of a target, beyond the white. Also called spoon. Encyc. Brit., II. 378.-6. The depending skirt or inverted cup-shaped part of an insulator for supporting telegraph-lines, the function of which is to protect the stem from rain. - Balmoral petticoat. See balmoral . II. a . Of or pertaining to petticoats; feminine; female: as, petticoat influence. [Humorous.] - Petticoat government, female govern ment, either political or domestic; female home rule.