Pit

pit, n. a hole in the earth: a place whence minerals are dug: the bottomle pit: the grave: the abode of evil spirits: a hole used as a trap for wild beasts: the hollow of the stomach, or that under the arm at the shoulder: the indentation left by smallpox: the ground-floor of a theatre: an enclosure in which cocks fight: the shaft of a mine.— v.t. to mark with little hollows: to lay in a pit: to set in competition:— pr.p. pit′ting; pa.t. and pa.p. pit′ted. — ns. Pit′-coal , coal dug from a pit—not charcoal ; Pit′-frame , the framework round a mine-shaft; Pit′-head , the ground at the mouth of a pit, and the machinery, ., on it; Pit′man , a man who works in a coal-pit or a saw-pit, esp. the man who works the pumping machinery in the shaft of a mine: ( mach. ) a rod connecting a rotary with a reciprocating part.— adj. Pit′ted , marked with small pits.— ns. Pit′ting , the act of digging, or of placing in, a pit: a group of pit-marks: a corrosion of the inside of steam-boilers, .; Pit′-vill′age , a group of miners' houses near a pit. [A.S. pyt , pytt —L. puteus , a well.]