pistosaurus

[Gr. pistos =true, and sauros Palæont.: A genus of Tria ic fo il reptiles, order Plesiosaur i a (q. v.). pi-sŭm, 8. [Lat.=a pea.] Bot.: A genus of Viciee. Style triangular, keeled above, sub falcate and geniculate at the base. Pisum arvense , the Gray or Field-pea, a native of Greece and the Levant, is largely cultivated in India during the cold weather. [POULTS.] It may be the origin of the Garden Pea, Pisum sativum . [PEA.] Pisum maritimum is now Lathyrus mariti. mus. pit, *pitte, *put, *putte, *pyt, *pytte, s . [A. S. pyt , pytt , from Lat. puteus a well; cogn. with Dut. put ; Icel. pittr ; Fr. puits a well.] 1. A hole in the ground, more or le deep, and either natural or made by digging; as, (1) the shaft of a mine; (2) a vat for tanning; (3) a cavity in which charcoal is piled for burning; (4) an excavation in the soil for protecting plants, generally covered with a frame. 2. A deep or sunken place; an aby ; spec if., with the definite article, the grave, the place of the dead or of evil spirits. ( Psalm xxviii. 1.) 3. A deep hidden hole in the ground for catching wild beasts. 4. A hollow or depre ion in the flesh; as, the arm- pit , the pit of the stomach, the pits left by a disease, as small-pox. 5. The middle part of a theater or the floor of the house, somewhat below the level of the stage. It was formerly immediately behind the orchestra, between which and the pit the stalls are now placed. 6. The occupants of such part of a theater. "In those days pit and gallery alike were masters of the occasion." -London Daily Telegraph. 7. An inclosed space or area in which cocks or dogs are set to fight, or where dogs are trained to kill rats. "What though her chamber be the very pit Where fight the prime cocks of the game for wit." Ben Jonson: An Epigram. 8. The stone of a fruit, as of a cherry or a plum. (1) Pumping - pit: A shaft in which the pumps and hydraulic machinery work. "'Tis but the pitapat of two young hearts." Dryden: Epilogue to Tamer lane. pit-a-păt, v. i. [PITAPAT, adv .] To tread or step quickly. (Sylvester: Magnificence, 1,137.) pit-cäir-na, s . [Named after W. Pitcairn, a London physician.] Bot.: A handsome genus of Bromelia cee, with scarlet, flame-colored, purple, yellow, or white flowers. Natives of the hotter parts of this country. Many are cultivated in greenhouses. pitch (1), *pich, *pitche, *pych, *pik, s . [A. S. pic , from Lat. pix (gen it. pic is )=pitch: Ger. pech ; Gr. pi a ; Lith. pikhis ; Ital. pece ; Sp. pez ; Dut. pik ; Dan, beeg, beg ; Icel. bik ; Ir. pic ; Wel.pyg; Fr. poix .] Chem.: A term applied to a variety of resinous substance of a dark color and brilliant luster, obtained from the various kinds of tar produced in the destructive distillation of wood, coal, . Pitch is extensively used in shipbuilding, ., for closing up seams, also for keeping wood from speedy decay, or iron railings from rusting when exposed to the weather. Pitch-blende, Pitch-ore = Uraninite; Pitch copper Chrysocolla ; Pitch-garnet Colophonite .