PERMITTANCE given by officers of the customs or excise, or by other competent authority, for conveying spirits, wine, tea, coffee, &c., from one place to another. Permittance (pèr-mit'ans), n. Allowance; forbearance of prohibition; permission. This unclean permittance defeats the sacred and glorious end both of the moral and judicial law. Milton. Permittee (per-mit-te'), n. One to whom anything is permitted; one to whom a permit is granted. Permitter (per-mit'èr), n. One who permits. The permitter, or not a hinderer of sin. Edwards. Permix (per-miks'), v. t. To mix together; to mingle. Permixtion (pèr-miks'chon), n. A mixing or state of being mixed. Brerewood. Permutable (per-mu'ta-bl), a. Capable of being permuted; exchangeable. Permutableness (per-mu'ta-bl-nes), n. State of being permutable. Permutably (per-mu'ta-bli), adv. In a permutable manner; by interchange. Permutation (pèr-mu-ta'shon), n. [L. permutatio. See PERMUTE.] 1. Intermutation; concurrent changes; mutual change; interchange. The intolerable distresses brought upon them by the violent convulsions and permutations that have been made in property. Burke.-2. In math. change or different combination of any number of quantities. Permutations differ from combinations in this, that the latter has no reference to the order in which the quantities are combined; whereas in the former this order is considered, and consequently the number of permutations always exceeds the number of combinations. If n represent the number of quantities, then the number of permutations that can be formed out of them, taking two by two together, is n x(n-1); taken three and three together, is n x (n-1) x (n-2), and so on. See COMBINATION.-Permutation lock, a lock in which the moving parts are capable of transposition, so that being arranged in any concerted order, it becomes necessary before shooting the bolt to arrange the tumblers. E. H. Knight. Permute (pèr- müt'), v. t. pret. & pp. permuted; ppr. permuting. [L. permuto-prefix per, and muto, to change.] 1. To interchange.-2. To exchange; to barter. Hackluyt. Permutert (per-müt'èr), n. One that exchanges. Huloet. Pern (pern), n. Pernis apivorus, the honeybuzzard. Pernt (pèrn), v.t. To turn to profit; to sell. Pernicious (per-nish'us), a. [L. perniciosus, from pernicies, destruction, from perneco, to kill-per, thoroughly, and neco, to kill, ner, necis, death.] 1. Having the quality of killing, destroying, or injuring; very injurious or mischievous; destructive; as, a habit pernicious to health. Milton. Every eye Glared lightning, and shot forth pernicious fire. 2. Harbouring evil designs or intentions; evil-hearted; malicious; wicked. "This pernicious caitiff deputy.' Shak. 'His pernicious soul.' Shak.-SYN. Destructive, ruinous, deadly, noxious, injurious, hurtful, mischievous. Pernicious (pêr-nish'us), a. [L. pernix, pernicis, swift, nimble.] Quick. 415 Precise in trifles; fastidious; very trim in dress. [Scotch.] Pernio (per'ni-o), n. [L., from Gr. perna, the heel.] A chilblain. Dun glison. Pernis (pernis), n. A genus of birds belonging to the hawk family. P.apivorus (the honeybuzzard) is the only British species. Pernoctaliant (per-nok-ta'li-an), n. [See below.] One who watches or keeps awake all night. Hook. Pernoctation (per-nok-ta'shon), n. [L. pernoctatio, from pernocto, to pass the nightper, through, and nox, night.] The act of passing the whole night; a remaining all night. 'Pernoctations or abodes in prayers.' Jer. Taylor. Pernor (pèr'nor), n. [Norm. perner, a corrupted form of Fr. prendre, to take.] law, he who receives profits of lands, &c. Perogue (pe-rog), n. Same as Pirogue. In the Peronate (per'ō-nāt), a. [L. peronatus, rough-booted, from pero, peronis, a kind of rough boot.] In bot. a term applied to the stipes of fungaceous plants, which is thickly laid over with a woolly substance ending in a sort of meal. Perone (per'o-ne), n. [Gr. perone, a brooch.] In anat. the fibula or small bone of the leg, so called from its resemblance to the pin of a brooch. Peroneal (per-o-ne'al), a. [See above.] Pertaining to the fibula; as, peroneal muscles. Perorate (pero-rat), v.i. To make a peroration; also, to speechify; to spout. Excited crowds filled Hyde Park, and infuriated persons perorated from chairs. Sat. Rev. Peroration (per-o-ra'shon), n. [L. peroratio, from peroro, to speak from beginning to end-per, through, and oro, to speak, to pray] The concluding part of an oration, in which the speaker recapitulates the principal points of his discourse or argument, and urges them with greater earnestness and force, with a view to make a deep impression on his hearers. Hence, the conclusion of a speech, however constructed. His enthusiasm kindles as he advances, and when he arrives at his peroration, it is in full blaze. Burke. Peroxide (pêr-oksid), n. That oxide of a given base which contains the greatest quantity of oxygen. Peroxidize (per-oks'id-iz), v. t. pret. & pp. peroxidized; ppr. peroxidizing. To oxidize to the utmost degree. Perpend (per-pend'), v.t. [L. perpendo, to weigh carefully-per, intens., and pendo, to cause to hang down, to weigh.] To weigh in the mind; to consider attentively. Oft and well Have I prepended this, devising ways For flight, and schemes of plausible disguise. Southey. Perpend, Perpender (per pend, per-pend'ér), n. [Fr. parpaing, parpain, from par, through, and pan, the side of a wall.] In arch. a long stone reaching through the thickness of a wall so as to be visible on both sides, and therefore wrought and smoothed at the ends. Now usually called a Bond-stone, Bonder, or Through, also Perbend, Perpend-stone, Perpent-stone.-Perpend or perpyn wall, a wall formed of perpends, that is, of ashlar stones, each stone reaching from side to side.-Keeping the perpends, in brickwork, a phrase used to denote the occurrence of the vertical joints over each other. Perpendiclet (pér-pen'di-kl), n. [Fr. perpendicule, from L. perpendiculum.] Something hanging down in a direct line; a plumb-line. Perpendicular (per-pen-dik'u-ler), a. [Fr. perpendiculaire; L. perpendicularis, from perpendiculum, a plumb-line-per, intens., and pendeo, to hang, to hang down. See PENDANT.] 1. Perfectly upright or vertical; extending in a straight line from any point toward the centre of the earth, or at right angles with the plane of the horizon.-2. In geom. falling directly on a line or surface at right angles; at right angles to a given line or surface. A straight line is said to be perpendicular to a curve, when it cuts the curve in a point where another straight line PERPETRATION to which it is perpendicular makes a tangent with the curve. In this case the perpendicular is usually called a normal to the Perpendicular Style, Abbey Church, Bath curve.-Perpendicular style, in arch. the florid or Tudor style of Gothic. The window affords the most striking character of this style; and the eye at once distinguishes it from any other by observing that perpendicular lines prevail throughout all the tracery. This style of Gothic was peculiar to England. The building shown in the annexed cut is an excellent specimen of this style.-Perpendicular lift, a contrivance on canals for passing boats from one level to another. Perpendicular (per-pen-dik'ü-lèr), n. 1. A line at right angles to the plane of the horizon; a vertical line or any body standing in that direction.-2. In geom. a line falling at right angles on another line or on a plane, D A B or making equal angles with it on each side. Thus if the straight line A B, falling on the straight line DC, makes the angles ABC, ABD equal to one another, AB is called a perpendicular to DO. -0 3. In gun. a small instrument for finding the centre line of a piece of ordnance, in the operation of pointing it at an object. Perpendicularity (per-pen-dik'u-lar"i-ti), n. The state of being perpendicular. "The perpendicularity of these lines.' Watts. Perpendicularly (per-pen-dik'ü-lêr-li), adv. In a perpendicular manner; so as to be perpendicular; vertically. Perpension t (per-pen'shon), n. [From L. perpendo, perpensum, to weigh carefully. See PERPEND.] Consideration. Unto reasonable perpensions it hath no place in some sciences. Sir T. Browne. Considera Perpensity (per-pen'si-ti), n. tion; a pondering. Swift. Perpent-stone (per'pent-ston), n. In arch. see PERPEND. Perpessiont (per-pesh'on), n. [L. perpessio, perpessionis, from perpetior, to bear with patience-per, thoroughly, and patior, to suffer, to endure.] Suffering; endurance. Bp. Pearson. Perpetrate (per'pe-trat), v.t. pret. & pp. perpetrated; ppr. perpetrating. [L. perpetro-per, through, thoroughly, and patro, to finish.] To do, execute, or perform, generally in a bad sense; to be guilty of; to commit; as, to perpetrate a crime. For whatsoe'er we perpetrate, We do but row, we're steer'd by fate. Hudibras. Also used humorously for to produce something execrable or shocking; as, to perpetrate a pun. Sir P. induced two of his sisters to perpetrate a duet. Charlotte Bronte. Perpetration (per-pe-tra'shon), n. 1. The act of perpetrating; the act of committing a crime.-2. An evil action. The strokes of divine vengeance, or of men's own consciences, always attend injurious perpetrations. Eikon Basilike. PERPETRATOR Perpetrator (pér'pe-tra-tér), n. One that perpetrates; one that commits a crime. Perpetuable (pêr-pet'ú-a-bl), a. That may be perpetuated or continued indefinitely. Varieties are perpetuable, like species. Asa Gray. Perpetual (per-pet'ü-al), a. [Fr. perpétuel; L. perpetualis, from perpetuus, perpetual, continuous-per, through, and peto, to direct one's course to, to seek, to go to or towards.] 1. Never ceasing; continuing for ever in future time; destined to be eternal; as, a perpetual covenant; a perpetual statute. 2. Continuing or continued without intermission; uninterrupted; as, a perpetual stream; the perpetual action of the heart and arteries. 416 Mortals who sought and found, by dangerous roads, A path to perpetuity of fame. Byron. 2. Something of which there will be no end; something lasting for ever or for an indefinitely long time. A mess of pottage for a birthright, a present repast for a perpetuity. South.-3. In law, (a) duration to all futurity; exemption from intermission or ceasing. (b) An estate which is so settled in tail that it cannot be made void.-4. In the doctrine of annuities, the number of years in which the simple interest of any principal sum will amount to the same as the principal itself; or it is the number of years' purchase to be given for an annuity which is to continue for ever; also, the annuity itself. Capital is kept in existence from age to age not by Perplex (per-pleks), v. t. [From L. perplexus, preservation but by perpetual reproduction. F. S. Mill. -Perpetual curate, a permanent minister of a curacy in which all the tithes are appropriated and no vicarage is endowed, -Perpetual motion, motion that once originated generates a power of continuing itself for ever or indefinitely, by means of mechanism or some application of the force of gravity. The celebrated problem of a perpetual motion consists in the inventing of a machine which shall have the principles of its motion within itself, and numberle s schemes have been proposed for its solution; but it has been demonstrated again and again that such a machine is impossible, unless friction and the resistance of the air, which necessarily retard, and finally stop the motions of machines, could be removed. In speaking of the perpetual motion, it is to be understood that from the forces by which motion may be produced we are to exclude air, water, and other natural agents, as heat, atmospheric changes, &c. The only admissible agents are, the inertia of matter, and its attractive forces, which may all be considered of the same kind as gravitation. -Perpetual screw, an endless screw. See ENDLESS.-Continuous, Incessant, Continual, Perpetual. See under CONTINUOUS. SYN. Never-ceasing, endless, eternal, everlasting, never-failing, unceasing, ceaseless, unfailing, perennial, enduring. permanent, lasting, uninterrupted, incessant, constant. Perpetually (per-pet'u-al-li), adv. In a perpetual manner; constantly; continually. The Bible and Common Prayer Book in the vulgar tongue, being perpetually read in churches, have Swift. proved a kind of standard for language. Perpetualty† (pêr-pet'ũ-al-ti), n. The state or condition of being perpetual. Perpetuate (pér-pet'ü-át), v. t. pret. & pp. perpetuated; ppr. perpetuating. [L. perpetuo, perpetuatum, from perpetuus. See PERPETUAL.] To make perpetual; to cause to endure or to be continued indefinitely; to preserve from extinction or oblivion; to eternize; as, to perpetuate the remembrance of a great event or of an illustrious character. The fondness which some have felt to perpetuate their names when their race has fallen extinct, is well known. I. D'Israeli. Perpetuate, Perpetuated (pêr-pet'u-at, pér-pet'û-at-ed), p. and a. Made perpetual; continued through eternity, or for an indefinite time; recurring continuously; continually repeated or reiterated. What is it but a continued perpetuated voice from heaven resounding for ever in our ears? Hammond. The trees and flowers remain By Nature's care perpetuate and self-sown. Southey. Perpetuation (pér-pet'u-a"shon), n. The act of perpetuating or making perpetual; the act of preserving from extinction or oblivion through an endless existence, or for an indefinite period of time. - Perpetuation of testimony, in law, the taking of testimony, in certain cases, in order to preserve it for future use. Thus a party who is in possession of property, and fears that his right may at some future time be disputed, is entitled to examine witnesses in order to preserve that testimony which may be lost by the death of such witnesses before he can prosecute his claim, or before he is called on to defend his right. Perpetuity (per-pe-tü'i-ti), n. [Fr. perpétuité; L. perpetuitas, from perpetuus, perpetual (which see).] 1. The state or quality of being perpetual; endless duration; continued uninterrupted existence, or duration for an indefinite period of time; as, the perpetuity of laws and institutions. 'Those laws which God for perpetuity hath established.' Hooker. entangled, interwoven, confused, intricate, involved, from per, intens., and plecto, plexum, to twist, from the root of Gr. plekō, L. plico, to fold.] 1. To make intricate; to involve; to entangle; to make complicated and difficult to be understood or unravelled. What was thought obscure, perplexed, and too hard for our weak parts, will lie open to the understanding in a fair view. Locke. His tongue Dropped manna, and could make the worse appear The better reason, to perplex and dash Maturest counsels. Milton. 2. To embarrass; to puzzle; to distract; to tease with suspense, anxiety, or ambiguity. 'We are perplexed, but not in despair.' 2 Cor. iv. 8. He perplexes the minds of the fair sex with nice speculations of philosophy, when he should engage their hearts. Dryden. 3. To plague; to vex. Glanville. - Embarrass, Puzzle, Perplex. See under EMBARRASS. SYN. To entangle, involve, compli cate, embarrass, puzzle, bewilder, confuse, distract, harass, vex, plague, tease, molest. Perplext (pêr-pleks), a. [L. perplexus. See above.] Intricate; difficult. Glanville. Perplexedly (per-pleks'ed-li), adv. 1. In a perplexed manner; with perplexity.-2. In a perplexing manner; intricately; with involution. He handles the question very perplexedly. Bp. Bull. Perplexedness (pêr-pleks'ed-nes), n. plexity. Locke. Per Em Perplexing (pér-pleks'ing), p. and a. barrassing; difficult; intricate. Perplexity (pér-pleks'i-ti), n. 1. The state of being perplexed; distraction of mind through doubt or difficulty; anxiety; embarrassment. Walking slow, in doubt and great perplexity.' Tennyson. Such perplexity of mind As dreams too lively leave behind. Coleridge. 2. The state of being intricate or involved. Let him look for the labyrinth; for I cannot discern any unless in the perplexity of his own thoughts. Stilling fleet. Perplexiveness † (pèr-pleks'iv-nes), n. The quality of being perplexing; tendency to perplex. The perplexiveness of imagination.' Dr. H. More. Perplexlyt (pér-pleks'li), adv. Perplexedly. Set down so perplexly by the Saxon annalist. Milton. Perplextly (per-plekst'li), adv. Perplexedly. Perpotation (per-po-ta'shon), n. [Prefix per, and potation.] The act of drinking largely; a thorough drinking-bout. Perquisite (per'kwi-zit), n. [L. perquisitum. something diligently inquired after, from perquiro-per, intens, and quæro, to seek, look, or search for.] 1. Something obtained from a place or office over and above the settled wages or emoluments; something in addition to regular wages or salary.-2. In law, whatever a man gets by industry or purchases with his money: opposed to things which come to him by descent. Perquisited (per'kwi-zit-ed), a. Supplied with perquisites. Perquisited varlets. Savage. Perquisition (pêr-kwi-zi'shon), n. [Fr. perquisition. See above.] A thorough inquiry or search. Sir W. Scott. Perrie, n. [Fr. pierrerie, jewels, from pierre, L. and Gr. petra, a stone.] Jewels; precious stones. Chaucer. Perrier (per'i-ér), n. [0. Fr. perriere. See PERRIE.] An engine for throwing stones. Hackluyt. Perron (per'on), n. [Fr.; L.L. petronus, a perron, from L. and Gr. petra (Fr. pierre), a stone.] In arch, an external stair by which access is given to the entrance-door of a building when the principal floor is raised above the level of the ground. PERSEVERANCE The same as Perroquet (per-o-ket'), n. Perry (per'i), n. [Fr. poiré, perry, from poire, a pear, L. pyrum, a pear.] A fermented liquor made from the juice of pears It is analogous to cider, and prepared much in the same way. It forms a pleasant and wholesome beverage. Perry † (per'i), n. See PIRRY. Persant, a. [Fr. perçant, ppr. of perger, to pierce.] Piercing. Chaucer; Spenser. Perscrutation (pêr-skro-ta'shon), n. [L perscrutatio, perscrutor-per, thoroughly, and scrutor, to search.] A searching thoroughly; minute search or inquiry. Perscrutet (per-skröt'), v. t. and i. To make a thorough search or inquiry; to investigate. To perscrute the matter.' Borde. Perse,ta. [Fr.] Sky-coloured; bluish-gray. Chaucer. Persea (pèr-sē'a), n. A genus of Lauracea. See AVOCADO. Persecot (per'sė-kot), n. Same as Persicot. Persecute (per'se-kūt), v. t. pret. & pp. persecuted; ppr. persecuting. [Fr. persecuter, L. persequor, persecutus, to persecute-per, intens, and sequor, to follow.] 1. To harass or afflict with repeated acts of cruelty or annoyance; to injure or afflict persistently, specifically, to afflict, harass, or punish on account of opinions, for adherence to a particular creed or system of religious principles, or to a mode of worship. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and per secute you. Mat. v. II. Should banded unions persecute Opinion, and induce a time When single thought is civil crime, And individual freedom mute. Tennyson. 2. To harass with solicitations or importanity. Johnson. Persecuting (pér'se-kút-ing), a. Given to persecution. Persecution (pér-se-kü'shon), n. 1. The act or practice of persecuting; especially the infliction of pain or death upon others unjustly, for adhering to a religious creed or mode of worship, either by way of penalty or in order to force them to renounce their principles. By persecution, I mean, the employment of any pains or penalties, the adininistration of any uneas ness to body or mind, in consequence of a man's be Its essential feature lief, or with a view to change it. is this; that it addresses itself to the will, not to the understanding; it seeks to modify opinion by the use of fears, instead of reasons-of motives, instead of arguments. F. Martineau. 2. The state of being persecuted; the suffering of pain. Our necks are under persecution; we labour and have no rest. 3. A'carrying on; prosecution. Hales. Persecutive (per'se-ku-tiv), a. Following: persecuting. Persecutor (pèr'se-kût-ér), n. One who persecutes; one who pursues and harasses another unjustly and vexatiously, particularly on account of religious principles. Henry rejected the Pope's supremacy, but retained every corruption beside, and became a cruel fre cutor. Swift. A female Persecutrix (pèrse-kūt-riks), n. who persecutes. Perseides (per-sē′i-dēz), n. pl. A name given to the August meteors, because they seem to radiate from the constellation Perseus. Perselee,tn. Parsley. Chaucer. Persepolitan (per se-pol'i-tan), n. A native or inhabitant of Persepolis, the capital of ancient Persia. Persepolitan (pêr-se-pol'i-tan), a. Of or pertaining to Persepolis or its inhabitants 1. In Greek myth. Perseus (per'sùs), n. the celebrated legendary hero, son of Zeus and Danaë, who slew the Gorgon Medusa.2. In astron, one of the forty-eight constellations. It is surrounded by Andromeda Aries, Taurus, Auriga, Camelopardalus, and Cassiopeia, and contains, according to the British Catalogue, fifty-nine stars. Persevert (pèr-sev'èr), v.i. To persevere, To persever In obstinate condolement is a course Of impious stubbornness. [This is the form of the word generally used by Shakspere.] Shat Perseverance (per-se-ve'rans), n [Fr. from L. perseverantia. See PERSEVERE.] 1. The act or habit of persevering; persistence in 2. In theol. continuance in a state of grace to a state of glory. Sometimes called Final Perseverance and Perseverance of Saints. SYN. Persistence, steadfastness, constancy, steadiness. Perseverant† (pêr-se-ve'rant), a. Constant Would those, who, by opinion placed on high, Churchill. To persevere in any evil course makes you unhappy in this life, and will certainly throw you into everlasting torments in the next. Abp. Wake. Persevering (pèr-se-vēr ́ing), p. and a. Persisting in any business or course begun; constant in the execution of a purpose or enterprise; as, a persevering student. Perseveringly (per-se-ver'ing-li), adv. In a persevering manner; with perseverance or continued pursuit of what is undertaken. Persian (per'shi-an), a. Pertaining to Persia, to the Persians or their language; Persic. Persian (per shi-an), n. 1. A native of Persia. 2. The language spoken in Persia.3. In arch. a male figure draped after the ancient Persian manner, and serving to support an entablature after the manner of a column or pilaster. See ATLANTES and CARYATID. 4. A thin silk, used principally for lining coats, gowns, and petticoats in the seventeenth century. Planche-Persian apple, the peach-Persian berry, the fruit of Rhamnus infectorius, and probably of other species, used by the modern Greeks to dye morocco leather, and employed also in calico-printing.-Persian blinds, jalousies; venetian blinds. Persian carpet, a carpet made in one piece, instead of in breadths or strips to be joined. The warp and weft are of linen or hemp, and the tufts of coloured wool are inserted by twisting them around the warp all along the row. A line of tufts being inserted, a shoot of the weft is made, and then beaten up to close the fabric.-Persian fire, in med. same as Anthrax.-Persian lily, a plant of the genus Fritillaria (F. persica), a native of Persia, and cultivated as a garden flower. See FRITILLARIA-Persian powder, a preparation of the flowers of the composite plant Pyrethrum carneum or roseum, which are dried and reduced to the form of a powder, which has wonderful efficacy in destroying noxious insects. The plant belongs to the nat. order Compositæ. It is often grown in gardens as an ornamental plant.-Persian wheel, an engine contrived for raising water to irrigate lands which lie on the borders or banks of rivers, and for other purposes. It usually consists of a large wheel with a series of buckets fixed to its circumference, which raise the water. Persic (per sik), n. The Persian language. It is a member of the Iranian group of the Aryan family of tongues. Persic (per'sik), a. Of or belonging to Persia: Persian. Persicaria (per-si-kä'ri-a), n. [Fr. persicaire, from L. L. persicarius, from L. persica, a peach.] The common name of various British plants of the genus Polygonum; also the generic name of P. orientale, a tall handsome annual, strikingly ornamented with drooping clusters of pink flowers. See POLY GONUM. Persicot (pêr'si-kot), n. [Fr., from L. perrica, a peach or nectarine.] A kind of cordial made of the kernels of apricots, nectarines, &c., with refined spirit. Written also Persecot. Persiflage (pår-se-fläzh), n. [Fr., from persiter, to quiz; L. sibilo, to hiss ] Idle bantering talk or humour; frivolous jeering style of treating or regarding any subject, serious or otherwise. Persifleur (par-se-flér, é long), n. One who indulges in persiflage; a banterer; a quiz. ch, chain: ch. Sc. loch; g, go; j. job; 417 No people ever were so little prone to admire at all as the French of Voltaire. Persiflage was the character of their whole mind. They feel withal that, if persiflage be the great thing, there never was such a persifleur. Carlyle. Persimmon, Persimon (per-sim'mon), n. [Virginia Indian.] The fruit of the Diospyros virginiana, a tree inhabiting the United States of America, more especially the southern states, where it attains the height of 60 feet or more. The fruit is succulent, reddish, and about the size of a small plum, containing a few oval stones. It is powerfully astringent when green, but when fully ripe the pulp becomes soft, palatable, and very sweet. It is eaten both by man and wild and domestic animals; it is also pounded, dried, and made into cakes, or it is fermented and yields by distillation an ardent spirit.-To rake up the persimmons, to rake up the plums of the persimmon-tree; to draw in the money; to pocket the stakes. [American.] Persis (pèr'sis), n. A kind of colouring matter prepared from lichens, the mass being of a drier character than archil. Simmonds. Persism (per'sizm), n. A Persian idiom. Persist (per-sist'), v.i. [Fr. persister, L. persisto-per, through, and sisto, to stand. ] To continue steadily and firmly in the pursuit of any business or course commenced; to continue determined in speech or action against some amount of opposition; to persevere. [Persist is nearly synonymous with persevere; but persist frequently implies more obstinacy than persevere, particularly in that which is evil or injurious to others.] Thus to persist In doing wrong extenuates not wrong. Shak. Persistence, Persistency (pér-sist'ens, pérsist'en-si), n. 1. The state of persisting, or of being persistent; steady pursuit of what is undertaken; perseverance in a good or evil course, more generally in that which is evil and injurious to others, or unadvisable.2. Obstinacy; contumacy. By this hand, thou think'st me as far in the devil's book as thou and Falstaff, for obduracy and per sistency. Shak. 3. In physics, the continuance of an effect after the cause which first gave rise to it is removed; as, the persistence of the impression of light on the retina after the luminous object is withdrawn; the persistence of the motion of an object after the moving force is withdrawn. Persistent (pêr-sist'ent), a. 1. Inclined to persist; enduring; persevering; tenacious. Persistent as they have been." 18. Taylor. Henceforward scarcely could she front in hall, Or elsewhere Modred's narrow, foxy face, Heart-hiding smile, and gray, persistent eye. Tennyson. 2. In bot. continuing without withering: opposed to caducous or marcescent; as, a persistent calyx, one remaining after the corolla has withered. Persistently (per-sist'ent-li), adv. In a per sistent manner. Persistingly (per-sist'ing-li), adv. In a persisting manner; perseveringly; steadily. Persistive (per-sist'iv), a. Steady in pursuit; not receding from a purpose or undertaking; persevering; persistent. To find persistive constancy in men.' Shak Persolvet (pèr-solv'), v. t. To pay completely, thoroughly, or wholly. Bale. Person (person), n. [L. persona, primarily a mask used by actors on the stage, hence, a character, a person-said to be from persono, to sound through-per, through, and sono, to sound. This, however, is uncertain.] 1. An individual human being, consisting of body and soul; a being possessed of personality; a man, woman, or child. A person... is a thinking intelligent being that has reason and reflection, and can consider itself as itself, the same thinking thing, in different times and places. Locke. 2. A man, woman, or child, considered as opposed to things, or distinct from them. A zeal for persons is far more easy to be perverted than a zeal for things. Sprat. 3. Bodily form; human frame, with its characteristic appearance; living body; as, tall of person; cleanly in person. 'Tis in her heart alone that you must reign; You'll find her person difficult to gain. Dryden. Yniol's rusted arms. Were on his princely person, but thro' these Princelike his bearing shone. Tennyson, 4. A human being, indefinitely; one; a man; n. Fr. ton; ng, sing; TH, then; th, thin; PERSONAL an individual. For there is no respect of persons with God.' Rom. ii. 11. If you choose to represent the various parts in life by holes upon a table, of different shapes,... and the persons acting these parts by bits of wood of similar shapes, we shall generally find that the triangular person has got into the square hole, the oblong into the triangular, and a square person has squeezed himself into a round hole. Sidney Smith. 5. A term applied to each of the three beings of the Godhead. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. Common Prayer. 6. The parson or rector of a parish. Holinshed.-7. A human being represented in dialogue, fiction, or on the stage; character. From his first appearance upon the stage, in his new person of a sycophant or juggler, instead of his former person of a prince, he was exposed to the derision of the courtiers and the common people. Bacon. 8. Character or part sustained by one in the ordinary relationships of life. How different is the same man from himself, as he sustains the person of a magistrate and that of a friend. South. 9. In gram, one of three relations in which nouns and pronouns are regarded as standing to the act of speaking, a pronoun of the first person denoting the speaker, the second person one who is spoken to, and the third person one who or that which is spoken of. All nouns are of the third person. Hence we apply the term person to one of the three inflections of a verb singular and plural.-An artificial person, in law, a corporation or body politic.-In person, by one's self; with bodily presence; not by representative. We paid in person.' Tennyson. The king in person visits all around. Dryden. Person (person), v.t. To represent as a person; to make to resemble; to image. Milton. Personable (pèr'son-a-bl), a. 1. Having a well-formed body or person; graceful; of good appearance; as, a personable man or woman. Wise, warlike, personable, courteous, and kind.' Spenser.-2. In law, (a) enabled to maintain pleas in court. (b) Having capacity to take anything granted or given. Personage (pèr'son-aj), n. [Fr. personnage, personage, character, part.] 1. An individual; a person; especially, a man or woman of distinction; as, an illustrious personage. The monumental pomp of age Was with this goodly personage. Wordsworth. 2. Exterior; appearance; stature; air. 3. Character assumed. The Venetians, naturally grave, love to give in to the follies of such seasons, when disguised in a false personage. Addison. 4. Character represented. Some persons must be found, already known in history, whom we may make the actors and personages of this fable. W. Broome. Personal (per'son-al), a. [L. personalis. ] 1. Pertaining to a person as distinct from a thing; belonging to men or women, not to things.-2. Relating to an individual; affecting individuals; peculiar or proper to him or her, or to private actions or character; individual; as, to have a personal spite against a man. The words are conditional; if thou doest well; and so personal to Cain.' Locke. The Divine Comedy is a personal narrative. Dante is the eye-witness and ear-witness of that which he relates. Macaulay. 3. Applying to the person, character, or conduct of an individual, generally in a disparaging manner; as, personal reflections or remarks. 'Splenetic, personal, base.' Tennyson.-4. Pertaining to the person or bodily form; belonging to face and figure; corporeal. This heroick constancy now determined him to desire in marriage a princess, whose personal charms were now become the least part of her character. Addison. 5. Done in person; not effected or constituted by representatives; as, a personal interview. The daughter of the king of France, ... Importunes personal conference with his grace. Shak. 6. Present in person. 'The absent king when he was personal in the Irish war.' Shak.-7. In gram. denoting or pointing to the person; having the modifications of the three persons; as, a personal pronoun; a personal verb.-Personal acts of parliament, statutes confined to particular persons, such as an act authorizing a person to change his name, &c. - Per w, wig; wh, whig; zh, azure. See KEY. PERSONAL sonal action, in law, (a) an action that can be brought only by the person himself that is injured. (b) An action which is not an action for the recovery of land. - Personal bond, in Scots law, a bond which acknowledges receipt of a sum of money, and binds the granter, his heirs, executors, and successors to repay the sum at a specified term, with a penalty in case of failure, and interest on the sum while the same remains unpaid. -Personal chattels, goods or movables. Personal diligence or execution, in Scots law, a process which consists of arrestment, poinding, and imprisonment. - Personal equation, the correction of personal differences between particular individuals as to exactness in observations with astronomical instruments. -Personal estate. Same as Personal Property.-Personal identity, in metaph. sameness of being at every stage of life, of which consciousness is the evidence. -Personal pronoun, in gram. one of the pronouns I, we, thou, you, he, she, it, they.-Personal property, movables; chattels; things belonging to the person, as money, jewels, furniture, &c., as distinguished from real estate in land and houses. (See CHATTEL and REAL.) In the law of England the dis tinction between real and personal property is very nearly the same as the distinction between heritable and movable property in the law of Scotland.-Personal representatives, the executors or administrators of a person deceased. - Personal tithes, those that are paid out of such profits as come by the labour of a man's person, as by buying and selling, gains of merchandise, handicrafts, &c.-Personal verb, in gram. a verb which has or may have a person as nominative. Personal (person-al), n. In law, any movable thing, either living or dead; a movable. Personalism (pèr'son-al-izm), n. Quality of being personal. Personality (per-son-al'i-ti), n. 1. That which constitutes an individual a distinct person, or that which constitutes individuality; the state of existing as a thinking intelligent being. The personality of an intelligent being extends itself beyond present existence to what is past, only by Locke. consciousness. Personality is individuality existing in itself, but with a nature as its ground. Coleridge. 2. Direct application or applicability to a person; specifically, an application of remarks to the conduct, character, or appearance of some person; a remark reflecting in some way on an individual; as, to avoid personalities; to indulge in personalities. Mr. Tiliot had looked higher and higher since his gin had become so famous; and in the year '29 he had, in Mr. Muscat's hearing, spoken of Dissenters as sneaks-a personality which could not be overlooked. George Eliot. 3. Application limited to certain persons or certain classes of persons. During the latter half of that century the important step was made of abolishing the personality of the code and applying it to all persons of whatever race living within the territory. Brougham. 4. In law, personal estate. See PERSONALTY. -Personality of laws, a term applied to all those laws which concern the condition, state, and capacity of persons, as the reality of laws is applied to all those laws which concern property or things. An action is said to be in the personality or personalty when it is brought against the right person, or the person against whom, in law, it lies. Personalize (per'son-al-iz), v. t. pret. & pp. personalized; ppr. personalizing. To make personal. Personally (per'son-al-li), adv. 1. In a personal manner; in person; by bodily presence; not by representative or substitute; as, to be personally present; to deliver a letter personally.-2. With respect to an individual; particularly. Warburton. She bore a mortal hatred to the house of Lancaster, and personally to the king. Васон. 3. As regards one's personal existence or individuality; as, to remain personally the same being. Personalty (pèr'son-al-ti), n. In law, personal property, in distinction from really or real property. See PERSONAL, REAL.-ACtion in personalty. See PERSONALITY. Personate (per'son-ät), v. t. pret. & pp. personated; ppr. personating. [From person (which see).] 1. To assume the character or appearance of, whether in real life or on the stage; to represent by an assumed appearance; to act the part of; as, he tried to personate his brother; in this play he person I will drop in his way some obscure epistles of love; wherein... he shall find himself most feelingly per. sonated. Shak. 6.t [Directly from L. persono, to celebrateper, intens., and sono, to sound.] To celebrate loudly. In fable, hymn, or song, so personating Personate (pèr'son-at), v. i. pret. personated; Personate Corolla. Piety is opposed to that personated devotion under which any kind of impiety is disguised. Hammond. Personation (pér-son-a'shon), n. The act of personating, or of counterfeiting the person or character of another.-False personation, in law, the offence of personating another for the purpose of fraud. Personator (person-at-ér), n. 1. One who assumes the character of another.-2. One that acts or performs. B. Jonson. Personeity (per-son-e'i-ti), n. Personality. The personeity of God.' Coleridge. [Rare.] Personer, n. A person. Chaucer. Personification (per-son'i-fi-ka" shon), n. 1. The act of personifying.-2. In rhet. a figure of speech or a species of metaphor, which consists in representing inanimate objects or abstract notions as endued with life and action, or possessing the attributes of living beings; prosopopoeia; as, the floods clap their hands, the sun rejoices to run his race,' 'the hills and trees break forth into singing,' blushing shame,' &c.3. Embodiment; impersonation. Personify (per-son'i-fi), v. t. pret. & pp. personified; ppr. personifying. [L. persona, person, and facio, to make.] 1. To treat or regard as a person; to represent as a rational being; to treat for literary purposes as if endowed with the sentiments, actions, or language of a rational being or person. See PERSONIFICATION. 2. To impersonate; to be an impersonation or embodiment of." Personize (pér'son-iz), v. t. pret. & pp. personized; ppr. personizing. To personify. [Rare.] Milton has personized them and put them into the court of chaos. Richardson. Personnel (per-son-el), n. [Fr., from personne, L. persona, a person.] The body of persons employed in some public service, as the army, navy, &c., in contradistinction to the matériel, which consists of guns, stores, &c. Perspective (per-spek' tiv), a. [Fr. perspectif, from L. perspicio. See below.] 1. Producing certain optical effects when looked through; optical; as, a perspective glass. [Obsolete or obsolescent. ]-2. Pertaining to the art of perspective. Perspective (pèr-spek'tiv), n. [Fr., from L. perspicio, perspectum-per, through, and specio, to view. See SPECIES.] 1. A glass through which objects are viewed; a tele scope. You hold the glass, but turn the perspective, And farther off the lessen'd object drive. Dryden. [Formerly the term was applied to contrivances the exact nature of which is uncertain. PERSPECTIVE Like perspectives, which rightly gazed upea, Hazlitt in a note on the above passage defines perspectives as cut glasses used for reflecting images, and the following extract from an old work called Humane Industry goes to show that the word was also used to denote a glass through which pictures drawn out of proportion were viewed and reduced to the natural appearance of the objects they were meant to represent A picture of a chancellor of France presented t the common beholder a multitude of little faces.but if one did look at it through a perspective, there appeared only the single portraicture of the cha cellor.] 2. The art or science which teaches how to produce the representation of an ob ject or objects on a definite surface 80 as to affect the eye, when viewed from a given point, in the same manner as the object or objects themselves. Correctly defined, a perspective delineation is a section, by the plane or other surface on which the delineation is made, of the cone of rays proceeding from every part of the object to the eye of the spectator. It is intimately connected with the arts of design, and is particularly necessary in the art of painting, as without a correct observance of the rules of perspective no picture can have truth and life. Perspective alone enables us to represent foreshortenings with accuracy, and it is requisite in delineating even the simplest positions of objects. Perspec tive may be divided into two brancheslinear and aerial. Linear perspective has reference to the position, form, magnitude, &c., of the several lines or contours of ob jects. The outlines of such objects as buildings, machinery, and most works which consist of geometrical forms, or which can be reduced to them, may be most accu rately obtained by the rules of linear perspective, since the intersection with an interposed plane of the rays of light proceeding from every point of such objects may be obtained by the principles of geometry. Linear perspective includes the various kinds of projections, as scenographic, ortho graphic, ichnographic, stereographic projec tions, &c. Aerial perspective teaches how to give due diminution to the strength of light, shade, and col ours of objects according to their distances, and the quantity of light falling on them, and to the medium through which they are seen.Isometrical per spective, a kind of perspective on the principles of orthographie projection, by which solids of the form of reetangular parallelopipeds, or such as are reducible to this form, can be presented with their three pair of planes in one figure, which gives a more intelligible idea of their form than can be done by a separate plan and elevation. At the same time, this method admits of their dimensions being measured by a scale as directly as by the usual mode of delineation. As applied to machinery it gives the elevation and ground-plan in one PERSPECTIVELY cation. Oblique or angular perspective is where the plane of the picture is supposed to be at an angle to the side of the principal object in the picture, as a building, for instance. -Parallel perspective, when the plane of the picture is parallel to the side of the principal object.-Perspective plane, the surface on which the object or picture is delineated, or it is the transparent surface or plane through which we may suppose objects to be viewed. It is also termed the Plane of Projection and the Plane of the Picture.-3. A representation of objects in perspective.-4. View; vista. 'Perspectives of pleasant glades.' Dryden.-5. A kind of painting designed expressly to deceive the sight by representing the continuation of an alley, a building, a landscape, or the like. Perspectively (per-spek'tiv-li), adv. 1. According to the rules of perspective. -2. ↑ Optically; as through some optical arrangement. Yes, my lord, you see them perspectively, the cities turn'd into a maid. Shak. An Perspectograph (pêr-spek'tō-graf), n. instrument of various forms for obtaining or transferring to a picture the points and outlines of original objects. Perspectography (per-spek-tog'ra-fi), n. [E perspective, and Gr. graphố, to write.] The science or theory of perspective; the art of delineating objects according to the rules of perspective. Perspicablet (per'spi-ka-bl), a. [See below.] Discernible. The sea.. .to the eye, with out any perspicable motion.' Sir T. Herbert. Perspicacious (pèr-spi-ka'shus), a. [L. perspicaz, perspicacis, from perspicio — per, through, and specio, to view, to look at.] 1. Quick-sighted; sharp of sight. Perspicacious and quick in seeing.' South. 2. Of acute discernment. Perspicaciously (per-spi-ka'shus-li), adv. In a perspicacious manner. Perspicaciousness (pèr-spi-ka'shus-nes), n. The quality of being perspicacious; acuteness of sight; perspicacity. Perspicacity (pér-spi-kas'i-ti), n. [L. perspicacitas.] The state or quality of being perspicacious: (a) acuteness of sight; quickness of sight. (b) Acuteness of discernment or understanding; penetration; sagacity; as, a man of great perspicacity. Perspicacy (per spi-ka-si), n. Perspicacity. B. Jonson. Perspicience (pèr-spi'shens), n. [L. perpicientia, insight, knowledge of a thing.] The act of looking with sharpness. Bailey. Perspicil (pêr'spi-sil), n. [L. per, through, and speculum, a glass.] An optical glass; a telescope. B. Jonson. [Rare.] Perspicuity (pèr-spi-ku'i-ti), n. [Fr. perspicuité; L. perspicuitas, from perspicio, to look or see through.] 1. The state or quality of being seen through; transparency; clearness; that quality of a substance which renders objects visible through it. 2. The quality of being perspicuous; clearness to mental vision; easiness to be understood; freedom from obscurity or ambiguity; that quality of writing or language which readily presents to the mind of another the precise ideas of the author. Perspicuity consists in the using of proper terms for the thoughts which a man would have pass from his own mind into that of another. Locke. SYN. Perspicuousness, plainness, distinctness, clearness, lucidity, intelligibility. Perspicuous (per-spik'u-us), a. [L. perspicuus, transparent, clear.] 1. Capable of being seen through; transparent; translucent. Peacham. 2. Clear to the understanding; that may be clearly understood; not obscure or ambiguous; lucid; as, a perspicuous statement. Shak. Perspicuously (pér-spik'u-us-li), adv. In a perspicuous manner; clearly; plainly; in a manner to be easily understood. Bacon. Perspicuousness (per-spik'ü-us-nes), n. The state of being perspicuous; clearness to intellectual vision; plainness; freedom from obscurity. Perspirability (per-spi'ra-bil"i-ti), n. The quality of being perspirable. Perspirable (per-spi'ra-bl), a. [ From L. perspiro, to perspire. See PERSPIRE.] 1. Capable of being perspired or evacuated through the pores of the skin.-2. ↑ Emitting perspiration. Hair cometh not upon the palms of the hands or soles of the feet, which are parts more perspirable. Bacon. Perspiration (pèr-spi-ra'shon), n. [L. L. perspiratio, from L. perspiro, to breathe 419 through-per, through, and spiro, to breathe. See SPIRIT.] 1. The act of perspiring; excretion of watery fluid (sweat) and fatty or sebaceous matters from the surface of the body. It is divided into insensible and sensible, the former being separated in the form of an invisible vapour, the latter so as to become visible by condensation in the form of very little drops adhering to the skin. According to Valentin the quantity of sweat evolved from the skin is nearly 14 lb. daily; it is at its maximum immediately after taking food, and decreases during digestion. Insensible perspiration is not visible to the naked eye. Its uses are, (1) To liberate from the blood superfluous animal gas, nitrogen, and water. (2) To eliminate the noxious and heterogeneous excrements. (3) To moisten the external surface of the body lest the epidermis and its nervous papille be dried up by the atmospheric air, thus at the same time moderating the temperature of the body. And (4) To counterbalance the suppressed pulmonary transpiration.-2. Matter perspired, consisting of water, carbonic acid, saline substances, lactic acid, and some fatty matter. Perspirative (pèr-spi'ra-tiv), a. Performing the act of perspiration. Johnson. PertainPerspiratory (per-spi'ra-to-ri), a. ing to perspiration; causing perspiration; perspirative. Perspiratory ducts, spiral tubes which commence apparently in the corium or true skin, proceed upwards between the papillæ, and terminate by open pores upon the surface of the cuticle. Perspire (per-spir'), v.i. pret. perspired; ppr. perspiring. [L. perspiro-per, through, and spiro, to breathe.] 1. To evacuate the fluids of the body through the excretories of the skin; to perform excretion by the cuticular pores; to sweat; as, a person perspires freely.-2. To be evacuated or excreted through the excretories of the skin; to exude by or through the skin; as, a fluid perspires. Perspire (per-spir'), v.t. pret. & pp. perspired; ppr. perspiring. To emit or evacuate through the excretories of the skin; to give out through external pores. Firs... perspire a fine balsam of turpentine. Smollett. Perstreperous (per-strep'er-us), a. [From L. perstrepo, to make a great noise - per, intens., and strepo, to make a noise.] Noisy; obstreperous. You are too perstreperous, sauce-box. Ford. Perstringe (per-strinj'), v. t. pret. & pp. perstringed; ppr. perstringing. [L. perstringo -per, through, and stringo, to graze or brush.] 1. To graze; to glance on. -2. To touch upon; to criticise. Gently to perstringe your errors.' De Quincey. The womanishness of the Church of Rome in this period is perstringed. Dr. H. More. Persuadable (per-swäd'a-bl), a. Capable of being persuaded. Persuadably (per-swâd'a-bli), adv. In a persuadable manner; so as to be per suaded. Persuade (pêr-swåd'), v. t. pret. & pp. persuaded; ppr. persuading. [L. persuadeoper, effectively, and suadeo, to advise, urge.] 1. To influence by argument, advice, entreaty, or expostulation; to argue or reason into a certain course of action. Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. I should be glad if I could persuade him to write such another critic on anything of mine Dryden. 2. To advise; to try to influence; to counsel. Sir Hugh, persuade me not; I will make a Starchamber matter of it: if he were twenty Sir John Falstaffs he shall not abuse Robert Shallow, Esquire. Shak 3. To convince by argument or reasons offered; to bring into a certain opinion or belief. Beloved, we are persuaded better things of you. Heb. vi. 9. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. Rom. xiv. 5. 4. To inculcate by argument or expostulation. Jer. Taylor.-SYN. To induce, prevail on, win over, convince, advise, counsel. Persuade † (pèr-swad'), n. Persuasion. The king's entreats, Persuades of friends, business of state, my honours, Marriage rites, nor aught that can be nain'd, Since Lelia's loss, can move him. Beau. & FI Persuade (per-swäd'), v. i. To use persua sion. PERT In a The Persuadedly † (pér-swäd'ed-li), adv. persuaded manner; assuredly. He's our own, surely, nay, most persuadedly.' Ford. Persuadedness (per-swad'ed-nes), n. state of being persuaded or convinced. Persuader (per-swād'ér), n. One who or that which persuades or influences another. 'Hunger and thirst at once, powerful persuaders.' Milton. Persuasibility (per-swa'zi-bil"i-ti), n. Capability of being persuaded. Hallywell. Persuasible (pèr-swa'zi-bl), a. [L. persuasibilis.] 1. Capable of being persuaded or influenced by reasons offered. Dr. H. More.-2. Having power to persuade or influence; persuasive. Bale. Persuasibleness (per-swa'zi-bl-nes), n. The quality of being persuasible. Persuasion (per-swa'zhon), n. [L. persuasio. persuasionis. See PERSUADE.] 1. The act of persuading; the act of influencing by arguments or reasons offered, or by anything that moves the mind or passions, or inclines the will to a determination. For thou hast all the arts of fine persuasion. Otway. In agony, she promised that no force, Persuasion, no, nor death could alter her. Tennyson. 2. The state of being persuaded or convinced; settled opinion or conviction. When we have no other certainty of being in the right but our own persuasion that we are so, this may often be but making one error the gage for another. Dr. H. More. One in whom persuasion and belief 3. A creed or belief; or a sect or party adhering to a creed or system of opinions; as, men of the same persuasion; all persuasions concur in the measure. Persuasion, Conviction.-These words agree in expressing an assent of the mind, and they differ thus:-Persuasion is assent founded on what appeals to the feelings and imagination, and has but imperfect proof; conviction is assent founded on satisfac tory proofs which appeal to the reason. That which is pleasant persuades; that which is binding convinces. Conviction is certainty; persuasion is ever liable to become doubt. Angus. Persuasion, Conviction, Faith, Opinion, BeliefA persuasion may perhaps be an opinion adopted without repugnance; a conviction probably originally meant an opinion which a man struggled against but was compelled to adopt with regret; faith rather implies some degree of personal confidence in and affection for a person on whose authority a proposition is believed; opinion and belief are much more nearly neutral, but opinion has, so to speak, an intellectual, and belief more or less of a moral, complexion. Fraser's Magazine. Persuasive (per-swa'ziv), a. Having the power of persuading; influencing the mind or passions; as, persuasive eloquence; persuasive evidence. By magic numbers and persuasive sound.' Congreve. Oh that Fate had let me see That triumph of the sweet persuasive lyre. Matt. Arnold. Persuasive (pèr-swa'ziv), n. That which persuades; an incitement; an exhortation. The most flowing rhetoric of words would be but a South poor and faint persuasive. Persuasively (pėr-swā'ziv-li), adv. In a persuasive manner; convincingly. Milton. The Persuasiveness (pèr-swa'ziv-nes), n. quality of being persuasive or of having Натinfluence on the mind or passions. mond. Persuasory (pèr-swäʼzo-ri), a. Having power or tendency to persuade; persuasive. Sir T. Browne. Persuet (pér-sû'), n. Pursuit. Spenser. Persulphate (pér-sulfāt), n. That sulphate of a metal which contains the greater relative quantity of acid. Persultation (pèr-sul-ta'shon), n. [L. persulto, to leap through, from per, through, and salto, to leap.] In med. exudation, as of blood in the form of dew at the surface of the skin or any membrane; sweating of blood. Persway (per-swa), v. t. To soften; to mitigate; to allay; to assuage. B. Jonson. Pert (pért), a. [0. Fr. apert, L. apertus, open, free, hence forward, impudent. But the sense may have been affected by W. pert, trim, spruce, if this word is not from the English. More probably there are two words under one form, the one from the Latin, the other from Welsh. Comp. perk.] 1. Open; evident; plain. Spenser.—2. Lively; brisk; smart. Awake the fert and nimble spirit of mirth. Shak. |