Emily Dickinson Lexicon

peasantry, n. [see peasant, n.]

Common people; rank and file; group of ordinary citizens.

peat, adj. [Anglo-L. peta.]

Organic; humus-like; sod-like; like dry soil; made of earthly elements; [fig.] dull; colorless; drab; plain; dreary; lackluster; humble; ordinary; human; mortal.

pebble, n. [Origin obscure.] (webplay: stone).

1. Stone; small rock.
2. Insignificant ammunition; ineffective bullet; [fig.] insufficient power; futile might; feeble force.
3. [Fig.] obstacle; stumbling block; obstruction to further progress.
4. Projectile; object thrown into a body of water, causing ripples; [fig.] influence; effect; impact.
5. [Fig.] silent witness; inconspicuous bystander.

peculiar, adj. [Fr. peculier or L. pecūli-um, property in cattle, private property < L. pecus, cattle.] (webplay: cattle).

1. Unique; uncommon; strange; unusual; extraordinary.
2. Particular; specific; certain; exact; precise.
3. Unfamiliar; unknown; unseen; [fig.] deceased; dead.
4. [Word play on etymology] bovine; cattle-like.

peculiarly, adv. [see peculiar.]

Strangely; oddly; curiously.

pedantic, adj. [Fr. < It. pedante, teacher, schoolmaster.]

Vain; pompous; ostentatious; showy; pretentious.

peddler (-'s), n. [Origin obscure; NW says < L. pedis, the foot.] (webplay: carried, cart, wagon).

1. Traveling salesman.
2. Pedestrian; foot traveler.

pedestrian, adj. [L. pedester + -an; NW says < L. pes, the foot.] (webplay: foot, walking).

Wingless; bound to earth; able to move only by the use of feet; [fig.] mortal; human.

pedigree, n. [Fr. pie de grue, crane's foot.] (webplay: lineage).

1. Prestigious bloodline; family connections; documentation of belonging to a reputable lineage; [fig.] social status; proof of important position in society.
2. Ancestry; [fig.] origin; source.
3. [Fig.] beginning; birth; genesis; dawning; period of creation.

peel (-s), v. [Variant form of pill < late OE peolien.]

Strip; uncover; expose; lay bare; [fig.] disembody; rob of mortality.