Emily Dickinson Lexicon

pallid, adj. [L. pallid-us.]

1. Dull; colorless; pale; lacking brightness.
2. Subtle; veiled; masked; disguised.
3. [Word play on “pall”] burial; funereal; sepulchral.

palm (-s), n. [OE < L. 'palm of the hand'.] (webplay: art, Asia, feet, fruit, hand, natural, new, old, superiority, trick, victory, way, worn).

1. Tropical tree; desert plant which grows in severely hot climates.
2. Victor's crown; token of triumph; prize; wreath made of leaves of the palm tree to signify mastery of a difficult trial; branch strewn in the path of Jesus during his triumphal entry into Jerusalem preceding his crucifixion; resilient branch which rises and recovers its position after being pressed down; [fig.] resurrection.
3. [Fig.] work; effort; diligence; exertion.
4. [Fig.] Asia; home; native environment of a leopard.

palmleaf, adj. [see palm, n. and leaf, n.] (webplay: bearing, crown of leaves, telling, worn).

Made from the leaves of the palm tree; humble; modest; unpretentious; plain.

palpitating, verbal adj. [L. palpitāre, move frequently and quickly, tremble, throb.] (webplay: throws).

Trembling; quaking; convulsive; unsteady; agitated.

palsied, verbal adj. [ME < Ofr paralisie. See paralysis, n., paralyze, v.] (webplay: motion; paralyze; sensation).

1. Dead; lifeless; bereft of vitality.
2. Paralyzed; petrified; numb; motionless; silent; not functioning.

paltry, adj. [Late ME.]

1. Ragged; shabby; tattered; unkempt; impoverished; mean; of low station.
2. Insignificant; unimportant; small; trifling.
3. Trite; banal; commonplace; ordinary.

pampa (-s), n. [Sp. pampa < Peruvian bamba, steppe, flat.]

Steppe; grassland; treeless South American plain.

pane (-s), n. [Fr. pan < L. pannus, a piece of cloth.] (webplay: ceiling, glass).

1. Glass; window; thin, flat piece of transparent glass set in a frame to allow light to enter a room; opening in a wall through which the outside world may be viewed.
2. [Fig.] eye.
3. Phr. “On the pane”: at the door; [fig.] near; approaching; close at hand.

panel (-s), n. [OFr 'piece of cloth, piece'.] (webplay: door).

Wall; boundary; partition; divider; embankment; door; window [fig.] side of a coffin; wall of a tomb through which light may pass.

pang, n. [Origin uncertain; poss. related to prong. NW says related to pain.]

1. Brief twinge of fear; painful stab of regret; surge of anxiety.
2. Sudden intense feeling; brief, sharp emotion; short-lived spasm.
3. Torture; grief; pain; suffering.