Emily Dickinson Lexicon

ponderous, adv. [see ponderous, adj.]

Slowly; densely; deliberately; sluggishly; laboriously.

Pontius, proper n. [see Pilate, Pontius.]

pontoon, n. [Fr. ponton, flat-bottomed boat < L. ponto, a punt, floating bridge, pontoon < pont-em, bridge.]

Ferry; skiff; small, flat-bottomed boat; buoyant structure used to support a floating bridge.

pool (-s), n. [OE pól.] (webplay: basin, place, stagnant, standing, water).

1. Pond; small lake; shallow body of water.
2. Puddle; small collection of rainwater.
3. Basin; reservoir; cistern; collection; accumulation.
4. Swamp; bog; marsh.

poor (-er, -est), adj. [ME < OFr < L. pauper, poor.] (webplay: comfortable, composition, day, ground, grows, health, heart, land, life, little, night, people, pitiable, pretty, rich, small, spirit, sufficient, tenderness, thing, unhappy, wealth, wholly, without, woman, words).

1. Bereaved; deprived of a loved one; dispossessed of the companionship of a close friend.
2. Pitiable; unfortunate; pathetic; hapless; wretched.
3. Lowly; indigent; needy; [fig.] vulnerable; subject to loss.
4. Sad; lost; forlorn; lonely.
5. Inferior; less in status; lower in prestige; [fig.] mortal; human; less glorious.
6. Destitute; needy; penniless; without possession; lacking personal property; [fig.] excluded; not included; left out.
7. Thrifty; frugal; sparing; stinting; scant; sparse; economical; careful.
8. Obscure; unknown; unsung; undervalued; nameless; anonymous; not noticed.
9. Irrelevant; inferior; paltry; inadequate; deficient; insufficient; unsatisfactory; less than ideal.

poor (-er, -est), n. [see poor, adj.] (webplay: day, house, little, night).

1. Pauper; person who has very little; [fig.] spiritually bereft; emotionally deprived; lacking worth as a person.
2. Beggar; homeless wanderer; needy individual; destitute person; less fortunate people; those lacking shelter.
3. Economically disadvantaged people; those with the lowest income; ones who have the least money, goods, property, etc.
4. Least known people; less esteemed folks; little known ones.

pope, n. [OE pápa < L. < late Gk πάππας, father.] (webplay: first).

Bishop of Rome; head of the Roman Catholic Church; highest leader in a religious group; [fig.] respected dignitary; exalted leader.

Popocatapel, proper n. [ED's spelling of Popocatépetl < Nahuatl (Aztec) popocani, to smoke + tepetl, mountain.]

Volcano in central Mexico; towering volatile peak; mountain capable of erupting in spectacular flames and lava flow; [fig.] passion; heat; warmth; vitality; love; strong affection; deep feelings; dynamic activity.

poppy, n. [Early OE < L. papāver, poppy.]

Plant of the genus Papaver from which opium is extracted; bright flower with showy red petals; [fig.] consolation; reassurance; relief; comfort from fears of mortality; solace from grief caused by death; brilliantly colored sun at setting; red-robed Millennial Messiah [see Revelation 19:13]; Jesus Christ, conqueror of death.

popular, adj. [L. populār-is, belonging to the people < popul-us, people.] (webplay: know).

Public; bourgeois; common; vulgar; of the masses; of the common people; of society's lower classes.