*pier*

n. [ F.; prop., one who sits on the croup, and hence, in the second place; an assistant. See 1st Croup. ] 1. One who presides at a gaming table and collects the stakes. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who, at a public dinner party, sits at the lower end of the table as assistant chairman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zoöl.) The earwig. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Pref. em- + pierce. Cf. Impierce. ] To pierce; to impierce. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ See Empierce. ] To pierce. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who espies. Harmar. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Pref. im- in + pierce. Cf. Empierce. ] To pierce; to penetrate. [ Obs. ] Drayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>a. Not capable of being pierced; impenetrable. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. Of, pertaining to, or discovered by, Napier, or Naper. [ 1913 Webster ]

Naperian logarithms. See under Logarithms. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ . A set of rods, made of bone or other material, each divided into nine spaces, and containing the numbers of a column of the multiplication table; -- a contrivance of Baron Napier, the inventor of logarithms, for facilitating the operations of multiplication and division. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who occupies, or has possession. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who follows an employment; hence, a tradesman. [ Obs. ] “Merchants and occupiers.” Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

The occupiers of thy merchandise. Ezek. xxvii. 27. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a occupant who owns the home that he/she lives in. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

‖n. [ F. papier mâché, lit., chewed or mashed paper. ] A hard and strong substance made of a pulp from paper, mixed with size or glue, etc. It is formed into various articles, usually by means of molds. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. pere, OF. piere a stone, F. pierre, fr. L. petra, Gr. &unr_;. Cf. Petrify. ] 1. (Arch.) (a) Any detached mass of masonry, whether insulated or supporting one side of an arch or lintel, as of a bridge; the piece of wall between two openings. (b) Any additional or auxiliary mass of masonry used to stiffen a wall. See Buttress. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A projecting wharf or landing place. [ 1913 Webster ]

Abutment pier, the pier of a bridge next the shore; a pier which by its strength and stability resists the thrust of an arch. --
Pier glass, a mirror, of high and narrow shape, to be put up between windows. --
Pier table, a table made to stand between windows. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Wharfage. Smart. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Pierced p. pr. & vb. n. Piercing ] [ OE. percen, F. percer, OF. percier, perchier, parchier; perh. fr. (assumed) LL. pertusiare for pertusare, fr. L. pertundere, pertusum, to beat, push, bore through; per through + tundere to beat: cf. OF. pertuisier to pierce, F. pertuis a hole. Cf. Contuse, Parch, Pertuse. ] 1. To thrust into, penetrate, or transfix, with a pointed instrument. “I pierce . . . her tender side.” Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To penetrate; to enter; to force a way into or through; to pass into or through; as, to pierce the enemy's line; a shot pierced the ship. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Fig.: To penetrate; to affect deeply; as, to pierce a mystery. “Pierced with grief.” Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

Can no prayers pierce thee? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To enter; to penetrate; to make a way into or through something, as a pointed instrument does; -- used literally and figuratively. [ 1913 Webster ]

And pierced to the skin, but bit no more. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

She would not pierce further into his meaning. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. That may be pierced. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Penetrated; entered; perforated. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. perce. ] A kind of gimlet for making vents in casks; -- called also piercer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, pierces or perforates; specifically: (a) An instrument used in forming eyelets; a stiletto. (b) A piercel. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) (a) The ovipositor, or sting, of an insect. (b) An insect provided with an ovipositor. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Forcibly entering, or adapted to enter, at or by a point; perforating; penetrating; keen; -- used also figuratively; as, a piercing instrument, or thrust. “Piercing eloquence.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

-- Pier"cing*ly, adv. -- Pier"cing*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. Pierius, from Mount Pierus, in Thessaly, sacred to the Muses. ] Of or pertaining to Pierides or Muses. [ 1913 Webster ]

Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Peirides. ] (Zool.) Any butterfly of the genus Pieris and related genera. See Cabbage butterfly, under Cabbage. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ L., fr. Gr. &unr_;. See Pierian. ] (Class. Myth.) The Muses. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F. pierre perdue lost stone. ] Blocks of stone or concrete heaped loosely in the water to make a foundation (as for a sea wall), a breakwater, a mole, etc. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖n. [ F. ] A polypidom. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Rampart. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. rapière, perhaps for raspière, and ultimately of German origin, akin to E. rasp, v. ] A straight sword, with a narrow and finely pointed blade, used only for thrusting. [ 1913 Webster ]

Rapier fish (Zool.), the swordfish. [ Obs. ] Grew. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Wearing a rapier. “Scarletcoated, rapiered figures.” Lowell. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Transpierced p. pr. & vb. n. Transpiercing ] [ Pref. trans- + pierce: cf. F. transpercer. ] To pierce through; to penetrate; to permeate; to pass through. [ 1913 Webster ]

The sides transpierced return a rattling sound. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]