*piper*

a. [ Pref. epi- + peripheral. ] (Physiol.) Connected with, or having its origin upon, the external surface of the body; -- especially applied to the feelings which originate at the extremities of nerves distributed on the outer surface, as the sensation produced by touching an object with the finger; -- opposed to entoperipheral. H. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL., fr. Gr. "y`dwr water + L. piper a pepper.] (Bot.) A species (Polygonum Hydropiper) of knotweed with acrid foliage; water pepper; smartweed. [1913 Webster]

‖n. [ L. ] See Pepper. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Mus.) One who plays on a pipe, or the like, esp. on a bagpipe. “The hereditary piper and his sons.” Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) (a) A common European gurnard (Trigla lyra), having a large head, with prominent nasal projection, and with large, sharp, opercular spines. (b) A sea urchin (Goniocidaris hystrix) having very long spines, native of both the American and European coasts. [ 1913 Webster ]

To pay the piper, to bear the cost, expense, or trouble. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. piper pepper. ] (Bot.) Of or pertaining to the order of plants (Piperaceæ) of which the pepper (Piper nigrum) is the type. There are about a dozen genera and a thousand species, mostly tropical plants with pungent and aromatic qualities. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or derived from, or designating, a complex organic acid found in the products of different members of the Pepper family, and extracted as a yellowish crystalline substance. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) Same as Pepperidge. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Chem.) An oily liquid alkaloid, C5H11N, having a hot, peppery, ammoniacal odor. It is related to pyridine, and is obtained by the decomposition of piperine. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. piper pepper: cf. F. piperin, piperine. ] (Chem.) A white crystalline compound of piperidine and piperic acid. It is obtained from the black pepper (Piper nigrum) and other species. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Chem.) A white crystalline substance obtained by oxidation of piperic acid, and regarded as a complex aldehyde. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Piperidine + acetylene. ] (Chem.) A hydrocarbon obtained by decomposition of certain piperidine derivatives. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of small limicoline game birds belonging to Tringa, Actodromas, Ereunetes, and various allied genera of the family Tringidae. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The most important North American species are the pectoral sandpiper (Tringa maculata), called also brownback, grass snipe, and jacksnipe; the red-backed, or black-breasted, sandpiper, or dunlin (Tringa alpina); the purple sandpiper (Tringa maritima: the red-breasted sandpiper, or knot (Tringa canutus); the semipalmated sandpiper (Ereunetes pusillus); the spotted sandpiper, or teeter-tail (Actitis macularia); the buff-breasted sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis), and the Bartramian sandpiper, or upland plover. See under Upland. Among the European species are the dunlin, the knot, the ruff, the sanderling, and the common sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucus syn. Tringoides hypoleucus), called also fiddler, peeper, pleeps, weet-weet, and summer snipe. Some of the small plovers and tattlers are also called sandpipers. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) A small lamprey eel; the pride. [ 1913 Webster ]

Curlew sandpiper. See under Curlew. --
Stilt sandpiper. See under Stilt. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Zool.) The purple sandpiper. [ 1913 Webster ]