Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter P - Page 66
Ping (v. i.) To make the sound called ping.
Compare: Backfire
Backfire, back fire, () A fire started ahead of a forest or prairie fire to burn only against the wind, so that when the two fires meet both must go out for lack of fuel.
Backfire, back fire, () (a) A premature explosion in the cylinder of a gas or oil engine during the exhaust or the compression stroke, tending to drive the piston in a direction reverse to that in which it should travel; also called a knock or ping.
Backfire, back fire, () (b) An explosion in the exhaust passages of an internal combustion engine. Backfire
Backfire, Back-fire (v. i.) (Engin.) To have or experience a back fire or back fires; -- said of an internal-combustion engine.
Backfire, Back-fire (v. i.) Of a Bunsen or similar air-fed burner, to light so that the flame proceeds from the internal gas jet instead of from the external jet of mixed gas and air. -- Back"-fir`ing, n.
Backfire (n.) The backward escape of gases and unburned gunpowder after a gun is fired [syn: blowback, backfire].
Backfire (n.) A loud noise made by the explosion of fuel in the manifold or exhaust of an internal combustion engine.
Backfire (n.) A fire that is set intentionally in order to slow an approaching forest fire or grassfire by clearing a burned area in its path.
Backfire (n.) A miscalculation that recoils on its maker [syn: backfire, boomerang].
Backfire (v.) Come back to the originator of an action with an undesired effect; "Your comments may backfire and cause you a lot of trouble" [syn: backfire, backlash, recoil].
Backfire (v.) Emit a loud noise as a result of undergoing a backfire; "My old car backfires all the time."
Backfire (v.) Set a controlled fire to halt an advancing forest to prairie fire.
Ping (n.) A river in western Thailand; a major tributary of the Chao Phraya [syn: Ping, Ping River].
Ping (n.) A sharp high-pitched resonant sound (as of a sonar echo or a bullet striking metal).
Ping (v.) Hit with a pinging noise; "The bugs pinged the lamp shade."
Ping (v.) Sound like a car engine that is firing too early; "the car pinged when I put in low-octane gasoline"; "The car pinked when the ignition was too far retarded" [syn: pink, ping, knock].
Ping (v.) Make a short high-pitched sound; "the bullet pinged when they struck the car."
Ping (v.) Contact, usually in order to remind of something; "I'll ping my accountant--April 15 is nearing."
Ping (v.) Send a message from one computer to another to check whether it is reachable and active; "ping your machine in the office."
PING, () Packet InterNet Groper (ICMP, TCP/ IP).
Ping, () [from the submariners' term for a sonar pulse] (n.) Slang term for a small network message (ICMP ECHO) sent by a computer to check for the presence and alertness of another. The Unix command ping (8) can be used to do this manually (note that ping (8)'s author denies the widespread folk etymology that the name was ever intended as an acronym for ?Packet INternet Groper?). Occasionally used as a phone greeting. See ACK , also ENQ.
Ping, () (v. t.) To verify the presence of.
Ping, () (v. t.) To get the attention of.
Ping, () (v. t.) To send a message to all members of a mailing list requesting an {ACK (in order to verify that everybody's addresses are reachable). ?We haven't heard much of anything from Geoff, but he did respond with an ACK both times I pinged jargon-friends.?
Ping, () (n.) A quantum packet of happiness. People who are very happy tend to exude pings; furthermore, one can intentionally create pings and aim them at a needy party (e.g., a depressed person). This sense of ping may appear as an exclamation; ?Ping!? (I'm happy; I am emitting a quantum of happiness; I have been struck by a quantum of happiness). The form ? pingfulness?, which is used to describe people who exude pings, also occurs. (In the standard abuse of language, ?pingfulness? can also be used as an exclamation, in which case it's a much stronger exclamation than just ?ping?!). Oppose blargh.
The funniest use of ?ping? to date was described in January 1991 by Steve Hayman on the Usenet group comp.sys.next. He was trying to isolate a faulty cable segment on a TCP/IP Ethernet hooked up to a NeXT machine, and got tired of having to run back to his console after each cabling tweak to see if the ping packets were getting through. So he used the sound-recording feature on the NeXT, then wrote a script that repeatedly invoked ping (8), listened for an echo, and played back the recording on each returned packet. Result? A program that caused the machine to repeat, over and over, ?Ping ... ping ... ping ...? as long as the network was up. He turned the volume to maximum, ferreted through the building with one ear cocked, and found a faulty tee connector in no time.
Ping
Packet InterNet Groper
ping command
pinging, () (Ping, originally contrived to match submariners' term for the sound of a returned sonar pulse) A program written in 1983 by Mike Muuss (who also wrote TTCP) used to test reachability of destinations by sending them one, or repeated, ICMP echo requests and waiting for replies.
Since ping works at the IP level its server-side is often implemented entirely within the operating system kernel and is thus the lowest level test of whether a remote host is alive. Ping will often respond even when higher level, TCP-based services cannot.
Sadly, Mike Muuss was killed in a road accident on 2000-11-20.
The term is also used as a verb: "Ping host X to see if it is up."
The Unix command "ping" can be used to do this and to measure round-trip delays.
The funniest use of "ping" was described in January 1991 by Steve Hayman on the Usenet group comp.sys.next. He was trying to isolate a faulty cable segment on a TCP/ IP Ethernet hooked up to a NeXT machine. Using the sound recording feature on the NeXT, he wrote a script that repeatedly invoked ping, listened for an echo, and played back the recording on each returned packet. This caused the machine to repeat, over and over, "Ping ... ping ... ping ..." as long as the network was up. He turned the volume to maximum, ferreted through the building with one ear cocked, and found a faulty tee connector in no time.
Ping did not stand for "Packet InterNet Groper", Dave Mills offered this backronym expansion some time later.
See also ACK, ENQ, traceroute, spray.
The Story of the Ping Program Unix manual page: ping (8). (2005-06-22)
Pingle (n.) A small piece of inclosed ground. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
Pingster (n.) See Pinkster.
Compare: Pinkster
Pinkster (n.) Whitsuntide. [Written also pingster and pinxter.]
Pinkster flower (Bot.), The rosy flower of the Azalea nudiflora; also, the shrub itself; -- called also Pinxter blomachee by the New York descendants of the Dutch settlers.
Pinguicula (n.) (Bot.) See Butterwort.
Compare: Butterwort
Butterwort (n.) (Bot.) A genus of low herbs ({Pinguicula) having simple leaves which secrete from their glandular upper surface a viscid fluid, to which insects adhere, after which the margin infolds and the insects are digested by the plant. The species are found mostly in the North Temperate zone.
Pinguicula (n.) Butterworts: a large genus of almost stemless carnivorous bog plants; Europe and America to Antarctica [syn: Pinguicula, genus Pinguicula].
Pinguid (a.) Fat; unctuous; greasy. [Obs.] "Some clays are more pinguid." -- Mortimer.
Pinguidinous (a.) Containing fat; fatty. [Obs.]
Pinguitude (n.) Fatness; a growing fat; obesity. [R.]
Pinhold (n.) A place where a pin is fixed.
Pinic (a.) (Chem.) Of or pertaining to the pine; obtained from the pine; formerly, designating an acid which is the chief constituent of common resin, -- now called abietic, or sylvic, acid.
Pining (a.) Languishing; drooping; wasting away, as with longing.
Pining (a.) Wasting; consuming. "The pining malady of France." -- Shak.
Pining (n.) A feeling of deep longing.
Piningly (adv.) In a pining manner; droopingly. -- Poe.
Pinion (n.) (Zool.) A moth of the genus Lithophane, as Lithophane antennata, whose larva bores large holes in young peaches and apples.
Pinion (n.) A feather; a quill. -- Shak.
Pinion (n.) A wing, literal or figurative.
Swift on his sooty pinions flits the gnome. -- Pope.
Pinion (n.) The joint of bird's wing most remote from the body. -- Johnson.
Pinion (n.) A fetter for the arm. -- Ainsworth.
Pinion (n.) (Mech.) A cogwheel with a small number of teeth, or leaves, adapted to engage with a larger wheel, or rack (see Rack); esp., such a wheel having its leaves formed of the substance of the arbor or spindle which is its axis.
Lantern pinion. See under Lantern.
Pinion wire, Wire fluted longitudinally, for making the pinions of clocks and watches. It is formed by being drawn through holes of the shape required for the leaves or teeth of the pinions.
Pinioned (imp. & p. p.) of Pinion.
Pinioning (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Pinion.
Pinion (v. t.) To bind or confine the wings of; to confine by binding the wings. -- Bacon.
Pinion (v. t.) To disable by cutting off the pinion joint. -- Johnson.
Pinion (v. t.) To disable or restrain, as a person, by binding the arms, esp. by binding the arms to the body. -- Shak.
Her elbows pinioned close upon her hips. -- Cowper.
Pinion (v. t.) Hence, generally, to confine; to bind; to tie up. "Pinioned up by formal rules of state." -- Norris.
Pinion (n.) A gear with a small number of teeth designed to mesh with a larger wheel or rack.
Pinion (n.) Any of the larger wing or tail feathers of a bird [syn: flight feather, pinion, quill, quill feather].
Pinion (n.) Wing of a bird [syn: pennon, pinion].
Pinion (v.) Bind the arms of [syn: pinion, shackle].
Pinion (v.) Cut the wings off (of birds).
Pinioned (a.) Having wings or pinions.
Pinioned (a.) (Of birds) Especially having the flight feathers.
Pinioned (a.) Bound fast especially having the arms restrained.
Pinionist (n.) (Zool.) Any winged creature.
Pinite (n.) (Paleon.) Any fossil wood which exhibits traces of having belonged to the Pine family.
Pinite (n.) (Chem.) A sweet white crystalline substance extracted from the gum of a species of pine ({Pinus Lambertina). It is isomeric with, and resembles, quercite.
Pinite (n.) (Min.) A compact granular cryptocrystalline mineral of a dull grayish or greenish white color. It is a hydrous alkaline silicate, and is derived from the alteration of other minerals, as iolite.
Pinite (n.) Grey or green or brown mineral similar to mica and containing aluminum and potassium sulphates.
Pink (n.) (Naut.) A vessel with a very narrow stern; -- called also pinky. -- Sir W. Scott.
Pink stern (Naut.), A narrow stern.
Pink (v. i.) To wink; to blink. [Obs.] -- L'Estrange.
Pink (a.) Half-shut; winking. [Obs.] -- Shak.
Pinked (imp. & p. p.) of Pink.
Pinking (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Pink.
Pink (v. t.) To pierce with small holes; to cut the edge of, as cloth or paper, in small scallops or angles.
Pink (v. t.) To stab; to pierce as with a sword. -- Addison.
Pink (v. t.) To choose; to cull; to pick out. [Obs.] -- Herbert.
Pink (n.) A stab. -- Grose.
Pink (n.) (Bot.) A name given to several plants of the caryophyllaceous genus Dianthus, and to their flowers, which are sometimes very fragrant and often double in cultivated varieties. The species are mostly perennial herbs, with opposite linear leaves, and handsome five-petaled flowers with a tubular calyx.
Pink (n.) A color resulting from the combination of a pure vivid red with more or less white; -- so called from the common color of the flower. -- Dryden.
Pink (n.) Anything supremely excellent; the embodiment or perfection of something. "The very pink of courtesy." -- Shak.
Pink (n.) (Zool.) The European minnow; -- so called from the color of its abdomen in summer. [Prov. Eng.]
Bunch pink is Dianthus barbatus.
China pink, or Indian pink. See under China.
Clove pink is Dianthus Caryophyllus, the stock from which carnations are derived.
Garden pink. See Pheasant's eye.
Meadow pink is applied to Dianthus deltoides; also, to the ragged robin.
Maiden pink, Dianthus deltoides.
Moss pink. See under Moss.
Pink needle, The pin grass; -- so called from the long, tapering points of the carpels. See Alfilaria.
Sea pink. See Thrift.
Pink (a.) Resembling the garden pink in color; of the color called pink (see 6th Pink, 2); as, a pink dress; pink ribbons.
Pink eye (Med.), A popular name for an epidemic variety of ophthalmia, associated with early and marked redness of the eyeball.
Pink salt (Chem. & Dyeing), The double chlorides of (stannic) tin and ammonium, formerly much used as a mordant for madder and cochineal.
Pink saucer, A small saucer, the inner surface of which is covered with a pink pigment.
Pink (a.) Of a light shade of red [syn: pink, pinkish].
Pink (n.) A light shade of red.
Pink (n.) Any of various flowers of plants of the genus Dianthus cultivated for their fragrant flowers [syn: pink, garden pink].
Pink (n.) A person with mildly leftist political views [syn: pinko, pink].
Pink (v.) Make light, repeated taps on a surface; "he was tapping his fingers on the table impatiently" [syn: tap, rap, knock, pink].
Pink (v.) Sound like a car engine that is firing too early; "the car pinged when I put in low-octane gasoline"; "The car pinked when the ignition was too far retarded" [syn: pink, ping, knock].
Pink (v.) Cut in a zigzag pattern with pinking shears, in sewing
Pinked (a.) Pierced with small holes; worked in eyelets; scalloped on the edge. -- Shak.
Pink-eyed (a.) Having small eyes. -- Holland.
Pinking (n.) The act of piercing or stabbing.
Pinking (n.) The act or method of decorating fabrics or garments with a pinking iron; also, the style of decoration; scallops made with a pinking iron.
Pinking iron. (a) An instrument for scalloping the edges of ribbons, flounces, etc.
Pinking iron. (b) A sword. [Colloq.]
Pinkish (a.) Somewhat pink.
Pinkish (a.) Of a light shade of red [syn: pink, pinkish].
Pinkness (n.) Quality or state of being pink.
Pinkness (n.) The quality of being pink.
Pinkroot (n.) (Med.) The root of Spigelia Marilandica, used as a powerful vermifuge; also, that of S. Anthelmia. See definition 2 (below).
Pinkroot (n.) (Bot.) A perennial North American herb ({Spigelia Marilandica), sometimes cultivated for its showy red blossoms. Called also Carolina pink, Maryland pinkroot, and worm grass.
Pinkroot (n.) (Bot.) An annual South American and West Indian plant ({Spigelia Anthelmia).
Pinkroot (n.) A fungal disease of onions.
Pinkster (n.) Whitsuntide. [Written also pingster and pinxter.]
Pinkster flower (Bot.), The rosy flower of the Azalea nudiflora; also, the shrub itself; -- called also Pinxter blomachee by the New York descendants of the Dutch settlers.
Pink stern () (Naut.) See Chebacco, and 1st Pink.
Pinky (n.) The finger farthest from the thumb [syn: little finger, pinkie, pinky].
Pink-sterned (a.) (Naut.) Having a very narrow stern; -- said of a vessel.
Pinky (n.) (Naut.) See 1st Pink.
Pinky (n.) The finger farthest from the thumb [syn: little finger, pinkie, pinky].
Pinnae (n. pl. ) of Pinna.
Pinnas (n. pl. ) of Pinna.
Pinna (n.) (Bot.) A leaflet of a pinnate leaf. See Illust. of Bipinnate leaf, under Bipinnate.
Pinna (n.) (Bot.) One of the primary divisions of a decompound leaf.
Pinna (n.) (Zool.) One of the divisions of a pinnate part or organ.
Pinna (n.) (Zool.) Any species of Pinna, a genus of large bivalve mollusks found in all warm seas. The byssus consists of a large number of long, silky fibers, which have been used in manufacturing woven fabrics, as a curiosity.
Pinna (n.) (Anat.) The auricle of the ear. See Ear.
Compare: Byssus
Byssus (n.; pl. Byssuses) A cloth of exceedingly fine texture, used by the ancients. It is disputed whether it was of cotton, linen, or silk. [Written also byss and byssin.].
Byssus (n.; pl. Byssuses) (Zool.) A tuft of long, tough filaments which are formed in a groove of the foot, and issue from between the valves of certain bivalve mollusks, as the Pinna and Mytilus, by which they attach themselves to rocks, etc.
Byssus (n.; pl. Byssuses) (Bot.) An obsolete name for certain fungi composed of slender threads.
Byssus (n.; pl. Byssuses) Asbestus.
Pinna (n.) Division of a usually pinnately divided leaf [syn: pinna, pinnule].
Pinna (n.) The externally visible cartilaginous structure of the external ear [syn: auricle, pinna, ear].
Pinnace (n.) (Naut.) A small vessel propelled by sails or oars, formerly employed as a tender, or for coast defence; -- called originally, spynace or spyne.
Pinnace (n.) (Naut.) A man-of-war's boat.
Whilst our pinnace anchors in the Downs. -- Shak.
Pinnace (n.) A procuress; a pimp. [Obs.] -- B. Jonson.
Pinnace (n.) A boat for communication between ship and shore [syn: tender, ship's boat, pinnace, cutter].
Pinnacle (n.) (Arch.) An architectural member, upright, and generally ending in a small spire, -- used to finish a buttress, to constitute a part in a proportion, as where pinnacles flank a gable or spire, and the like. Pinnacles may be considered primarily as added weight, where it is necessary to resist the thrust of an arch, etc.
Some
renowned metropolis With glistering spires and pinnacles around. -- Milton.
Pinnacle (n.) Anything resembling a pinnacle; a lofty peak; a
pointed summit.
Three silent pinnacles of aged snow. -- Tennyson.
The slippery tops of human state,
The gilded pinnacles of fate. -- Cowley.
Pinnacled (imp. & p. p.) of Pinnacle.
Pinnacling (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Pinnacle.
Pinnacle (v. t.) To build or furnish with a pinnacle or pinnacles. -- T. Warton.
Pinnacle (n.) (Architecture) A slender upright spire at the top of a buttress of tower.
Pinnacle (n.) The highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development; "his landscapes were deemed the acme of beauty"; "the artist's gifts are at their acme"; "at the height of her career"; "the peak of perfection"; "summer was at its peak"; "...catapulted Einstein to the pinnacle of fame"; "the summit of his ambition"; "so many highest superlatives achieved by man"; "at the top of his profession" [syn: acme, height, elevation, peak, pinnacle, summit, superlative, meridian, tiptop, top].
Pinnacle (n.) A lofty peak.
Pinnacle (v.) Surmount with a pinnacle; "pinnacle a pediment."
Pinnacle (v.) Raise on or as if on a pinnacle; "He did not want to be pinnacled."
Pinnacle, () A little wing, (Matt. 4:5; Luke 4:9). On the southern side of the temple court was a range of porches or cloisters forming three arcades. At the south-eastern corner the roof of this cloister was some 300 feet above the Kidron valley. The pinnacle, some parapet or wing-like projection, was above this roof, and hence at a great height, probably 350 feet or more above the valley.
Pinnage (n.) Poundage of cattle. See Pound. [Obs.] Pinnate
Pinnate (a.) Alt. of Pinnated.
Pinnated (a.) (Bot.) Consisting of several leaflets, or separate portions, arranged on each side of a common petiole, as the leaves of a rosebush, a hickory, or an ash. See Abruptly pinnate, and Illust., under Abruptly.
Pinnated (a.) (Zool.) Having a winglike tuft of long feathers on each side of the neck.
Pinnated grouse (Zool.), The prairie chicken.
Pinnate (a.) (Of a leaf shape) Featherlike; having leaflets on each side of a common axis [syn: pinnate, pinnated].
Pinnately (adv.) In a pinnate manner.
Pinnately (adv.) Having a pinnate shape; "a pinnately compound leaf."
Pinnatifid (a.) (Bot.) Divided in a pinnate manner, with the divisions not reaching to the midrib.
Pinnatifid (a.) (Of a leaf shape) Cleft nearly to the midrib in broad divisions not separated into distinct leaflets.
Pinnatilobate (a.) (Bot.) Having lobes arranged in a pinnate manner.
Pinnatiped (a.) (Zool.) Having the toes bordered by membranes; fin-footed, as certain birds.
Pinnatiped (n.) (Zool.) Any bird which has the toes bordered by membranes.
Pinnatiped (n.) Aquatic carnivorous mammal having a streamlined body specialized for swimming with limbs modified as flippers [syn: pinniped mammal, pinniped, pinnatiped].
Pinnatisect (a.) (Of a leaf shape) Cleft nearly to the midrib in narrow divisions not separated into distinct leaflets.
Pinnatisect (a.) Divided pinnately nearly to the midrib. Used of certain leaves.
Pinner (n.) One who, or that which, pins or fastens, as with pins.
Pinner (n.) (Costume) A headdress like a cap, with long lappets.
Pinner (n.) (Costume) An apron with a bib; a pinafore.
Pinner (n.) (Costume) A cloth band for a gown. [Obs.]
With kerchief starched, and pinners clean. -- Gay.
Pinner (n.) A pin maker.
Pinner (n.) One who pins or impounds cattle. See Pin, v. t. [Obs.]
Pinner (n.) A woman's cap with two long flaps pinned on
Pinnet (n.) A pinnacle. [R.] -- Sir W. Scott.
Pinniform (a.) Shaped like a fin or feather. -- Sir J. Hill.
Pinnigrada (n. pl.) (Zool.) Same as Pinnipedia.
Pinnigrade (n.) (Zool.) An animal of the seal tribe, moving by short feet that serve as paddles.
Pinniped (n.) (Zool.) One of the Pinnipedia; a seal.
Pinniped (n.) (Zool.) One of the Pinnipedes.
Pinniped (n.) Aquatic carnivorous mammal having a streamlined body specialized for swimming with limbs modified as flippers [syn: pinniped mammal, pinniped, pinnatiped].
Pinnipedes (n. pl.) [NL.] (Zool.) Same as Steganopodes.
Pinnipedia (n. pl.) (Zool.) A suborder of aquatic carnivorous mammals including the seals and walruses; -- opposed to Fissipedia.
Pinnipedia (n.) Seals; sea lions; walruses [syn: Pinnipedia, suborder Pinnipedia].
Pinnock (n.) (Zool.) The hedge sparrow. [Prov. Eng.]
Pinnock (n.) (Zool.) The tomtit.
Pinnothere (n.) (Zool.) A crab of the genus pinnotheres. See Oyster crab, under Oyster.
Pinnulae (n. pl. ) of Pinnula.
Pinnula (n.) [L.] Same as Pinnule.
Pinnulate (a.) (Bot.) Having each pinna subdivided; -- said of a leaf, or of its pinnae.