pencil
- pencil
\ \ [14] Etymologically, a pencil is a ‘little penis’. It originally denoted a ‘paintbrush’ – the current sense ‘writing implement filled with a graphite rod’ did not emerge until the 17th century – and came via Old French pincel from Vulgar Latin *pēnicellum, an alteration of Latin pēnicillum ‘paintbrush’. This was a diminutive form of pēniculus ‘brush’, which was in turn a diminutive of pēnis. Pēnis originally meant ‘tail’ (whence the metaphor of the ‘brush’), and only by extension was it used for ‘male sex organ’ (in which sense English adopted it as penis [17]).
\ \ The term penicillin [20] was based on Latin pēnicillum, in allusion to the tuft-like shape of its spore-bearing structures.
\ \ Cf.⇒ PENICILLIN, PENIS
Word origins - 2ed.
J. Ayto.
2005.
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Look at other dictionaries:
pencil in — ˌpencil ˈin [transitive] [present tense I/you/we/they pencil in he/she/it pencils in present participle pencilling in past tense … Useful english dictionary
Pencil — Pen cil, n. [OF. pincel, F. pinceau, L. penicillum, penicillus, equiv. to peniculus, dim. of penis a tail. Cf. {Penicil}.] 1. A small, fine brush of hair or bristles used by painters for laying on colors. [1913 Webster] With subtile pencil… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Pencil — это программа для создания 2D анимации, которая запускается на Mac, Windows, Linux и BSD. Pencil использует единый растрово векторный интерфейс для создания простой 2D графики и анимации. Pencil написан на C++ и основан на Qt. Приложение… … Википедия
pencil — (n.) late 14c., an artist s fine brush of camel hair, from O.Fr. pincel artist s paintbrush (Fr. pinceau), from L. penicillus paintbrush, pencil, lit. little tail, dim. of peniculus brush, itself a dim. of penis tail (see PENIS (Cf. penis)).… … Etymology dictionary
pencil — [pen′səl] n. [ME pencel < MFr pincel < VL * penicellus < L penicillus, a brush < dim. of penis, a tail, PENIS: mod. sense & form infl. by PEN2] 1. Archaic an artist s small, fine brush 2. the individual style or ability of an artist 3 … English World dictionary
Pencil — Développeur Evolus Dernière version 1.2.0 … Wikipédia en Français
pencil — ► NOUN ▪ an instrument for writing or drawing, typically consisting of a thin stick of graphite enclosed in wood or a cylindrical case. ► VERB (pencilled, pencilling; US penciled, penciling) 1) write, draw, or colour with a pencil. 2) (p … English terms dictionary
Pencil — Pen cil, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Penciled}or {Pencilled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Penciling} or {Pencilling}.] To write or mark with a pencil; to paint or to draw. Cowper. [1913 Webster] Where nature pencils butterflies on flowers. Harte. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
pencil — ⇒PENCIL, subst. masc. Vx. Crayon de maquillage pour les sourcils, les yeux, les lèvres. Ses yeux (...) distinguaient au milieu d un attirail de miroirs à main, de pencils, patte de lièvre, boîtes à poudre et à onguents, (...) l infortunée Déborah … Encyclopédie Universelle
pencil in — pencil (someone/something) in to have a temporary plan to do something with someone. The team had penciled in Morton as a key player this season. I penciled you in for lunch next Thursday. Etymology: based on the idea that a pencil mark can… … New idioms dictionary
pencil — as a verb has inflected forms pencilled, pencilling in BrE, and usually penciled, penciling in AmE … Modern English usage
