Part 188

Pe*ric`li*ta"tion (?), n. [L. periclitatio: cf. F. pÈriclitation.] 1. Trial; experiment. [Obs.]

2. The state of being in peril. [Obs.]

||Pe*ric"o*pe (?), n. [L., section of a book, Gr. &?;; &?; around + &?; ||to cut.] A selection or extract from a book; especially (Theol.), a ||selection from the Bible, appointed to be read in the churches or ||used as a text for a sermon.

Per`i*cra"ni*al (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the pericranium.

Per`i*cra"ni*um (?), n. [NL.] (Anat.) The periosteum which covers the cranium externally; the region around the cranium.

Pe*ric"u*lous (?), a. [L. periculosus. See Perilous.] Dangerous; full of peril. [Obs.]

||Pe*ric"u*lum (?), n.; pl. Pericula (#). [L.] (Rom. & O.Eng. Law) 1. ||Danger; risk.

2. In a narrower, judicial sense: Accident or casus, as distinguished from dolus and culpa, and hence relieving one from the duty of performing an obligation.

Per"i*derm (?), n. 1. (Bot.) The outer layer of bark.

2. (Zoˆl.) The hard outer covering of hydroids and other marine animals; the perisarc.

||Per`i*di*as"to*le (?), n. (Physiol.) The almost inappreciable time ||which elapses between the systole and the diastole of the heart.

||Pe*rid"i*um (?), n.; pl. Peridia (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?; about + &?;, ||a dim. ending.] (Bot.) The envelope or coat of certain fungi, such as ||the puffballs and earthstars.

Per"i*dot (?), n. [F. pÈridot.] (Min.) Chrysolite.

Per"i*do*tite (?), n. [Cf. F. pÈridotite.] (Min.) An eruptive rock characterized by the presence of chrysolite (peridot). It also usually contains pyroxene, enstatite, chromite, etc. It is often altered to serpentine.

The chief diamond deposits in South Africa occur in a more or less altered peridotite.

Per"i*drome (?), n. [Gr. &?;, fr. &?; running around, fr. &?; to run round; &?; round + &?; to run: cf. F. pÈridrome.] (ArchÊol.) The space between the columns and the wall of the cella, in a Greek or a Roman temple.

Per`i*e"cians (?), n. pl. See Periúcians.

||Per`i*en"te*ron (?), n. [NL. See Peri-, and Enteron.] (Anat.) The ||primitive perivisceral cavity.

Per"i*er`gy (?), n. [Gr. &?;, fr. &?; overcareful; &?; about, beyond + &?; work.] 1. Excessive care or diligence. [Obs.]

2. (Rhet.) A bombastic or labored style. [R.]

Per`i*gan`gli*on"ic (?), a. (Anat.) Surrounding a ganglion; as, the periganglionic glands of the frog.

Per`i*gas"tric (?), a. (Zoˆl.) Surrounding the stomach; -- applied to the body cavity of Bryozoa and various other Invertebrata.

Per`i*ge"an (?), a. Pertaining to the perigee.

Perigean tides, those spring tides which occur soon after the moon passes her perigee.

{ Per"i*gee (?), Per`i*ge"um (?), } n. [NL. perigeum, fr. Gr. &?; about, near + &?; the earth: cf. F. pÈrigÈe.] (Astron.) That point in the orbit of the moon which is nearest to the earth; -- opposed to apogee. It is sometimes, but rarely, used of the nearest points of other orbits, as of a comet, a planet, etc. Called also epigee, epigeum.

Per`i*gen"e*sis (?), n. (Biol.) A theory which explains inheritance by the transmission of the type of growth force possessed by one generation to another.

Per`i*gen"e*tic (?), a. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to perigenesis.

Per"i*gone (?), n. [Pref. peri- + Gr. &?; productive organs.] 1. (Bot.) (a) Any organ inclosing the essential organs of a flower; a perianth. (b) In mosses, the involucral bracts of a male flower.