Part 389

Pol*troon"er*y (?), n. [F. poltronnerie; cf. It. poltroneria.] Cowardice; want of spirit; pusillanimity.

Pol*troon"ish, a. Resembling a poltroon; cowardly.

Pol"ve*rine (?), n. [It. polverino, fr. polvere &?;ust, L. pulvis, - veris. See Powder.] Glassmaker's ashes; a kind of potash or pearlash, brought from the Levant and Syria, -- used in the manufacture of fine glass.

Pol"wig (?), n. (Zoˆl.) A polliwig. Holland.

Pol"y- (?). [See Full, a.] A combining form or prefix from Gr. poly`s, many; as, polygon, a figure of many angles; polyatomic, having many atoms; polychord, polyconic.

Po"ly (?), n. [L. polium, the name of a plant, perhaps Teucrium polium, Gr. &?;.] (Bot.) A whitish woolly plant (Teucrium Polium) of the order LabiatÊ, found throughout the Mediterranean region. The name, with sundry prefixes, is sometimes given to other related species of the same genus. [Spelt also poley.]

Poly mountain. See Poly-mountain, in Vocabulary.

Pol`y*ac"id (?), a. [Poly- + acid.] (Chem.) Capable of neutralizing, or of combining with, several molecules of a monobasic acid; having more than one hydrogen atom capable of being replaced by acid radicals; -- said of certain bases; as, calcium hydrate and glycerin are polyacid bases.

Pol`y*a*cous"tic (?), a. [Poly- + acoustic: cf. F. polyacoustique.] Multiplying or magnifying sound. -- n. A polyacoustic instrument.

Pol`y*a*cous"tics (?), n. The art of multiplying or magnifying sounds.

||Pol`y*a"cron (?), n.; pl. Polyacra (#), E. Polyacrons (#). [NL., fr. ||Gr. poly`s many + 'a`kron summit.] (Geom.) A solid having many ||summits or angular points; a polyhedron.

||Pol`y*ac*tin"i*a (?), n. pl. [NL. See Poly-, and Actinia.] (Zoˆl.) An ||old name for those Anthozoa which, like the actinias, have numerous ||simple tentacles.

||Pol`y*a*del"phi*a (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. poly`s many + &?; ||brother.] (Bot.) A LinnÊan class of plants having stamens united in ||three or more bodies or bundles by the filaments.

{ Pol`y*a*del"phi*an (?), Pol`y*a*del"phous (?), } a. (Bot.) Belonging to the class Polyadelphia; having stamens united in three or more bundles.

||Pol`y*an"dri*a (?), n. pl. [NL. See Polyandry.] (Bot.) A LinnÊan ||class of monoclinous or hermaphrodite plants, having many stamens, or ||any number above twenty, inserted in the receptacle.

Pol`y*an"dri*an (?), a. (Bot.) Polyandrous.

Pol`y*an"dric (?), a. [Cf. polyandrique.] Pertaining to, or characterized by, polyandry; mating with several males. "Polyandric societies." H. Spencer.

Pol`y*an"drous (?), a. (Bot.) Belonging to the class Polyandria; having many stamens, or any number above twenty, inserted in the receptacle.

Pol`y*an"dry (?), n. [Poly- + Gr. &?;, &?;, man, male: cf. F. polyandrie.] The possession by a woman of more than one husband at the same time; -- contrasted with monandry.

In law, this falls under the head of polygamy.

Pol`y*an"thus (?), n.; pl. Polyanthuses (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?; rich in flowers; poly`s many + &?; flower.] [Written also polyanthos.] (Bot.) (a) The oxlip. So called because the peduncle bears a many-flowered umbel. See Oxlip. (b) A bulbous flowering plant of the genus Narcissus (N. Tazetta, or N. polyanthus of some authors). See Illust. of Narcissus.

Pol"y*ar`chist (?), n. One who advocates polyarchy; -- opposed to monarchist. Cudworth.

Pol"y*ar`chy (?), n. [Poly- + -archy: cf. F. polyarchie. Cf. Polarchy.] A government by many persons, of whatever order or class. Cudworth.

Pol`y*a*tom"ic (?), a. [Poly- + atomic.] (Chem.) (a) Having more than one atom in the molecule; consisting of several atoms. (b) Having a valence greater than one. [Obs.]

Pol`y*au*tog"ra*phy (?), n. [Poly- + autography.] The act or practice of multiplying copies of one's own handwriting, or of manuscripts, by printing from stone, -- a species of lithography.

Pol`y*ba"sic (?), a. [Poly- + basic.] (Chem.) Capable of neutralizing, or of combining with, several molecules of a monacid base; having several hydrogen atoms capable of being replaced by basic radicals; -- said of certain acids; as, sulphuric acid is polybasic.

Pol`y*ba"site (?), n. [See Polybasic.] (Min.) An iron-black ore of silver, consisting of silver, sulphur, and antimony, with some copper and arsenic.

||Pol`y*bran"chi*a (?), n. pl. [NL. See Poly-, and Branchia.] (Zoˆl.) A ||division of Nudibranchiata including those which have numerous ||branchiÊ on the back.