• Pencil

    Pronunciation

    • IPA: /ˈpÉ›nsÉ™l/
    • Rhymes: -É›nsÉ™l

    Origin

    From Anglo-Norman and Old French pincil (modern pinceau ("paintbrush")), from Latin diminutive peniculus ("brush"), from noun penis ("tail") + diminutive suffix -culus.

    See also Old French pincel.

    Full definition of pencil

    Noun

    pencil

    (plural pencils)
    1. (obsolete) A paintbrush.
      • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.0:But living art may not least part expresse,
        Nor life-resembling pencill it can paynt ....
      • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.17:why is it not lawfull for every man to pourtray himself with his pen, as it was for him to doe it with a pensell?
    2. Writing utensil that uses graphite (commonly referred to as lead). Regular pencils usually have a graphite shaft surrounded by wood. Also available in a mechanical version where the graphite length can be adjusted and sharpening is not needed.
    3. (geometry) A family of geometric objects with a common property, such as the set of lines that pass through a given point in a projective plane.
    4. (optics) An aggregate or collection of rays of light, especially when diverging from, or converging to, a point.
    5. (medicine, archaic) A small medicated bougie.

    Verb

    1. to write something using a pencilI penciled (BrEn: pencilled) it in my notebook.
    2. To tentatively make a booking or appointment.I am very busy today but I can pencil you in at 3 p.m.

    Derived terms

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