Glossary:Pf-Pp

Ph : philetor, the older male lover; a primary kin term for an androphilic spouse in same-sex mateship.

pheasant : Fesant : [1519] a game of warren. The family le Strange often killed pheasants by using the Goshawk. Cf. game.

phenotype : [1911] the visible properties of an organism made by an interaction of its genotype with the environment; a particular mixture of inheritance and environment. The phenotype is the entire constitution of a single individual, or the carnal expression of all the biochemical and physiological characteristics of his genetic endowment. Cf. genotype.

-phile : [Gk] lover of; a suffix common the such words as androphile, ephebophile, gerontophile, gynecophile, homophile, pedophile.

philētōr : philetor : [Gk masculine] Ph; older lover, older admirer. During courtship, the wooer is called erastēs, and he acquires the status of philētōr after the boy accepts him. Cf. eíspnēlas, erastēs. Opp. aïtas, erōmenos (Er), parastatēs.

philetor and eromenos : [Gk] Ph & Er; the Doric names for older lover and younger lover paired as spouses. These primary kinship terms may be abbreviated Ph and Er. Cf. antianeira and hetaera.

philia : friendship, love; love based upon common interests and shared concerns. Cf. three components of love. Opp. erōs, storgē.

philosopher’s stone : the legendary stone that alchemists believed would possess the magical power for transforming base metals into gold. This was a figurative metaphor for the chemical process that alchemists would need to invent to accomplish their purpose. Cf. elixir of life.

phlebitis : the tenderness or hardness of an infected vein. Phlebitis was once treated with lotions and leeches.

phonography : [1701] the recording of sounds; writing based upon phonetic transcription, or the pronunciations of the words expressed; spelling based upon sound; a system of shorthand writing based on pronunciation. Opp. logography, semasiography.

phratry : [Am] socio-political phratry; a group of two or more lineal sibs organized by conventional bonds of unilinear kinship.[76] When this definition is used, the writer intends a lineal sib to denote a common descent, such as a clan or sept, rather than a one-generation sibship.

phratry : a collection of descent groups looser than moieties. Phratries can sometimes be in closer relation to one another than to any other descent groups, because they tend to share traditions about common origins, or make many affinal exchanges.

phratry : a group of two or more clans united by bonds of mutual interest or common objectives. Such a phratry is organized for social and political reasons, so its existence does not depend on kinship, and it may or may not exhibit exogamy.[77]

phratry : a subdivision of a moiety that itself is further subdivided into clans and lineages. As a linkage of clans, the phratry may exist only when it serves to unite two or more clans, provided there are three or more groupings of clans that can be classified as phratries. If the number of clans is insufficient to warrant the establishment of three or more phratries, then the category is dropped altogether, and the clans are arranged instead into moieties.[78]

phylogeny : the racial history of a kind of organism, the evolution of a genetically related group of organisms as opposed to the development of an individual organism.

phylum : division; a secondary taxonomic class of living beings, among at least seven orders of classification; a class more specific than kingdom, but broader than class. Cf. classification, taxonomy.

physicoërotic : physicality and sensuality based upon progenerative urge. Any sexual psyche restricting his sexual play to biological function, remains nought but an actor in some temporal play, for his marital contracts are valid only on earth, and have no place in heaven. Cf. Aphrodite Urania. Opp. technoërotic.

piano-forte : piano, an instrument made like a harpsichord, but designed to permit the player to make soft and loud notes.

pier: a mass of supporting masonry that stands between archways or other openings.

pietal : [proposed] petaloid; descending from one’s son. English kin terms often categorize remote relatives, by specifying the sex of the linking relative with such words as paternal, maternal, fraternal, and sororal. However, English has never developed correlative adjectives that denote the sex of a linking child. As pietal implies duty to God, it connotes devotion to native superordinates, so we may regard this adjective as descriptive of patrism or patriliny. We might employ the adjective pietal as an explicitly male correlative to filial. Alternatively, we might consider using a term of naturalistic allusion, such as petaloid. Cf. petaloid.

pietist : one who professes strictness and purity of life, but who dispises ecclesiastical polity and learning.

piety : pietas : duty to parents of those of superior relation; discharge of duty to God; fidelity to natural or fundamental obligations.

pig : pygge : [1599] The maximum price for fatted pig of the best quality was fixed in August 1599 at 16d, or the equivalent of about $4 in 1967 currency.

pike : a long lance used by foot soldiers to repel cavalry. The pike was later replaced by shorter javelins and bayonets.

pilaster : a square or rectangular pillar built into a wall, and slightly protruding from it for decorative purposes.

pilgrim : pelegrinus : traveler, wanderer, one who travels for religious purposes.

Pilgrims : the dissenters who sailed from Plymouth, Devon, to settle Plymouth, MA, and made the Mayflower Compact in 1620.

pili-pili : [Sumer] the title granted to initiates of head-overturning ceremony, a transvestite celebration of ancient Sumer. Cf. Enheduanna, Inanna.

pilleum : the cap of liberty worn by manumitted slaves, cap of liberty worn by the general population on the Saturnalia.

pillory : pillorium : a wooden frame used for public punishment which has movable boards and holes for clasping the head and hands, or the feet, of a criminal. The pillory was a standard punishment imposed by the Star Chamber. It was customary to post a listing of the victim’s offenses over his head. The public often participated in the punishment by taunting and abusing the subject. Sometimes, the victim’s ears were nailed to the pillory frame. For especially heinous crimes, the tormentors sometimes cut off one ear, or both ears, and sometimes slit open the victim’s nose. Cf. torture.

pilot : piloot [Du] : pilote [Fr] : he who steers a ship, or flies an airplane. Pilot often refers to a local captain who boards the ship for the limited purpose of navagating waters he knows better than the visiting captain.

pimp : pinge : [Fr] procurer, pander, one who arranges sexual gratifications for others.

pincerna : buticularius, butler, a manservant in charge of wines and liquors, the chief male servant of a household in charge of other servants. In early royal documents, the word pincerna often referred specifically to William de Albini I (died 1139).[79] Cf. household officers.

pink triangle : [1933-1945] the symbol that Nazis required homosexuals to sew onto their clothing, as a mark of difference and nonconformity. The custom derived from a thirteenth-century Christian mandate. Cf. mogan David.

pinnace : [1600] a small vessel of some 20 tons. The pinnace was usually equipped with two square-rigged masts, and sometimes had a lugsail on the main. The design later called for a schooner rig. Such small vessels sometimes tried to voyage with the explorations, but they were too small, and usually had to return to England.

pinsel : a heraldic banner resembling a standard, but embellished as red and white colors to denote the absence of the master. Cf. arms, standard.

Pioneer type : an ambisexual type, a mainly heterosexual male who sometimes engages in homosexual behavior.[80]

Pipe Rolls : [1131-1833] the annual rolls showing the pipes, or the records of financial settlements between tenants and the crown. The pipes mostly represent crown revenues, but include some royal payments and expenditures.

pirus : pear tree; penis. Boccaccio recorded the Tale of the Enchanted Pear Tree.

pistil : pistillum : [1726] gynoecium; carpel; the ovule-bearing organ of a seed plant, which consists of the ovary, style, and stigma. Cf. flower, stamen.

pitch : the highest point in the flight of a hawk. During training, it is common for the falconer to release the quarry when the hawk reaches its highest altitude, or pitch. Cf. hawks, stoop.

pitch : pyche, as in pitch and tar. Lady Lestrange bought Pyche & Tarr for the costs of the ship on 1539/3/28*.[81] The pitch cost 3s 4d per half-barrel, or 6s 8d per barrel.

Pithecanthropus : ape man, later called Homo erectus. Cf. Hominidae, Homo sapiens.

Pitman, Sir Issac : [1813-1897] author of Stenographic Sound-Hand (1837). Pitman sound-hand was popularized in 1852, and classes in Pitman’s system comprised perhaps 97% of the shorthand courses offered in the United States in 1889. Cf. Bright, Gregg, shortwriting.

place : playes : playce : [Sx] locality, local relation, ubiety; seat, residence, mansion; ordinal relation; rank, order of priority, precedence; station in life.

place undetermined : l.l., loco ladato, loco laudato [Lt]; place in dispute; place unknown.

place unknown : l.l., loco laudato [Lt], place in dispute; place undetermined.

plague : plaga : pestilence, state of misery, a contagious and destructive disease. The term plague often refers specifically to the bubonic plague, or Black Plague, which is now known to be transmitted through the bites of fleas that normally live on the bodies of rats, but which migrate to humans when rats die in large numbers.

plague in Constantinople : [ad 543] an instance of the plague in Constantinople in ad 543.[84]

plague year in England : [1593] During the plague of 1593, 35 persons were buried at Hunstanton.[85]

plague year in England : [1598] During the plague of 1598, 30 persons were buried at Hunstanton.[86]

plaice : [1400] platensis [Lt], playce, a flat fish; any of several flatfishes; Pleuronectes platessa, a large European flounder. Flatfishes lie upon the sea bottom, and therefore are easy to catch with sea lawers at low tide. Cf. flounder, in-shore fishing, pokenet, sea lawers, sole.

plaice and sole : [1523-1554] kinds of flat fishes often caught in the sea lawers at Hunstanton. The manor house accounts often mention these fish.[87] Cf. in-shore fishing, sea lawers.

planets : the seven planets of lore, namely Luna, Mercury, Venus, Sol, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Today, we no longer classify Luna or the Moon as a planet.

plantation : [MA] a parcel of land cleared of trees and having some merchantable value, in Massachusetts.[89]

plantation : [ME] a small civil division with a rudimentary government, in Maine.[90]

plantation : plantatio : colony, a place planted; the act or practice of planting; a large, cultivated estate.

plantation slave : a predial slave assigned to some remote farm; a slave attached to a colonial plantation.

plasma : the fluid and non-cellular substance of circulating blood that transports nutrients and blood cells throughout the body.

plat : a simple map that graphically shows the boundaries and boundary markers for one parcel of land owned by a patentee.

plat book : a register or collection of plats submitted to a district land office. Cf. district land office, tract book.

Platonic love : [later meaning] non-sexual love of any orientation. The modern meaning has been wholly divorced from any love Plato extolled.[91]

Platonic love : [original meaning] Plato’s notion that same-sex love was the only means by which a person could transcend sex.[92]

platoon : peloton : [Fr] a small body of soldiers separated from the battalion for the purpose of scouting, or for making some special formation; a square formation of musketeers with grenadiers positioned at the angles to increase its strength.

pleader : one who speaks for or against some charge; one who argues in the court of a justice.

pleaders : legal professionals who served 2 functions, (1) to make clear the nature of a dispute, and (2) to contribute toward proof.[93] Cf. barrister.

pleas of gallows : the right of a lord to hear and adjudicate allegations that call for hanging; the right of a lord to impose the penalty of death by hanging.[95]

plebs : plebeians, the common people as opposed to patricii, patres, and senatus.

plot : plat : a plantation laid out and surveyed; a small parcel of ground subdivided from a larger region; plan, form, scheme.

plough : [Sx] an instrument used to cut furrows in the earth for seeding; tillage, cultivation of the land.

point : an end or object to be achieved; one of 11 divisions of a heraldic shield used to determine the position of a charge.

point of confusion : res confusus : some point of confusion; an item or individual detail that has become unreliable due to some basic inconsistency and doubt. A point of confusion is far more serious than a point of doubt, because it pertains to the identity of a specific person, rather than the veracity of an isolated fact. In genealogy and biography, a writer or speaker may sometimes identify two people as a single person, mistake one person for two or more others, or assign a person to some genealogical position he does not deserve and never had. Cf. fact, four degrees of certitude, point.

point of doubt : res dubius : some doubtful point; an item or individual detail that has become questionable, due to a divergence or contradiction of facts, or due to some inconsistency in the data. A point of doubt usually arises when the researcher finds two or more facts that conflict with one another, but cannot be further reduced into facts certain versus facts uncertain. Points of doubt focus upon the veracity of particular facts, whereas point of confusion focus upon the identity of particular individuals. Cf. fact, four degrees of certitude, point.

points : poynts : laces, ties; tagged laces or cords made of twisted yarn, silk, or leather, and used for attaching hose to the doublet and for fastening other parts of clothing where buttons might be used today. The family le Strange purchased points for 8d per dozen in 1520.[96]

points : ties of kinship; the primary kin types expressed in series to form a denotative range that defines some specific relationship vis-à-vis the ego.[97] For example, the three points SiSoSo stand for one’s sister’s son’s son, or one’s sororal grandnephew. It is sometimes necessary to differentiate sibling points with ages relative to the ego, such as (e) for elder or (y) for younger. Cf. denotative range, primary kin types, kinship ties.

pokenet : pokenette, a fishnet suspended between a pair of vertical stakes or sea lawers, to create a birth (berth) for catching fish at low tide.[98] The name and application suggest that in-shore fishermen made pokenets of some inexpensive material, pocked or poked with openings for the free flow of water. Cf. birth, in-shore fishing, sea lawers.

pole painted red and white : [1603] a pole decorated with spiral bars of white and red; a typical sign for a barbershop.

poleyns : the overlapping and flexible plates that provide armor protection for the feet.

polis : pol- : [Gk] city, state, commonwealth. Plato said that the ideal city should have 5,000 citizens, or about 20,000 people in total. Cf. citizen.

politically correct : PC : [1976] embracing the American principles of democracy and fairness, especially with respect to minority rights. Advocates of civil rights originally used this term to denote the orthodox balance of minority right against majority dictatorship that must needs be present in all forms of American democracy, regardless political affiliation. Politically correct institutions require the elimination of racism, sexism, and agism, and the defense of American principles.

politically correct : PC : [1992] liberal; characteristic of social policies and doctrines that are innately and naturally opposed to theocracy and aristocracy. Fundamentalist rhetoricians successfully appropriated this phrase to their own use, and made it into a derogatory expression for any view antithetical to religious majoritarianism. The phrase had positive connotations in the 1970s, but acquired highly negative connotations in the 1990s.

polyandrous family : Wi & Hu(1) & Hu(2); a family organized around a wife and her plural husbands. Cf. polygamous family.

polyandry : adelphic polyandry, fraternal polyandry, wherein two or more co-husbands are brothers. Cf. adelphic polyandry.

polyandry : Wi & Hu(1) & Hu(2); marriage of a woman to two or more men at the same time; simultaneous marriages to more than one husband; a marital norm that is often indicative of matriarchy. Cf. adelphic polyandry, serial monogamy.

polygamist : one who believes in having, or takes, more than one wife at one time.

polygamous family : Hu & Wi(1) & Wi(2), Wi & Hu(1) & Hu(2); a family organized around a husband and his plural wives, or a wife and her plural husbands.

polygamy : plural marriage of any type. Cf. adelphic polyandry, polyandry, polygyny, sororal polygyny.

polygamy : the male practice of taking multiple wives within a patriarchy. They word can be used in contradistinction to polyandry and polygyny.

polygynous family : Hu & Wi(1) & Wi(2); a family organized around a husband and his plural wives.

polygynous peregrination : Hu & Wi & Ct, Hu & Wi(1) & Wi(2); The Delaware and Iroquois males abandoned their wives during pregnancy, and often remained absent through the period of breast-feeding. During such a hiatus, the male would normally incline to another’s affections, and consequently commence another cycle of progeneration with another wife. Thus, the tribes had many halfsiblings who were usually ignorant of who their paternal halfsiblings happened to be. Thus, the Delaware and Iroquois cultures acknowledged only matrilineal lines of descent, and practiced matrilocal visitation, in the same manner as the ancient Japanese. Cf. Adonis.

polygyny : sororal polygyny, wherein two or more wives might be natal sister or fictive sisters.

polygyny : the marriage of a man to two or more women at the same time. Cf. serial monogamy, sororal polygyny. Cf. polygynous peregrination.

polykoity : plural mating, without any reference to the marital statuses of the partners. Cf. promiscuity. Opp. polyandry, polygamy, polygyny.

polymerase : [1958] any of several enzymes that use existing DNA or RNA as a template to catalyze the formation of new DNA or RNA from the precursor molecule.

polymerase chain reaction : PCR : an amplification technique used to detect and analyze small amounts of DNA or RNA in blood or tissue samples.

polymorphous sexuality : the mammalian norm for sexuality; the capacity to derive sexual pleasure from various sources.[100]

polyphone : a letter, symbol, or group of characters that stand for more than one sound. The letter G is a polyphone that stands for \j\ in gin, but for \g\ in gain.

pomander : pomme d’ambre : [Fr] sweet ball; a perfumes ball; a scent box containing powder.

pomegranate : rubyfruit, Chinese apple; a symbol of female power and fertility. The pomegranate is deep red inside and divided into six oval compartments of seed clusters, suggestive of the clitoris.[101]

Pompagira : [Macumba] the female counterpart of Eshu the trickster coyote.[102] Pompagira was the native transvestite goddess of Afro-Americans taken as slaves to Brazil, and she was correlative to the west African god Eshu. The human Pompagira is a man who dresses in red with heavy makeup, and shamelessly flirts as a promiscuous woman with men of the community. Cf. Eshu.

pontage : pontagium : a duty paid for the repair of bridges. This was sometimes collected as a toll collected from anyone passing over the bridge, as well as from any passing under it.

pontifex : the performer of a sacrifice. In matriarchies, it was women who were priestesses, and a woman served as pontifex.

pontifex maximus : president of the guild of high priests, priest of the highest rank who exercises royal authority (leges regiæ). The chief who has autocratic power, as opposed to the member of a council who shares authority with others. Cf. comitia.

poor : pauvre : [Fr] necessitous, indigent, not rich; oppressed with want; depressed, mean, low, dejected; lean, starved, emaciated. Cf. pauper.

Poor House : [Ir] a communal living provided for the poor within an ecclesiastical parish in Ireland. The ten-mile radius around a poor house defined what was called a Poor House Union, from 1838.[103]

Poor Law Union : [1838 Ir] a district of a barony and diocese surrounding a poor house by a radius of ten miles. Ratepayers were held responsible for the poor people of their Poor Law Union in Ireland, from 1838.[104]

poor laws : [1601] laws and statutes instituted to provide the poor with special tax exemptions and government subsidies, which were initiated by Elizabeth I, and which evolved into a variety of government welfare systems in England, the United States, and elsewhere. Following the initiation of poor laws, tax rolls in the seventeenth century often provided separate categories for paupers and the poor. The poor were people completely abject and destitute, whereas paupers were people having some modest but tolerable means of living. Cf. hearth tax.

population at Hunstanton : [1538-1570] approximately 256 people. This estimated population was calculated by translating the number of baptisms per year into a population number, using the standard baptism rate of 35/1000. The standard baptism rate of 35 baptisms per 1,000 persons was divided by the average number of baptisms per year at Hunstanton (8.96 baptisms) to yield a factor (35/8.96 =3.91), and then the factor (3.91) was used to extrapolate the approximate population (1000/3.91 =255.75).[105]

populus : the population, including patricii, patres, senatus, and plebs. Cf. comitia.

porculus : the kauri shell, which resembles a woman’s vulva. Cf. kauri shell, matriculus.

porneia : [Gk] houses of male prostitution in Attic Greek.[106] Such houses were never disturbed, unless they failed to pay the tax on male prostitution. Cf. pornikon telos.

pornography : sexually explicit materials; a collective name for any photographs, videos, writings, and artistic works aiming to provoke sexual arousal.

porphyria : [1923] a hereditary abnormality characterized by the excretion of excess porphyrins in the urine and sensitivity to light. One variety of porphyria leads to unpredictable fits of madness, and this disorder is what doctors now believe must have afflicted George III.

porro Asel sex filii fuere his nominibus Ezricam Bochru Ismahel Saria Abadia Anan, omnes hii filii Asel : And Azel had six sons, whose names are these, Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel.[108]

porro Otholia interfecta est gladio : ... after that they had slain Athaliah with the sword.[110]

Port of New York : the port through which perhaps 85% of all immigrants to the U.S. passed from 1820 to 1943. Castle Garden was the point of disembarkation in the years 1857-1892. Ellis Island served as the point of disembarkation in the years 1892-1943, and then served as a detention center, 1943-1954. NARA preserves on microfilm indices of the passenger lists to New York dated 1820-1948, including alphabetical indices for 1820-1846, 1897-1902, and 1906-1942, and soundex indices for 1902-1943 and 1944-1948. NARA likewise preserves copies of original passenger lists for 1820-1897, as well as crew lists and passenger lists for 1897-1957, arranged by date. NARA also has an archive of registers showing vessel arrivals for 1789-1919. Passenger lists were not required by law until 1820.[111]

porter : porta : someone in charge of a gate; one who waits by the door to receive messages and guests; one hired to carry burdens.

portion : portio : part, allotment, dividend; a fortune, part of an inheritance given to a child; a part inherited by a widow.

Poseidon [Gk] : Neptune [Lt] : god of the seas and earthquakes. The Sea is equivalent to Osiris [Eg]; Enki or Ea [Ba]; Varuna or Parjanya [Sk]; Aegir or Frey [Ns]; Manannan [Ce]; Chac [Ma]; Tlaloc [Az].

positive organ : chamber organ; a compact organ mounted on legs, which could be removed or repositioned as a piece of household furniture. Such instruments were often built to resemble stately cabinets, and were popular in the seventeenth century.

positive person : a person posing in some specific, genealogical rôle, some depositive person firmly known to have occupied a certain place in affiliation or affinity. Cf. genealogical adjectives.

positron : [1933] positive electron; antiparticle of the electron; a positively charged particle with the same mass and magnitutde of a charge as the electron. Cf. electron.

posse : posse comitatus : an armed force assembled in a shire; a small force raised in a shire to hunt a criminal or meet some threat.

possedit maneria de patrimonio parentum suorum : he possessed the patrimonial manor of his parents.

possidens sine liberis cito decessit : he took possession [of the property] without children, but died before long.[112]

post : a station along a fixed route traveled by postboys riding post horses to deliver official messages. A post was typically maintained and serviced by a local tavern keeper or stableman charged with the duties of a postmaster. In Elizabethan times, the post was an agency of the crown, and was not available for public use. However, the system created a network of private entrepreneurs who could easily make independent arrangements to accommodate the needs of any wealthy person, so the aristocracy sometimes employed the same system for rapid transportation. Commercial and private communications had to be sent by private courier, or by some traveler agreeing to carrying it. It was Benjamin Franklin who conceived the concept of a national postal service, available to all.

post : poste : [Fr] courier, a hasty messenger; a letter carrier who arrives and leaves at appointed times.

post delivery : Important messages sent by the post system in Elizabethan England were endorsed with the time at each post, so we happen to know how long it took to convey a letter. When Essex dispatched a letter in Plymouth at 10 a.m. on 26 October 1597, the postboys traveled day and night, and changed horses nine times, so his letter arrived at Basingstoke by 3:30 p.m. the next day. Thus, Essex’s letter was conveyed some 165 miles in about 30 hours, and we may deduce that letter carried by the fastest courier service available could progress to its destination at an average speed of 5 or 5½ miles per hour. Cf. journey, post intervals.

post horses : the saddle horses kept at regular posts along a highway for the use of official messengers.

post intervals : [1597] the distances between postmasters. Stations along the post system had to be situated in or near settlements, and therefore, the distance between two postal stations was a variable interval of 12 to 25 miles. A speedy post horse could travel a distance of 12 to 15 miles within 2 or 2½ hours, but the longer distances of 20 to 25 miles required a minimum of 3 hours, and might take as long as 6½ or 7 hours.[113] The speed of transportion depended upon the fitness of the horse, the road conditions, and other factors, such as the postboy’s need to feed and rest himself.

post partem diem cito obiit : she died soon after giving birth. Cf. puerperal sepsis.

post patrem mortuum natus : posthumous son, born after his father’s death. Cf. orphan at birth.

posterity : those who come after; descendants, one’s offspring to the latest generation; future progeny not yet born.

postern : a subsidiary or private entrance; back door; a small gate at the rear of a castle used for access to a river, port, or other convenient feature.

posthumous name : [Ch, Jp] an alias or appellation used to refer to someone dead. The Chinese and Japanese consider it bad luck to utter the real name of a decedent, and therefore devise a formal or religious name to serve as the decedent’s posthumous name. Such names are typically written on memorial tablets venerated at home, and on tombstones.

posthumous name : shih [Ch]; an auspicious name chosen to replace an emperor’s real name after the emperor’s death. The Chinese no longer have emperors, but the Japanese preserve this custom. During the reign of Emperor Hirohito, his regnal years were called the Shōwa era, and the late emperor is still known by his posthumous name Shōwa. His successor Emperor Akihito chose the regnal name Heisei, and that will someday be his posthumous name.

posthumous reference : a descriptive phrase or a series of descriptions used to refer to someone deceased. Many societies consider it taboo to ever mention the real names of the dead, and therefore use posthumous names and descriptive phrases to speak of dead people. Some South American tribes have never invented posthumous names, and therefore must resort to lengthy descriptions and circumlocutions in referring to their dead.

postmaster : a local constable of saddle horses used for the conveyance of official messengers. A postmaster’s main duty was to water and feed the post horses, keeping one always ready for instant use. He was also responsible for attending to the needs of the postboys.

post-menopausal zest : a term coined by Margaret Meade to denote a time of increased energy and exuberance for a woman. Cf. menopause.

postname : ming [Ch], mei [SJ]; a given name typical of the Chinese and Japanese, who place one’s personal name after the surname, rather than before it. Opp. prename.

postnominal : a sobriquet, title, or abbreviation that appears after a person’s name, such as junior, Esquire, or M.D. Cf. pronominal.

postnominal initials : initials after one’s name, e.g. Ph.D., M.D., D.D.S., P.E., et cetera; abbreviations of degrees, orders, certifications, and the like, that one adds after the subject’s personal name and surname. In Rome, an appendage to someone’s name was called the agnomen, but that was usually some distinguishing sobriquet, and often became a historical name. The practice of appending initials to the name derived from Latin, so the orders of the letters are sometimes reversed from the English orders, for one might write A.B. for Artium Baccalaureus instead of B.A. for Bachelor of Arts, or A.M. for Artium Magister instead of M.A for Master of Arts.

postnuptial agreement : a marriage contract codified or modified after the marriage. Opp. prenuptial agreement.

postulation : postulatio : gratuitous assumption; supplication, intercession; the act of supposing without proof; suit, cause.

potato : [1590] produce indigenous to America, which Sir Walter Raleigh introduced to Europe in 1590. Merely one acre could yield 6 tons of potatoes each year. Potatoes supplied the highest yield of any crop, and therefore became popular in Ireland, where land was scarce. Cf. Irish famine.

Potawatami female chiefs : women leaders of the Potawatami natives. Cf. Creek, Narraganset, Winnebago.

potentiae cupido : desire for potency, the patrist desire to control all dependents through patriarchy; the envy a Roman showed for the power held by his father or elder brother.[115]

po-tsu : [Ch] eldest son by the principal wife. Cf. yu-tsu. Opp. mung-tsu, shu-tau.

potwalloper : [ante 1832] a voter whose only claim to suffrage happened to be the fact that he was a householder with a separate hearth or fireplace wherein he could boil or wallop his own water and cook his own food. This criterion for voting stemmed from the hearth tax, and was retained by several boroughs in England until the Reform Act of 1832 expanded voting rights to others. This was a pejorative term used by advocates of equal voting rights for men of all classes.

pound : £ : [1603] the English pound; 20 shillings; the equivalent of roughly $60 in 1967 currency. Some have estimated the value of an Elizabethan pound to have been equal to roughly £6 in 1914 currency, and £10 in 1947 currency.

pound : £ : [1806] 20 shillings; an accounting unit equivalent to $4.44 or 444.444 cents in 1806 dollars. In 1806, a pound was money of account, for there was no coin or bill equal to one pound. The base unit of common currency was then the guinea. Cf. guinea.

pound : £ : [1900] an English unit of currency equal to about $4.80 in 1900 dollars.

pound : £ : [1967] an English unit of currency equal to about $2.80 in early 1967, and devalued to $2.40 in November 1967.

poundage : [1347] a tax on the values of all exports and imports, except wool, skins, and wine. Poundage was initially assessed at 6d per pound (£), in conjunction with a separate tax called tonnage for wine, to provide funding to escort warships. Cf. tonnage and poundage.[116]

poundage : [1406] the escalated rate for poundage, fixed at 1s per pound (£).[117]

poundage : payment determined by the weight of some commodity; a fixed sum deducted from a pound.

pourpoint : perpunctum : stuffed or padded material; quilted material, as was used to make a gambeson.

power : pouvoir : [Fr] authority, dominion, command, influence; strength, motive, force.

power of attorney : a written instrument empowering some nominee to act as one’s agent in the manner an attorney would represent his client. Such a document is sometimes prepared for a limited purpose, but it may sometimes confer broad and general powers onto the nominee, especially if the grantor anticipates his agent to act on his behalf during his prolonged absence or disability.

[74] Plato. Boswell 1980: 30.

[75] Plato. Boswell 1980: 30.

[76] Murdock 1949: 47. Schusky 1972: 92.

[77] Lowie 1948: 338. Schusky 1972: 92.

[78] Schusky 1972: 75.

[79] HL: 13.

[80] Kinsey 1948: 457. Eglinton 1964: 486.

[81] Gurney, 551.10.

[82] Theresa Lang 1997/9/29.

[83] Theresa Lang 1997/9/29.

[84] Boswell 1980: 171.

[85] Oestmann 1994: 182-183.

[86] Oestmann 1994: 182-183.

[87] Le Strange Collection, P.1-4; NH.13. Oestmann 1994: 125.

[88] Webber, edited by Parsons, 1947: 215-217.

[89] Everton 1971.

[90] Everton 1971.

[91] Boswell 1980: 27.

[92] Boswell 1980: 27.

[93] Plucknett 1956: 399-400.

[94] HL: 186.

[95] HL: 122, 186, 290, 363.

[96] HHA 1520.

[97] Schusky 1972: 8.

[98] Oestmann 1994: 125.

[99] Boswell 1980: 364.

[100] Ford & Beach. Eglinton 1964: 486.

[101] Grahn 1990: 35.

[102] Grahn 1990: 121.

[103] William L. Strong 1996.

[104] William L. Strong 1996.

[105] Oestmann 1994: 158.

[106] Boswell 1980: 336.

[107] Boswell 1980: 337.

[108] 1 Chronicles, 8.38.

[109] 1 Chronicles, 1.19.

[110] 2 Chronicles, 23.21. II Paralipomenon, 23.21.

[111] Tracy Vickers, 1998/1/5.

[112] Leland: 4.I.154.

[113] G.B. Harrison 1948: 1642.

[114] Leland: 5.11.187.

[115] Grahn 1990: 220.

[116] Davis 1924: 619.

[117] Davis 1924: 619.

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