pencil

pencil
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)). Small brushes formerly used for writing before modern lead or chalk pencils; meaning "graphite writing implement" apparently evolved late 16c. Derogatory slang pencil-pusher "office worker" is from 1881; pencil neck "weak person" first recorded 1973. To pencil (something) in "arrange tentatively" is attested from 1942.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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Synonyms:
(made of hair or fine bristles), , , , , / ,


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 — [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

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