Link Centre Dictionary

pencil

pen·cil

UK/ˈpɛnsəl/ US/ˈpɛntsəl/ fairly common
noun (4) verb (1)

noun

1.
2.

graphite (or a similar substance) used in such a way as to be a medium of communication

  • “the words were scribbled in pencil”
  • “this artist”
3.

a figure formed by a set of straight lines or light rays meeting at a point

4.

a cosmetic in a long thin stick; designed to be applied to a particular part of the face

  • “an eyebrow pencil”

verb

1.

write, draw, or trace with a pencil

  • “he penciled a figure”

Origin

From Anglo-Norman and Old French pincil (see the variant pincel, which gave rise to Modern French pinceau (“paintbrush”)), from Latin pēnicillum, diminutive of pēniculus (“brush”), itself a diminutive of pēnis (“tail; penis”). Doublet of penis. Not related to pen.

Phrases

  • automatic pencil
  • beard pencil
  • blue pencil doctrine
  • bow pencil
  • carpenter pencil
  • carpenter's pencil
  • caustic pencil
  • china pencil
  • pencil in
  • pencil out

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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Entails

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.