pencil

[pen-suh l] /ˈpɛn səl/
noun
1.
a slender tube of wood, metal, plastic, etc., containing a core or strip of graphite, a solid coloring material, or the like, used for writing or drawing.
2.
a stick of cosmetic coloring material for use on the eyebrows, eyelids, etc.
3.
anything shaped or used like a pencil, as a stick of medicated material:
a styptic pencil.
4.
a narrow set of lines, light rays, or the like, diverging from or converging to a point:
a pencil of sunlight.
5.
a slender, pointed piece of a substance used for marking.
6.
style or skill in drawing or delineation:
He favored the late products of the artist's pencil.
7.
Mathematics. the collection of lines, planes, or surfaces passing through a given point or set of points and satisfying a given equation or condition.
8.
Archaic. an artist's paintbrush, especially for fine work.
verb (used with object), penciled, penciling or (especially British) pencilled, pencilling.
9.
to write, draw, mark, or color with, or as if with, a pencil.
10.
to use a pencil on.
Verb phrases
11.
pencil in, to schedule or list tentatively, as or as if by writing down in pencil rather than in ink:
I'll pencil you in for ten o'clock.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English pencel < Middle French pincel ≪ Latin pēnicillus painter's brush or pencil, diminutive of pēniculus little tail. See penis, -cule1
Related forms
penciler; especially British, penciller, noun
pencillike, adjective
unpenciled, adjective
unpencilled, adjective
Examples from the web for pencil
  • The nutcrackers turned somersaults, and the pencil scribbled nonsense on the slate.
  • And the orchestra can keep those pages forever, preserving the instructions that librarians laboriously pencil into scores.
  • So let the engineers, ie the sharp-pencil crew, get to work.
  • Then hook a pencil inside the loop and trace around the two nails, keeping the string taught always.
  • Imagine you stick a pencil straight into the bridge of your nose between your eyes.
  • The technologies from a pencil to a server compliment.
  • The physical principles were established over a century ago using nothing more than paper and pencil and mathematical skills.
  • Provide each student with a cup or bowl, drawing paper, and a pencil.
  • Then have them try again, this time without using their thumb to grip the pencil.
  • Imagine living without the gravity that keeps you on your chair and your pencil on your desk.
British Dictionary definitions for pencil

pencil

/ˈpɛnsəl/
noun
1.
  1. a thin cylindrical instrument used for writing, drawing, etc, consisting of a rod of graphite or other marking substance, usually either encased in wood and sharpened or held in a mechanical metal device
  2. (as modifier): a pencil drawing
2.
something similar in shape or function: a styptic pencil, an eyebrow pencil
3.
a narrow set of lines or rays, such as light rays, diverging from or converging to a point
4.
(archaic) an artist's fine paintbrush
5.
(rare) an artist's individual style or technique in drawing
verb (transitive) -cils, -cilling, -cilled (US) -cils, -ciling, -ciled
6.
to draw, colour, or write with a pencil
7.
to mark with a pencil
8.
pencil in, to note, arrange, include, etc provisionally or tentatively
Derived Forms
penciller, (US) penciler, noun
Word Origin
C14: from Old French pincel, from Latin pēnicillus painter's brush, from pēniculus a little tail, from pēnis tail
Word Origin and History for pencil
n.

early 14c., "an artist's fine brush of camel hair," from Old French pincel "artist's paintbrush" (13c., Modern French pinceau), from Latin penicillus "painter's brush, hair-pencil," literally "little tail," diminutive of peniculus "brush," itself a diminutive of penis "tail" (see penis). Small brushes formerly were 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.

v.

1530s, "to mark or sketch with a pencil-brush," from pencil (n.). In reference to lead pencils from 1760s. Related: Penciled; penciling. To pencil (something) in "arrange tentatively" is attested from 1942.

Slang definitions & phrases for pencil

pencil

verb

To work out details; study: Let me pencil this idea for a while (1990s+)

Related Terms

have lead in one's pencil


pencil in Technology


Pictorial ENCodIng Language. On-line system to display line structures. Sammet 1969, 675.

Idioms and Phrases with pencil

pencil

see: put lead in one's pencil