pencil

¹pen·cil

noun \ˈpen(t)-səl\

Definition of PENCIL

1

: an artist's brush

2

: an artist's individual skill or style

3

a : an implement for writing, drawing, or marking consisting of or containing a slender cylinder or strip of a solid marking substance

b : a small medicated or cosmetic roll or stick for local applications

4

: a set of geometric objects each pair of which has a common property <the lines in a plane through a point comprise a pencil of lines>

5

: something (as a beam of radiation) long and thin like a pencil

Examples of PENCIL

1. Use a pencil instead of a pen so you can erase your mistakes.

Origin of PENCIL

Middle English pensel, from Anglo-French pincel, from Vulgar Latin *penicellus, alteration of Latin penicillus, diminutive of peniculus brush, from diminutive of penis tail, penis

First Known Use: 14th century

²pencil

transitive verb

penciled or pencilledpencil·ing or pencil·ling \-s(ə-)liŋ\

Definition of PENCIL

1

: to paint, draw, write, or mark with a pencil

2

: to plan or designate tentatively —used with in <penciled him in as the nominee>

Examples of PENCIL

1. He penciled some notes on a piece of paper.

First Known Use of PENCIL

circa 1532

Rhymes with PENCIL

stencil

pen·cil

noun \ˈpen(t)-səl\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of PENCIL

1

: a small medicated or cosmetic roll or stick for local applications <a menthol pencil>

2

: an aggregate of rays of radiation (as light) especially when diverging from or converging to a point