pierced

[peerst]
adjective
1.
punctured or perforated, as to form a decorative design: a pendant in pierced copper.
2.
(of the ear) having the lobe punctured, as for earrings.
3.
(of an earring) made to be attached, as by a post or wire, through the hole in a pierced ear lobe.
4.
Heraldry. (of a charge) open at the center to reveal the field: a lozenge pierced.

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English; see pierce, -ed2

un·pierced, adjective
00:10
Pierced is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
Dictionary.com Unabridged

pierce

[peers] verb, pierced, pierc·ing.
verb (used with object)
1.
to penetrate into or run through (something), as a sharp, pointed dagger, object, or instrument does.
2.
to make a hole or opening in.
3.
to bore into or through; tunnel.
4.
to perforate.
5.
to make (a hole, opening, etc.) by or as by boring or perforating.
6.
to make a way or path into or through: a road that pierces the dense jungle.
7.
to penetrate with the eye or mind; see into or through: She couldn't pierce his thoughts.
8.
to affect sharply with some sensation or emotion, as of cold, pain, or grief: The wind pierced her body. Her words pierced our hearts.
9.
to sound sharply through (the air, stillness, etc.): A pistol shot pierced the night.
verb (used without object)
10.
to force or make a way into or through something; penetrate: to pierce to the heart.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English percen < Old French perc(i)er < Vulgar Latin *pertūsiāre, verbal derivative of Latin pertūsus, past participle of pertundere to bore a hole through, perforate, equivalent to per- per- + tundere to strike, beat

pierce·a·ble, adjective
pierc·er, noun
un·pierce·a·ble, adjective


1. enter, puncture. Pierce, penetrate suggest the action of one object passing through another or making a way through and into another. The terms are used both concretely and figuratively. To pierce is to perforate quickly, as by stabbing; it suggests the use of a sharp, pointed instrument which is impelled by force: to pierce the flesh with a knife; a scream pierces one's ears. Penetrate suggests a slow or difficult movement: No ordinary bullet can penetrate an elephant's hide; to penetrate the depths of one's ignorance. 8. touch, move, strike, thrill.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To pierced
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World English Dictionary
pierce (pɪəs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  to form or cut (a hole) in (something) with or as if with a sharp instrument
2.  to thrust into or penetrate sharply or violently: the thorn pierced his heel
3.  to force (a way, route, etc) through (something)
4.  (of light) to shine through or penetrate (darkness)
5.  (also intr) to discover or realize (something) suddenly or (of an idea) to become suddenly apparent
6.  (of sounds or cries) to sound sharply through (the silence)
7.  to move or affect (a person's emotions, bodily feelings, etc) deeply or sharply: the cold pierced their bones
8.  (intr) to penetrate or be capable of penetrating: piercing cold
 
[C13 percen, from Old French percer, ultimately from Latin pertundere, from per through + tundere to strike]
 
'pierceable
 
adj
 
'piercer
 
n

Pierce (pɪəs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
Franklin. 1804--69, US statesman; 14th president of the US (1853--57)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

pierce
c.1300, from Anglo-Fr. perser, O.Fr. percier (11c.), probably from V.L. *pertusiare, freq. of L. pertusus, pp. of pertundere "to thrust or bore through," from per- "through" + tundere "to beat, pound," from PIE base *(s)tud- "to beat, strike, push, thrust" (see obtuse). Piercing
in ref. to cold, sound, etc. is recorded from early 15c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Whenever she lifted her hand to him, her heart was pierced through and through.
He pierced the emblematic or spiritual character of the visible, audible,
  tangible world.
Eardrums were pierced with a hot wire when infections occurred, as all the
  antibiotics were saved for wounded soldiers.
The arrow went clean through the bone and pierced the artery.
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