Pierce n : 14th President of the United States (1804-1869) [syn: Franklin Pierce, President Pierce]

1 cut or make a way through; "the knife cut through the flesh"; "The path pierced the jungle"; "Light pierced through the forest"

2 move or affect (a person's emotions, bodily feelings, etc.) deeply or sharply; "The cold pierced her bones"; "Her words pierced the students"

3 sound sharply or shrilly; "The scream pierced the night"

4 penetrate or cut through with a sharp instrument [syn: thrust]

5 make a hole into; "The needle pierced her flesh"

see Pierce

English

Etymology

percier, probably from *pertusiare, from pertusus, pp. of pertundere "to thrust or bore through," from per- "through" + tundere "to beat, pound,".

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɪə(r)s

Verb

1. to puncture; to break through

   The diver pierced the surface of the water with scarcely a splash.

2. to create a hole in the skin for the purpose of inserting jewelry

   Can you believe he pierced his tongue?

3. to break or interrupt abruptly

   A scream pierced the darkness.

Translations

• Finnish: lävistää (1,3), puhkaista (1)
• French: percer (1,2,3)
• Irish: toll
• Jalnguy: nyirrindan
• Korean: 뚫다 (ttulhda)

Derived terms

• piercing

Pierce may refer to:

Places

• Pierce, Colorado, a US town
• Pierce, Idaho, a US city
• Pierce, Nebraska, a US city
• Pierce, Wisconsin, a US town
• Mount Pierce (New Hampshire), USA, a peak in the White Mountains
• Pierce County, several places

Organizations

• Pierce Manufacturing, an American manufacturer of fire trucks
• Pierce Processing, Inc., an American engineering consulting firm founded by William G. Pierce
• Franklin Pierce Law Center, a law school in Concord, New Hampshire, USA
• Franklin Pierce University, a liberal arts college in Rindge, New Hampshire, USA

People

* Pierce (surname)

• Pierce Brosnan (born 1953), Irish actor
• Pierce Butler, a Founding Father of the United States

Other uses

• Pierce-Arrow, an early manufacturer of automobiles
• Pierce oscillator, an electronic oscillator
• Pierce's disease, a grape disease
• Pierce v. Society of Sisters, a 1925 United States Supreme Court case

See also

• Piercing
• Piers Ploughman
• Peirce

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