From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Pitch \Pitch\, n.
1. A throw; a toss; a cast, as of something from the hand;
as, a good pitch in quoits.
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{Pitch and toss}, a game played by tossing up a coin, and
calling "Heads or tails;" hence:
{To play pitch and toss with (anything)}, to be careless or
trust to luck about it. "To play pitch and toss with the
property of the country." --G. Eliot.
{Pitch farthing}. See {Chuck farthing}, under 5th {Chuck}.
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2. (Cricket) That point of the ground on which the ball
pitches or lights when bowled.
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3. A point or peak; the extreme point or degree of elevation
or depression; hence, a limit or bound.
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Driven headlong from the pitch of heaven, down
Into this deep. --Milton.
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Enterprises of great pitch and moment. --Shak.
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To lowest pitch of abject fortune. --Milton.
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He lived when learning was at its highest pitch.
--Addison.
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The exact pitch, or limits, where temperance ends.
--Sharp.
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4. Height; stature. [Obs.] --Hudibras.
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5. A descent; a fall; a thrusting down.
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6. The point where a declivity begins; hence, the declivity
itself; a descending slope; the degree or rate of descent
or slope; slant; as, a steep pitch in the road; the pitch
of a roof.
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7. (Mus.) The relative acuteness or gravity of a tone,
determined by the number of vibrations which produce it;
the place of any tone upon a scale of high and low.
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Note: Musical tones with reference to absolute pitch, are
named after the first seven letters of the alphabet;
with reference to relative pitch, in a series of tones
called the scale, they are called one, two, three,
four, five, six, seven, eight. Eight is also one of a
new scale an octave higher, as one is eight of a scale
an octave lower.
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8. (Mining) The limit of ground set to a miner who receives a
share of the ore taken out.
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9. (Mech.)
(a) The distance from center to center of any two adjacent
teeth of gearing, measured on the pitch line; --
called also circular pitch.
(b) The length, measured along the axis, of a complete
turn of the thread of a screw, or of the helical lines
of the blades of a screw propeller.
(c) The distance between the centers of holes, as of rivet
holes in boiler plates.
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10. (Elec.) The distance between symmetrically arranged or
corresponding parts of an armature, measured along a
line, called the pitch line, drawn around its length.
Sometimes half of this distance is called the pitch.
{Concert pitch} (Mus.), the standard of pitch used by
orchestras, as in concerts, etc.
{Diametral pitch} (Gearing), the distance which bears the
same relation to the pitch proper, or circular pitch, that
the diameter of a circle bears to its circumference; it is
sometimes described by the number expressing the quotient
obtained by dividing the number of teeth in a wheel by the
diameter of its pitch circle in inches; as, 4 pitch, 8
pitch, etc.
{Pitch chain}, a chain, as one made of metallic plates,
adapted for working with a sprocket wheel.
{Pitch line}, or {Pitch circle} (Gearing), an ideal line, in
a toothed gear or rack, bearing such a relation to a
corresponding line in another gear, with which the former
works, that the two lines will have a common velocity as
in rolling contact; it usually cuts the teeth at about the
middle of their height, and, in a circular gear, is a
circle concentric with the axis of the gear; the line, or
circle, on which the pitch of teeth is measured.
{Pitch of a roof} (Arch.), the inclination or slope of the
sides expressed by the height in parts of the span; as,
one half pitch; whole pitch; or by the height in parts of
the half span, especially among engineers; or by degrees,
as a pitch of 30[deg], of 45[deg], etc.; or by the rise
and run, that is, the ratio of the height to the half
span; as, a pitch of six rise to ten run. Equilateral
pitch is where the two sloping sides with the span form an
equilateral triangle.
{Pitch of a plane} (Carp.), the slant of the cutting iron.
{Pitch of poles} (Elec.), the distance between a pair of
poles of opposite sign.
{Pitch pipe}, a wind instrument used by choristers in
regulating the pitch of a tune.
{Pitch point} (Gearing), the point of contact of the pitch
lines of two gears, or of a rack and pinion, which work
together.
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