pierce

pos>a. Not capable of being pierced; impenetrable. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Pierced p. pr. & vb. n. Piercing ] [ OE. percen, F. percer, OF. percier, perchier, parchier; perh. fr. (assumed) LL. pertusiare for pertusare, fr. L. pertundere, pertusum, to beat, push, bore through; per through + tundere to beat: cf. OF. pertuisier to pierce, F. pertuis a hole. Cf. Contuse, Parch, Pertuse. ] 1. To thrust into, penetrate, or transfix, with a pointed instrument. “I pierce . . . her tender side.” Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To penetrate; to enter; to force a way into or through; to pass into or through; as, to pierce the enemy's line; a shot pierced the ship. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Fig.: To penetrate; to affect deeply; as, to pierce a mystery. “Pierced with grief.” Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

Can no prayers pierce thee? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To enter; to penetrate; to make a way into or through something, as a pointed instrument does; -- used literally and figuratively. [ 1913 Webster ]

And pierced to the skin, but bit no more. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

She would not pierce further into his meaning. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. That may be pierced. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Penetrated; entered; perforated. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. perce. ] A kind of gimlet for making vents in casks; -- called also piercer. [ 1913 Webster ]