Webster's English Dictionary

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pencil

1. pen.cil \'pen(t)-s*l\ n [ME pensel, fr. MF pincel, fr. (assumed) VL 
   penicellus, fr. L] often attrib  penicillus, lit., little tail, fr. dim. of 
   penis tail, penis 1: an artist's brush  2: an artist's individual skill or 
   style  3a: an implement for writing, drawing, or marking consisting of or 
   containi ng a slender cylinder or strip of solid marking substance 3b: a 
   small medicated or cosmetic roll or stick for local applications  4a: an 
   aggregate of rays of light or other radiation esp. when diverging fr om or 
   converging to a point 4b: a one-parameter family (as of the lines in a 
   plane through a point)  5: something long and thin like a pencil 
2. pencil \-s(*-)lin\ \-s(*-)ler\ vt or pen.ciled or pen.cilled;  or 
   pen.cil.ing;  or pen.cil.ling : to paint, draw, or write with a pencil : 
   SKETCH  - pen.cil.ler n