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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Circle \Cir"cle\ (s[~e]r"k'l), n. [OE. cercle, F. cercle, fr. L.
circulus (Whence also AS. circul), dim. of circus circle,
akin to Gr. kri`kos, ki`rkos, circle, ring. Cf. Circus,
Circum-.]
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1. A plane figure, bounded by a single curve line called its
circumference, every part of which is equally distant from
a point within it, called the center.
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2. The line that bounds such a figure; a circumference; a
ring.
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3. (Astron.) An instrument of observation, the graduated limb
of which consists of an entire circle.
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Note: When it is fixed to a wall in an observatory, it is
called a mural circle; when mounted with a telescope
on an axis and in Y's, in the plane of the meridian, a
meridian circle or transit circle; when involving
the principle of reflection, like the sextant, a
reflecting circle; and when that of repeating an
angle several times continuously along the graduated
limb, a repeating circle.
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4. A round body; a sphere; an orb.
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It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth.
--Is. xi. 22.
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5. Compass; circuit; inclosure.
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In the circle of this forest. --Shak.
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6. A company assembled, or conceived to assemble, about a
central point of interest, or bound by a common tie; a
class or division of society; a coterie; a set.
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As his name gradually became known, the circle of
his acquaintance widened. --Macaulay.
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7. A circular group of persons; a ring.
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8. A series ending where it begins, and repeating itself.
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Thus in a circle runs the peasant's pain. --Dryden.
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9. (Logic) A form of argument in which two or more unproved
statements are used to prove each other; inconclusive
reasoning.
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That heavy bodies descend by gravity; and, again,
that gravity is a quality whereby a heavy body
descends, is an impertinent circle and teaches
nothing. --Glanvill.
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10. Indirect form of words; circumlocution. [R.]
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Has he given the lie,
In circle, or oblique, or semicircle. --J.
Fletcher.
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11. A territorial division or district.
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Note:
The Circles of the Holy Roman Empire, ten in number, were
those principalities or provinces which had seats in the
German Diet.
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Azimuth circle. See under Azimuth.
Circle of altitude (Astron.), a circle parallel to the
horizon, having its pole in the zenith; an almucantar.
Circle of curvature. See Osculating circle of a curve
(Below).
Circle of declination. See under Declination.
Circle of latitude.
(a) (Astron.) A great circle perpendicular to the plane
of the ecliptic, passing through its poles.
(b) (Spherical Projection) A small circle of the sphere
whose plane is perpendicular to the axis.
Circles of longitude, lesser circles parallel to the
ecliptic, diminishing as they recede from it.
Circle of perpetual apparition, at any given place, the
boundary of that space around the elevated pole, within
which the stars never set. Its distance from the pole is
equal to the latitude of the place.
Circle of perpetual occultation, at any given place, the
boundary of the space around the depressed pole, within
which the stars never rise.
Circle of the sphere, a circle upon the surface of the
sphere, called a great circle when its plane passes
through the center of the sphere; in all other cases, a
small circle.
Diurnal circle. See under Diurnal.
Dress circle, a gallery in a theater, generally the one
containing the prominent and more expensive seats.
Druidical circles (Eng. Antiq.), a popular name for certain
ancient inclosures formed by rude stones circularly
arranged, as at Stonehenge, near Salisbury.
Family circle, a gallery in a theater, usually one
containing inexpensive seats.
Horary circles (Dialing), the lines on dials which show the
hours.
Osculating circle of a curve (Geom.), the circle which
touches the curve at some point in the curve, and close to
the point more nearly coincides with the curve than any
other circle. This circle is used as a measure of the
curvature of the curve at the point, and hence is called
circle of curvature.
Pitch circle. See under Pitch.
Vertical circle, an azimuth circle.
Voltaic circuit or Voltaic circle. See under Circuit.
To square the circle. See under Square.
Syn: Ring; circlet; compass; circuit; inclosure.
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