From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Pencil \Pen"cil\, noun [OF. pincel, F. pinceau, L. penicillum, penicillus, equiv. to peniculus, dim. of penis a tail. Cf. {Penicil}.]
1. A small, fine brush of hair or bristles used by painters for laying on colors.
With subtile pencil depainted was this storie. --Chaucer.
2. A slender cylinder or strip of black lead, colored chalk, slate etc., or such a cylinder or strip inserted in a small wooden rod intended to be pointed, or in a case, which forms a handle, -- used for drawing or writing. See {Graphite}.
3. Hence, figuratively, an artist's ability or peculiar manner; also, in general, the act or occupation of the artist, descriptive writer, etc.
4. (Opt.) An aggregate or collection of rays of light, especially when diverging from, or converging to, a point.
5. (Geom.) A number of lines that intersect in one point, the point of intersection being called the pencil point.
6. (Med.) A small medicated bougie.
{Pencil case}, a holder for pencil lead.
{Pencil flower} (Bot.), an American perennial leguminous herb ({Stylosanthes elatior}).
{Pencil lead}, a slender rod of black lead, or the like, adapted for insertion in a holder.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Pencil \Pen"cil\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Penciled}or {Pencilled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Penciling} or {Pencilling}.] To write or mark with a pencil; to paint or to draw. --Cowper.
Where nature pencils butterflies on flowers. --Harte.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: a thin cylindrical pointed writing implement; a rod of marking substance encased in wood
2: graphite (or a similar substance) used in such a way as to be a medium of communication; "the words were scribbled in pencil"; "this artist's favorite medium is pencil"
3: a figure formed by a set of straight lines or light rays meeting at a point
4: a cosmetic in a long thin stick; designed to be applied to a particular part of the face; "an eyebrow pencil"
verb
1: write, draw, or trace with a pencil; "he penciled a figure" [also: {pencilling}, {pencilled}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
175 Moby Thesaurus words for "pencil": X ray, actinic ray, actinism, air brush, art paper, atomic beam, atomic ray, beam, beam of light, blaze, blaze a trail, blemish, blotch, brand, brush, camera lucida, camera obscura, canvas, cartoon, chalk, chalk up, charcoal, check, check off, cicatrize, color, copy, copy out, crayon, crosshatch, dapple, dash, dash off, daub, define, delimit, delineate, demarcate, depict, design, diagram, discolor, doodle, dot, draft, draw, draw up, drawing paper, drawing pencil, drier, easel, edit, enface, engrave, engross, fixative, fleck, freckle, gamma ray, gash, genre, gleam, ground, hatch, impress, imprint, infrared ray, inscribe, invisible radiation, lay figure, leam, limn, line, lines, make a mark, make a recension, make out, mark, mark off, mark out, maulstick, medium, mottle, movement, nick, notch, paint, paint a picture, paintbrush, palette, palette knife, pastel, patch, pen, pepper, photon, picture, picturize, pigments, point, portray, prick, print, punch, punctuate, puncture, push the pen, put in writing, radiation, radiorays, ray, ray of light, recense, record, revise, rewrite, ribbon, ribbon of light, riddle, scar, scarify, school, score, scotch, scratch, scratchboard, scribe, scrive, scroll, scumble, seal, seam, shade, siccative, sketch, sketchbook, sketchpad, solar rays, spatula, speck, speckle, spill ink, splotch, spoil paper, spot, spray gun, stain, stamp, stencil, stigmatize, streak, stream, stream of light, streamer, striate, stripe, stump, style, superscribe, tattoo, the grand style, tick, tick off, tint, trace, transcribe, type, ultraviolet ray, underline, underscore, varnish, violet ray, write, write down, write out
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
PENCIL Pictorial ENCodIng Language. On-line system to display line structures. Sammet 1969, 675.
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