pencil

 
Pronunciation: /ˈpɛns(ə)l, -sɪl/

noun

  • 1an instrument for writing or drawing, consisting of a thin stick of graphite or a similar substance enclosed in a long thin piece of wood or fixed in a cylindrical case: have a pencil and paper ready [as modifier]: a pencil drawing
  • [mass noun] graphite or a similar substance used as a medium for writing or drawing: the words were scribbled in pencil
  • [usually with modifier] a cosmetic in a long thin stick: an eyebrow pencil
  • something with the shape of a pencil: a pencil of light [as modifier]: a pencil torch
  • 2 Physics & Geometry a set of light rays, lines, etc. converging to or diverging narrowly from a single point.

verb (pencils, pencilling, pencilled; US pencils, penciling, penciled)

[with object]
  • write, draw, or colour with a pencil: a previous owner has pencilled their name inside the cover (as adjective pencilled) a pencilled note

Phrasal Verbs

pencil something in

arrange, forecast, or note down something provisionally: May 15 was pencilled in as the date for the meeting

pencil someone in

make a provisional arrangement with or for someone: he was pencilled in for surgery at the end of the month

Derivatives

penciller

noun

Origin:

Middle English (denoting a fine paintbrush): from Old French pincel, from a diminutive of Latin peniculus 'brush', diminutive of penis 'tail'. The verb was originally (early 16th century) in the sense 'paint with a fine brush'

Spelling rule

Double the l when adding endings which begin with a vowel to words which end in a vowel plus l (as in travel): (pencils, pencilling, pencilled).