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pau·ci·ty /'pɔ:səti/ n [S(of)] fml less than is needed; a lack; DEARTH: a paucity of good ideas
Paul, Saint /pɔ:l/ (?3AD-?68AD) a Christian APOSTLE (=someone chosen by Jesus to teach and spread the Christian religion) whose original name was Saul of Tarsus. As a young man he refused to accept Christian beliefs and treated Christians very cruelly. He was sent to DAMASCUS to punish the Christians who lived there, but on his way there a very bright light suddenly appeared and he heard Jesus ask 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' He then became a Christian, changed his name to Paul, and spent the rest of his life teaching people about Jesus. He wrote many of the EPISTLES in the New Testament of the Bible. → see also road to Damascus (DAMASCUS)
Paul, Sean /ɔ:n/ (1973-) a Jamaican REGGAE singer and SONGWRITER. His songs include Deport Them and Baby Boy.
Pau·ley, Jane /'pɔ:li/ (1950-) a US television presenter, known especially for her weekly series DATELINE
Pau·ling, Li·nus /'pɔ:lɪŋ, 'laɪnəs/ (1901-94) a US scientist who studied how atoms join together and form larger structures. He strongly opposed the use of NUCLEAR WEAPONS, and won two Nobel Prizes, one for Chemistry and one for Peace.
paunch /pɔ:ntʃ/ n derog or humor a fat stomach, especially a man's: He's developing a paunch. —y adj —iness n [U]
pau·per /'pɔ:pər/ n a very poor person, especially one who in former times received official help
pause¹ /pɔ:z/ n 1 [(in)] a short but noticeable break in activity, speech etc: a pause in the conversation | They worked for almost six hours without a pause. 2 a mark (^) over a musical note, showing that the note is to be played or sung longer than usual 3 give someone pause to cause someone to stop and consider carefully what they are doing
pause² v [I] to make a pause; stop for a short time before continuing: I had to pause for breath/to get my breath back.
pa·vane /pə'væn, 'pævən||pə'vɑ:n, pə'væn/ n (the music for) a formal COURTLY dance of the 16th and 17th centuries
Pav·a·rot·ti, Lu·cia·no /ˌpævə'rɒti:l-'rɑ:-, lu:'tʃɑ:nəʊ/ (1935-) an Italian OPERA singer, considered to be one of the greatest TENORS (=men with fairly high singing voices) of the 20th century. He is a large, fat man who has helped to make opera more popular by performing concerts of songs from operas in large parks and sports STADIUMS.
pave /peɪv/ v [T(with) usually pass.] 1 to cover (a path, area etc) with a hard level surface, especially of PAVING STONES: a paved courtyard | country boys who thought the streets of London were paved with gold (=that London was a place of wealth and success) 2 pave the way for/to to prepare for or make possible: paving the way for lasting peace
pave·ment /'peɪvmənt/ n 1 BrE a paved surface or path at the side of a street for people to walk on; SIDEWALK AmE 2 AmE the hard surface of a street 3 a paved surface of any sort; PAVING
pavement artist BrE || sidewalk artist AmE — n a person who draws pictures on a pavement with coloured chalk, hoping that people passing will give money
pavement café /||'... ../ BrE || sidewalk cafe AmE — n a CAFE (=restaurant serving light meals and drinks) with tables outside
pa·vil·ion /pə'vɪljən/ n 1 especially BrE a building beside a sports field, especially a cricket field, for the use of the players and those watching the game 2 a large structure, lightly built and intended to be used for only a short time, used for public amusements or EXHIBITIONS: the British pavilion at the World Trade Fair
pav·ing /'peɪvɪŋ/ n 1 [U] material used to pave a surface 2 [U] a paved surface of any sort; PAVEMENT 3 [C usually pl.] a paving stone → see also CRAZY PAVING
paving stone n a piece of flat stone, fitted close to other such stones to form a pavement
Pav·lov, I·van /'pævlɒvɪl-'lɑ:v, 'aɪvən/ (1849-1936) a Russian scientist who won the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work on the DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. He is known especially for his work with dogs, which proved the existence of the CONDITIONED REFLEX (=a physical reaction that you cannot control, caused by repeated training or experiences). Each time he fed his dogs he rang a bell before giving them their food. The dogs learned to connect the ringing of the bell with the arrival of the food, and they got excited and began to SALIVATE when they heard the bell, even if there was no food. —Pavlovian /ˌpæv'ləʊviən/ adj
pav·lo·va /ˌpæv'ləʊvə||pɑ:v-/ n a light cake made of MERINGUE, cream, and fruit especially popular in Australia. It is thought to have been invented to celebrate a visit to Australia or New Zealand by Anna Pavlova.
Pav·lo·va, An·na /ˌpæv'ləʊvə, 'pævləvə, 'ɑ:nə/ (1885-1931) a Russian BALLET dancer especially remembered for her dancing of The Dying Swan. She is considered by many to have been the world's greatest ballet dancer.
paw¹ /pɔ:/ n 1 an animal's foot that has nails or CLAWS: a lion's paw → compare HOOF 2 infml, especially humor a human hand: Go and wash your dirty paws!
paw² v [I((at));T] 1 (of an animal) to touch or rub (a surface), especially repeatedly, with a paw or HOOF, showing anger, fear, impatience etc: The dog was pawing (at) the door, trying to get out. | an angry bull pawing the ground 2 infml (of a person) to feel or touch with the hands, especially in a rough and sexually improper manner: He kept pawing her.
paw·ky /'pɔ:ki/ adj especially BrE amusing in an odd clever way, so that one cannot tell whether the thing said was meant to be funny or serious: The Scots are famous for their pawky humour. —kily adv —kiness n [U]
pawn¹ /pɔ:n/ v [T] to leave (something of value) with a pawnbroker as a promise that one will repay the money he has lent one: He had to pawn his watch to pay for a meal.
pawn² n [U] the state of having been pawned: My watch is in pawn.
pawn³ n 1 any of the eight smallest and least valuable playing pieces in the game of CHESS → see picture at CHESSMAN 2 [(in)] an unimportant person used by someone else for their own advantage: I was merely a pawn in his cunning stratagem.
pawn·bro·ker /'pɔ:nbrəʊkər/ n a person to whom people bring valuable articles so that he will lend them money, and who has the right to sell the articles if the money is not repaid within a certain time. Pawnbrokers usually lend less money than the value of the article and sell it at a profit if the owner cannot REDEEM it (=get it back by paying the money lent, with some extra money charged by the pawnbroker).
Paw·nee /pɔ:'ni:/ n 1 the Pawnee [plural] a Native American tribe whose members live in the mid-western US, now mainly in Oklahoma 2 [C] a member of this tribe → see Cultural Note at NATIVE AMERICAN —Pawnee adj
pawn·shop /'pɔ:nʃɒp||-ʃɑ:p/ n a pawnbroker's place of business. The sign for a pawnshop is three golden balls. In former times every town had a pawnshop, but they are now much less common. The pawnshop was the only place where poor people could borrow money, and poor families would sometimes have something such as a piece of furniture or clothing that was regularly pawned when money was needed.
paw·paw /'pɔ:pɔ:/ n especially BrE and CarE for PAPAYA
Pax A·mer·i·ca·na /ˌpæks ˌæmerɪ'kɑ:nə/ the peace that is supposed to be established in the world by the power of the US
Pax Bri·tan·ni·ca /ˌpæks brɪ'tænɪkə/ the peace that is supposed to have been established by British rule in the countries of the BRITISH EMPIRE, especially during the 19th century
Pax·man, Jer·e·my /'pæksmən, 'dʒerəmi/ (1950-) a British JOURNALIST and television PRESENTER, well known for his very determined way of asking politicians questions. If he thinks politicians are trying to avoid his questions or are giving unhelpful answers, he tells them that he does not believe them.
Pax·o /'pæksəʊ/ trademark a type of dried STUFFING (=a mixture of bread, onion, egg, and HERBS) sold in the UK. You add liquid to make the stuffing, and cook it inside a chicken or TURKEY.
pay¹ /peɪ/ v paid /peɪd/ 1 [I;T(for, to)] to give (money) to (someone) in exchange for goods that one has bought, services that have been provided, or work that has been