Pew

English

File:GustafVasa Benches.jpg

pews

Noun

Pew (plural Pews)

1. One of the long benches in a church, seating several persons, usually fixed to the floor and facing the chancel.

   In many churches some pews are reserved for either clerical or liturgical officials such as canons, or for prominent families

2. An enclosed compartment in a church which provides seating for a group of people, often a prominent family.
   • 2006 September 11, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "Bush Mourns 9/11 at Ground Zero as N.Y. Remembers", The New York Times [1]

     At St. Patrick’s Cathedral, firefighters in dress blues and white gloves escorted families to the pews for a memorial service, led by Mr. Bloomberg, to honor the 343 Fire Department employees killed on 9/11.

Interjection

Pew

1. An expression of disgust in response to an unpleasant odor.

Interjection

Pew

1. Representative of the sound made by the firing of a machine gun.

Adjectives for Pew

high-backed; respectable; dusty; uncomfortable; crowded; unused.

Verbs for Pew

allocate—s; array in—s; commit to—; cram —; cushion—; direct to—; enter—; fill—; kneel in—; occupy—; perch in—; rent—; reserve—; scan from—.

Thesaurus

amen corner, anxious bench, anxious seat, booth, box, cavity, cell, cellule, chamber, compartment, crib, crypt, enclosed space, hold, hole, hollow, manger, penitent form, sedilia, stall, vault

Pronunciation

• (US, UK) IPA: /pjuː/, SAMPA: /pju:/
• Rhymes: -uː

Etymology 1

From Middle English pewe, from Middle French puie (“balustrade”), from Latin podia, plural of podium (“parapet, podium”), from Ancient Greek πόδιον (podion, “little foot”), from πούς (pous, “foot”).

Etymology 2

Possibly from French putois (“skunk”) or puer (“to stink”) or a truncation of putrid.

Alternative forms

• P U, P.U.
• peeyoo
• phew

Etymology 3

Onomatopoetic.

Translations

Noun

long bench in a church

Danish: kirkestol (da) c. Dutch: kerkbank (nl) m. and f. Finnish: kirkonpenkki (fi) French: banc de fidèle (fr) m., banc d’église (fr) m. German: Kirchenbank (de) f.

Portuguese: banco de igreja (pt) m. Russian: церковная скамья (ru) (cerkóvnaja skam’já) f. Spanish: banco de iglesia (es) m. Swedish: kyrkbänk (sv) c.

enclosed compartment in a church

Dutch: koorgestoelte (nl) n.

French: banc d’œuvre (fr) m., banc de l’œuvre (fr) m.

Derived terms

• pew-opener

Interjection

expression of disgust in response to an unpleasant odor

Dutch: bah (nl), pff (nl), jakkes (nl), eikes (nl) French: pouah (fr)

Japanese: げ (ja) (ge) Russian: фу (ru)! (fu)

Anagrams

• WEP

References

• Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967