pew

See also Pew

English

pews

Pronunciation

• (US, UK) IPA: /pjuː/, X-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”).

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.

3. Any structure shaped like a church pew, such as a stall, formerly used by money lenders, etc.; a box in a theatre; or a pen or sheepfold.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Samuel Pepys to this entry?)

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Milton to this entry?)

Derived terms

• pew-opener
• take a pew

Translations

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

Verb

pew (third-person singular simple present pews, present participle pewing, simple past and past participle pewed)

1. To furnish with pews.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Ash to this entry?)

Etymology 2

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

Alternative forms

• P U, P.U.
• peeyoo
• phew

Interjection

pew

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

Translations

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)! (fu)

Etymology 3

Onomatopoetic.

Interjection

pew

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

Anagrams

• WEP

References

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