percutient, a. and n. ? Obs.
(pəˈkjuːʃ(ɪ)ənt)
[ad. L. percutient-em, pr. pple. of percutĕre to strike through, etc.: see percuss.]
a. adj. Striking, percussive. b. n. Something that strikes; the striking agent or body.
| 1626 Bacon Sylva §190 Where the Aire is the Percutient,..against a Hard Body, it never giveth an Exteriour Sound. 1656 tr. Hobbes' Elem. Philos. (1839) 347 The velocity of the percutient is to be compared with the magnitude of the ponderant. 1666 Phil. Trans. I. 306 The Vehemence of the Percussion depends as much upon the length of the percutient Body, as upon the velocity of the Motion. |