▪ I. pia1 Anat.
(ˈpaɪə)
Short for pia mater.
| 1889 Buck's Handbk. Med. Sc. VIII 111 The successive coverings of the brain, hairy scalp, periosteum, calva, dura (ental periosteum), arachnoid, and pia. Ibid., The ental surface of the pia. 1901 W. Osler Princ. & Pract. Med. (ed. 4) 28 The most intense congestion of the cerebral and spinal pia. |
▪ II. ‖ pia2
Also pya.
A Polynesian name for species of the monocotyledonous genus Tacca, some of which, esp. T. pinnatifida and T. maculata, are cultivated for their tubers, from which South-sea or Tahiti arrowroot is produced.
| 1858 Hogg Veg. Kingd. 765 Tacca oceanica, a native of the Sandwich Islands, yields a similar product [arrowroot] and is there called pya. [1884 Miller Plant-n. 254/1 Tacca pinnatifida, Otaheita Salep-plant, Pi-plant, South-Sea-Arrow-root-plant.] |