pittedadj.1
/ˈpɪtᵻd/, U.S. /ˈpɪdᵻd/ 1.
a. Having pits or small indentations on the surface; marked or spotted with pits. In Botany: (of seeds, etc.) having minute cavities or depressions on the surface; (of plant tissue) having pits or discontinuities in the cell wall.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > [adjective] > having (an) indentation(s) > small
pittedOE
sparrow-picked1898
smallpox-pitted1926
OE Will of Atheling Æðelstan (Sawyer 1503) in D. Whitelock Anglo-Saxon Wills (1930) 58 Ic geann Eadmunde minon breðer þæs swurdes þe Offa cyng ahte, & þæs swurdes mid þam pyttedan hiltan.
1759 Philos. Trans. 1758 (Royal Soc.) 50 665 Any of the crustaceous lichens, but more properly the common grey-blue pitted lichenoides of Dillenius, was used for the former of these.
1776 W. Withering Brit. Plants (1796) IV. 54 Leaves..pitted; downy underneath.
1857 A. Henfrey Elem. Course Bot. 491 In many wood-cells..the reticulated or scalariform cells have the meshes so small, that they become in fact pitted cells.
1877 A. Murray Econ. Entomol.: Aptera xiii. 210 The body is mapped out into distinct areas, characterised by pitted and corrugated systems of sculpture.
1900 J. Conrad Lord Jim xxxv. 357 Below us the plain of the sea... Great waves of glitter blew lightly along the pitted dark surface.
1960 K. Esau Anat. Seed Plants viii. 86 The evolutionary sequence of vessel members of the secondary xylem of dicotyledons began with long scalariformly pitted tracheids.
1991 House Beautiful Kitchens/Baths Winter 110/1 (advt.) Touch-Up Kit includes everything needed to repair broken, mildewed, or pitted grout.
b. Of a person's face, cheeks, etc.: marked with scars of smallpox or acne. Also in early use: †dimpled (obsolete). Cf. pit v.1 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > skin > dimple > [adjective]
pitted1530
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 320/2 Pytted as a mannes chynne is, fosselu.
1608 T. Hudson tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Ivdith iv. 65 in J. Sylvester Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) Her pitted cheekes aperde to be depaint, With mixed rose and lillies sweet and faint.
1765 H. Fuseli tr. J. J. Winckelmann Refl. on Painting & Sculpt. Greeks 8 Homer, whose portraits are always so truly drawn, mentions not one pitted face.
a1832 G. Crabbe Tales in Poet. Wks. (1834) IV. 225 A huge tall sailor, with his tawny cheek, And pitted face, will with my lady speak.
1864 ‘M. Twain’ in Californian 22 Oct. 1/2 His face was pitted like a waffle-mould.
1929 Travel Nov. 17/1 At Bombay we acquired our No. 1 Boy whose name was Sona Nagar, a fellow with a white moustache, a pitted face and bow-legs.
1990 J. Wambaugh Golden Orange xx. 281 The judge was sixty-ish and frail, with pitted cheeks and a gray thatch.
2. That is or has been placed or planted in a pit. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > [adjective] > planted in pit
pitted1799
1799 J. Robertson Gen. View Agric. Perth 242 The best method of planting pitted trees.
1907 J. W. Sanborn in L. H. Bailey Cycl. Amer. Agric. II. 566/2 The ensiled or pitted material was heavily trodden and well pounded around the edges of the pit.
3. Matched against each other; hostile to a person, group, etc. Cf. pit v.1 6.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > dissent > competition or rivalry > [adjective] > matched against each other
pitted1852
mano a mano1968
1852 W. Jerdan Autobiogr. I. xxiii. 193 The long pitted deadly foes.
1872 J. Miller Joaquin et al. 65 To-day I fight the manly pitted fight of life.
a1924 M. Ghose Coll. Poems (1970) I. 18 Must I needs Ever with but your pitted rivalry Your jealous strife conflicting, zeal with zeal, Set you, my children, labouring each his thread At life's great loom.
1999 Resource: Engin. & Technol. for Sustainable World (Nexis) 6 34 Whenever possible and when products warrant it, on-farm selling is good. It keeps us in touch with the consumer, so that we have allies rather than a pitted enemy thinking, ‘evil agriculture’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
pittedadj.2
/ˈpɪtᵻd/, U.S. /ˈpɪdᵻd/ Originally and chiefly North American.
1. Of fruit, olives, etc.: having had the pit or stone removed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > preparing fruit and vegetables > [adjective] > having stones or seeds removed
stoned1728
pitted1859
deseeded1958
1859 N.Y. Times 17 Nov. 3/1 Dried Cherries, pitted.
1863 Alton (Illinois) Tel. 16 Oct. (advt.) Go to Caldwell & Richmond for Dried Pitted Cherries.
1898 Missouri Bot. Garden Ann. Rep. 60 In this condition, too, the fruit is often employed in stuffing pitted olives.
1926 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 6 Jan. 8/1 (advt.) Red pitted cherries, 2's, per tin 25¢.
1978 D. Smith Cookery Course I. 70 Stud each diamond with a halved, pitted olive.
2003 N.Y. Times Mag. 18 May 90/2 (advt.) Whole wheat or sourdough pizza dough topped by..red onion and pitted kalamata olives grilled on the Weber gas grill.
2. Of a fruit: having a stone or pit.
ΚΠ
1870 Grand Traverse Herald (Traverse City, Mich.) 24 Mar. 1/8 All pitted fruit bears as well here as elsewhere.
1915 Nevada State Jrnl. 19 Nov. 5/6 There is approximately 20,000 acres of land that is naturally adapted for the propagation of grapes and pitted fruits.
1977 Valley News (Van Nuys, Calif.) 10 Nov. vi. 3/1 Carcione said that many pitted fruits are shipped green because they hold up better without bruising.
2000 S. Fallon & M. Rothschild World Food: France (Lonely Planet Guide) 40 These are followed by stone and pitted fruits such as cerises (cherries), pêches (peaches) and prunes (plums).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1OE
adj.21859