ETYM Old Fren. pincel, French pinceau, Latin penicillum, penicillus, equiv. to peniculus, dim. of penis a tail. Related to Penicil.
1. An artist's brush.
2. An artist's individual skill or style.
3. A thin cylindrical pointed implement for writing; a rod of marking substance encased in wood.
4. A set of geometric objects each pair of which has a common property.
5. Something (as a beam of radiation) long and thin like a pencil.
Drawing instrument made of graphite, encased in wood or other holder. By mixing graphite with clay, the French chemist Nicolas Conté (1755–1805) invented the modern pencil of predetermined hardness 1750 (patented 1795). Capable of a rich range of texture and tone, the graphite (or “lead”) pencil replaced the limited metalpoint (see silverpoint) as a drawing instrument.

To write, draw, or trace with a pencil