¦ noun
1. an instrument for writing or drawing, typically consisting of a thin stick of graphite enclosed in a long, thin piece of wood or fixed in a thin cylindrical case.
2. Physics & Geometry a set of light rays, lines, etc. converging to or diverging narrowly from a point.
¦ verb (pencils, pencilling, pencilled; US pencils, penciling, penciled)
1. write, draw, or colour with a pencil.
2. (pencil something in) arrange or note down something provisionally.
Derivatives
penciller noun
Origin
ME (denoting a fine paintbrush): from OFr. pincel, from a dimin. of L. peniculus 'brush', dimin. of penis 'tail'.