An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

1a) A slender tube of wood, metal, plastic, etc., containing a core or strip of graphite, a solid coloring material, or the like, used for writing or drawing.
1b) Anything shaped or used like a pencil.
2) A narrow set of lines, light rays, or the like, diverging from or converging to a point (Dictionary.com). → pencil of light.

M.E. pencel, from M.Fr. pincel, from L. penicillus "painter's brush or pencil," diminutive of peniculus "little tail," diminutive of penis "tail;" → light.

Medâd "pencil," of unknown origin.
Kelk "quill, pen," originally "hollow reed."
Bâriké, from bârik, → narrow, + nuance suffix -é; nur, → light.

A beam of radiant energy in the form of a narrow cone or cylinder.

→ pencil; → beam.

A small part of the → Vela supernova remnant with a narrow appearance. The Pencil Nebula measures about 0.75 → light-years across, is about 5 light-years long, and lies about 800 light-years from Earth. It is moving through the → interstellar medium at about 650 000 kilometres per hour.

→ pencil; → nebula.

A small bundle of → rays of light. See also → beam of light.

M.E. pencel, from M.Fr. pincel, from L. penicillus "painter's brush or pencil," diminutive of peniculus "little tail," diminutive of penis "tail;" → light.

Bâriké, from bârik, → narrow, + nuance suffix -é; nur, → light.