“pierce” – English explanatory dictionary

verb to make a hole in something

v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pierced p. pr. & vb. n. Piercing ] [OE. percen, F. percer, OF. percier, perchier, parchier; perh. fr. (assumed) LL. pertusiare for pertusare, fr. L. pertundere, pertusum, to beat, push, bore through; per through + tundere to beat: cf. OF. pertuisier to pierce, F. pertuis a hole. Cf. Contuse, Parch, Pertuse.]
1. To thrust into, penetrate, or transfix, with a pointed instrument. ´I pierce … her tender side.´ Dryden.
2. To penetrate; to enter; to force a way into or through; to pass into or through; as to pierce the enemy’s line; a shot pierced the ship.
3. Fig.: To penetrate; to affect deeply; as to pierce a mystery. ´Pierced with grief.´ Pope. “Can no prayers pierce thee?” Shak.

v. i. To enter; to penetrate; to make a way into or through something, as a pointed instrument does; — used literally and figuratively. “And pierced to the skin, but bit no more.” Spenser. “She would not pierce further into his meaning.” Sir P. Sidney.