Chapter 71

3. To mark or denote by a puncture; to designate by pricking; to choose; to mark; -- sometimes with off.

Some who are pricked for sheriffs.

Bacon.

Let the soldiers for duty be carefully pricked off.

Sir W. Scott.

Those many, then, shall die: their names are pricked.

Shak.

4. To mark the outline of by puncturing; to trace or form by pricking; to mark by punctured dots; as, to prick a pattern for embroidery; to prick the notes of a musical composition. Cowper.

5. To ride or guide with spurs; to spur; to goad; to incite; to urge on; -- sometimes with on, or off.

Who pricketh his blind horse over the fallows.

Chaucer.

The season pricketh every gentle heart.

Chaucer.

My duty pricks me on to utter that.

Shak.

6. To affect with sharp pain; to sting, as with remorse. "I was pricked with some reproof." Tennyson.

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart.

Acts ii. 37.

7. To make sharp; to erect into a point; to raise, as something pointed; -- said especially of the ears of an animal, as a horse or dog; and usually followed by up; -- hence, to prick up the ears, to listen sharply; to have the attention and interest strongly engaged. "The courser . . . pricks up his ears." Dryden.

8. To render acid or pungent. [Obs.] Hudibras.

9. To dress; to prink; -- usually with up. [Obs.]

10. (Naut) (a) To run a middle seam through, as the cloth of a sail. (b) To trace on a chart, as a ship's course.

11. (Far.) (a) To drive a nail into (a horse's foot), so as to cause lameness. (b) To nick.

Prick, v. i. 1. To be punctured; to suffer or feel a sharp pain, as by puncture; as, a sore finger pricks.

2. To spur onward; to ride on horseback. Milton.

A gentle knight was pricking on the plain.

Spenser.

3. To become sharp or acid; to turn sour, as wine.

4. To aim at a point or mark. Hawkins.

Prick"-eared` (?), a. (Zoˆl.) Having erect, pointed ears; -- said of certain dogs.

Thou prick-eared cur of Iceland.

Shak.

Prick"er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, pricks; a pointed instrument; a sharp point; a prickle.

2. One who spurs forward; a light horseman.

The prickers, who rode foremost, . . . halted.

Sir W. Scott.

3. A priming wire; a priming needle, -- used in blasting and gunnery. Knight.

4. (Naut.) A small marline spike having generally a wooden handle, -- used in sailmaking. R. H. Dana, Ir.

Prick"et (?), n. [Perhaps so called from the state of his horns. See Prick, and cf. Brocket.] (Zoˆl.) A buck in his second year. See Note under 3d Buck. Shak.

Prick"ing, n. 1. The act of piercing or puncturing with a sharp point. "There is that speaketh like the prickings of a sword." Prov. xii. 18 [1583].

2. (Far.) (a) The driving of a nail into a horse's foot so as to produce lameness. (b) Same as Nicking.

3. A sensation of being pricked. Shak.

4. The mark or trace left by a hare's foot; a prick; also, the act of tracing a hare by its footmarks. [Obs.]

5. Dressing one's self for show; prinking. [Obs.]

Prick"ing-up (?), n. (Arch.) The first coating of plaster in work of three coats upon laths. Its surface is scratched once to form a better key for the next coat. In the United States called scratch coat. Brande & C.

Pric"kle (?), n. [AS. pricele, pricle; akin to LG. prickel, D. prikkel. See Prick, n.] 1. A little prick; a small, sharp point; a fine, sharp process or projection, as from the skin of an animal, the bark of a plant, etc.; a spine. Bacon.

2. A kind of willow basket; -- a term still used in some branches of trade. B. Jonson.

3. A sieve of filberts, -- about fifty pounds. [Eng.]

Pric"kle, v. t. To prick slightly, as with prickles, or fine, sharp points.

Felt a horror over me creep, Prickle skin, and catch my breath.

Tennyson.

{ Pric"kle*back` (?), Pric"kle*fish` (?), } n. (Zoˆl.) The stickleback.

Prick"li*ness (?), n. [From Prickly.] The quality of being prickly, or of having many prickles.

Prick"ling (?), a. Prickly. [Obs.] Spenser.

Prick"louse` (?), n. A tailor; -- so called in contempt. [Old slang] L'Estrange.

Prick"ly, a. Full of sharp points or prickles; armed or covered with prickles; as, a prickly shrub.

Prickly ash (Bot.), a prickly shrub (Xanthoxylum Americanum) with yellowish flowers appearing with the leaves. All parts of the plant are pungent and aromatic. The southern species is X. Carolinianum. Gray. -- Prickly heat (Med.), a noncontagious cutaneous eruption of red pimples, attended with intense itching and tingling of the parts affected. It is due to inflammation of the sweat glands, and is often brought on by overheating the skin in hot weather. -- Prickly pear (Bot.), a name given to several plants of the cactaceous genus Opuntia, American plants consisting of fleshy, leafless, usually flattened, and often prickly joints inserted upon each other. The sessile flowers have many petals and numerous stamens. The edible fruit is a large pear-shaped berry containing many flattish seeds. The common species of the Northern Atlantic States is Opuntia vulgaris. In the South and West are many others, and in tropical America more than a hundred more. O. vulgaris, O. Ficus-Indica, and O. Tuna are abundantly introduced in the Mediterranean region, and O. Dillenii has become common in India. -- Prickly pole (Bot.), a West Indian palm (Bactris Plumierana), the slender trunk of which bears many rings of long black prickles. -- Prickly withe (Bot.), a West Indian cactaceous plant (Cereus triangularis) having prickly, slender, climbing, triangular stems. -- Prickly rat (Zoˆl.), any one of several species of South American burrowing rodents belonging to Ctenomys and allied genera. The hair is usually intermingled with sharp spines.

Prick"mad`am (?), n. [F. trique- madame. Cf. Tripmadam.] (Bot.) A name given to several species of stonecrop, used as ingredients of vermifuge medicines. See Stonecrop.

Prick"punch` (?), n. A pointed steel punch, to prick a mark on metal.

Prick"shaft` (?), n. An arrow. [Obs.]

Prick"song` (?; 115), n. [See Prick, v. t., 4.] Music written, or noted, with dots or points; -- so called from the points or dots with which it is noted down. [Obs.]

He fights as you sing pricksong.

Shak.

Prick"wood` (?), n. (Bot.) A shrub (Euonymus EuropÊus); -- so named from the use of its wood for goads, skewers, and shoe pegs. Called also spindle tree.

Prick"y (?), a. Stiff and sharp; prickly. Holland.

Pride (?), n. [Cf. AS. lamprede, LL. lampreda, E. lamprey.] (Zoˆl.) A small European lamprey (Petromyzon branchialis); -- called also prid, and sandpiper.

Pride, n. [AS. prte; akin to Icel. pri honor, ornament, pr&?;&?;a to adorn, Dan. pryde, Sw. pryda; cf. W. prydus comely. See Proud.] 1. The quality or state of being proud; inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable conceit of one's own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, rank, etc., which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve, and often in contempt of others.

Those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

Dan. iv. 37.

Pride that dines on vanity sups on contempt.

Franklin.

2. A sense of one's own worth, and abhorrence of what is beneath or unworthy of one; lofty self-respect; noble self- esteem; elevation of character; dignified bearing; proud delight; -- in a good sense.

Thus to relieve the wretched was his pride.

Goldsmith.

A people which takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendants.

Macaulay.

3. Proud or disdainful behavior or treatment; insolence or arrogance of demeanor; haughty bearing and conduct; insolent exultation; disdain.

Let not the foot of pride come against me.

Ps. xxxvi. 11.

That hardly we escaped the pride of France.

Shak.

4. That of which one is proud; that which excites boasting or self-gratulation; the occasion or ground of self- esteem, or of arrogant and presumptuous confidence, as beauty, ornament, noble character, children, etc.

Lofty trees yclad with summer's pride.

Spenser.

I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

Zech. ix. 6.

A bold peasantry, their country's pride.

Goldsmith.

5. Show; ostentation; glory.

Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war.

Shak.

6. Highest pitch; elevation reached; loftiness; prime; glory; as, to be in the pride of one's life.

A falcon, towering in her pride of place.

Shak.

7. Consciousness of power; fullness of animal spirits; mettle; wantonness; hence, lust; sexual desire; esp., an excitement of sexual appetite in a female beast. [Obs.]

Pride of India, or Pride of China. (Bot.) See Margosa. -- Pride of the desert (Zoˆl.), the camel.

Syn. -- Self-exaltation; conceit; hauteur; haughtiness; lordliness; loftiness. -- Pride, Vanity. Pride is a high or an excessive esteem of one's self for some real or imagined superiority, as rank, wealth, talents, character, etc. Vanity is the love of being admired, praised, exalted, etc., by others. Vanity is an ostentation of pride; but one may have great pride without displaying it. Vanity, which is etymologically "emptiness," is applied especially to the exhibition of pride in superficialities, as beauty, dress, wealth, etc.

Pride, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Prided; p. pr. & vb. n. Priding.] To indulge in pride, or self-esteem; to rate highly; to plume; -- used reflexively. Bp. Hall.

Pluming and priding himself in all his services.

South.

Pride, v. i. To be proud; to glory. [R.]

Pride"ful (?), a. Full of pride; haughty. Tennyson.

-- Pride"ful*ly, adv. -- Pride"ful- ness, n.

Pride"less, a. Without pride. Chaucer.

Prid"i*an (?), a. [L. pridianus.] Of or pertaining to the day before, or yesterday. [R.] Thackeray.

Prid"ing*ly (?), adv. Proudly. [Obs.]

Prie (?), n. (Bot.) The plant privet. [Obs.] Tusser.

Prie, v. i. To pry. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Pried (?), imp. & p. p. of Pry.

Prie`dieu" (?), n. [F., literally, pray God.] A kneeling desk for prayers.

Prief (?), n. Proof. [Obs.] Spenser. Lydgate.

Pri"er (?), n. [From Pry.] One who pries; one who inquires narrowly and searches, or is inquisitive.

So pragmatical a prier he is into divine secrets.

Fuller.

Priest (?), n. [OE. prest, preost, AS. preÛst, fr. L. presbyter, Gr. &?; elder, older, n., an elder, compar. of &?; an old man, the first syllable of which is probably akin to L. pristinus. Cf. Pristine, Presbyter.]

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1. (Christian Church) A presbyter elder; a minister; specifically: (a) (R. C. Ch. & Gr. Ch.) One who is authorized to consecrate the host and to say Mass; but especially, one of the lowest order possessing this power. Murdock. (b) (Ch. of Eng. & Prot. Epis. Ch.) A presbyter; one who belongs to the intermediate order between bishop and deacon. He is authorized to perform all ministerial services except those of ordination and confirmation.

2. One who officiates at the altar, or performs the rites of sacrifice; one who acts as a mediator between men and the divinity or the gods in any form of religion; as, Buddhist priests. "The priests of Dagon." 1 Sam. v. 5.

Then the priest of Jupiter . . . brought oxen and garlands . . . and would have done sacrifice with the people.

Acts xiv. 13.

Every priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

Heb. v. 1.

In the New Testament presbyters are not called priests; but Christ is designated as a priest, and as a high priest, and all Christians are designated priests.

Priest (?), v. t. To ordain as priest.

Priest"cap` (?), n. (Fort.) A form of redan, so named from its shape; -- called also swallowtail.

Priest"craft` (?), n. Priestly policy; the policy of a priesthood; esp., in an ill sense, fraud or imposition in religious concerns; management by priests to gain wealth and power by working upon the religious motives or credulity of others.

It is better that men should be governed by priestcraft than by violence.

Macaulay.

Priest"er*y (?), n. Priests, collectively; the priesthood; -- so called in contempt. [R.] Milton.

Priest"ess, n. A woman who officiated in sacred rites among pagans. Abp. Potter.

Priest"hood (?), n. 1. The office or character of a priest; the priestly function. Bk. of Com. Prayer.

2. Priests, taken collectively; the order of men set apart for sacred offices; the order of priests.

Priest"ing, n. The office of a priest. [Obs.] Milton.

Priest"ism (?), n. The influence, doctrines, principles, etc., of priests or the priesthood. [R.]

Priest"less, a. Without a priest. Pope.

Priest"like` (?), a. Priestly. B. Jonson.

Priest"li*ness (?), n. The quality or state of being priestly. R. Browning.

Priest"ly, a. Of or pertaining to a priest or the priesthood; sacerdotal; befitting or becoming a priest; as, the priestly office; a priestly farewell. Shak.

Priest"-rid`den (?), a. Controlled or oppressed by priests; as, a priest-ridden people. Swift.

Prieve (?), v. t. To prove. [Obs. or Scot.]

Prig (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Prigged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Prigging (?).] [A modification of prick.] To haggle about the price of a commodity; to bargain hard. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Prig, v. t. 1. To cheapen. [Scot.]

2. [Perhaps orig., to ride off with. See Prick, v. t.] To filch or steal; as, to prig a handkerchief. [Cant]

Prig, n. 1. A pert, conceited, pragmatical fellow.

The queer prig of a doctor.

Macaulay.

2. A thief; a filcher. [Cant] Shak.

Prig"ger*y (?), n. Priggism.

Prig"gish (?), a. Like a prig; conceited; pragmatical. -- Prig"gish*ly, adv. -- Prig"gish-ness, n.

Prig"gism (?), n. 1. The quality or state of being priggish; the manners of a prig. Ed. Rev.

2. Roguery; thievery. [Obs.] Fielding.

Prigh"te (?), obs. imp. of Prick. Chaucer.

Prill (?), n. [Cf. Brill.] (Zoˆl.) The brill.

Prill, v. i. To flow. [Obs.] Stow.

Prill, n. A stream. [Obs.] Davies (Microcosmos).

Prill, n. [Etymol. uncertain.] 1. (Mining) (a) A nugget of virgin metal. (b) Ore selected for excellence.

2. The button of metal from an assay.

Pril"lion (?), n. Tin extracted from the slag.

Prim (?), n. [See Privet.] (Bot) The privet.

Prim, a. [OF. prim, prin, prime, first, principal. sharp, thin, piercing, fr. L. primus first. See Prime, a.] Formal; precise; affectedly neat or nice; as, prim regularity; a prim person. Swift.

Prim, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Primmed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Primming.] To deck with great nicety; to arrange with affected preciseness; to prink.

Prim, v. i. To dress or act smartly. [R.]

Pri"ma*cy (?), n. [LL. primatia, fr. L. primas, -atis, one of the first or principal, chief, fr. primus first: cf. F. primatie. See Prime, a.] 1. The state or condition of being prime or first, as in time, place, rank, etc., hence, excellency; supremacy. [R.] De Quincey.

2. The office, rank, or character of a primate; the chief ecclesiastical station or dignity in a national church; the office or dignity of an archbishop; as, the primacy of England.

||Pri"ma don"na (?); pl. E. Prima donnas (#), It. Prime (#) Donne (#). ||[It., fr. primo, prima, the first + donna lady, mistress. See Prime, ||a., and Donna.] The first or chief female singer in an opera.

||Pri"ma fa"ci*e (?). [L., from abl. of primus first + abl. of facies ||appearance.] At first view; on the first appearance.

Prima facie evidence (of a fact) (Law), evidence which is sufficient to establish the fact unless rebutted. Bouvier.

Pri"mage (?; 48), n. [F.] (Com.) A charge in addition to the freight; originally, a gratuity to the captain for his particular care of the goods (sometimes called hat money), but now belonging to the owners or freighters of the vessel, unless by special agreement the whole or part is assigned to the captain. Homans.

Pri"mal (?), a. [LL. primalis, fr. L. primus the first. See Prime, a.] First; primary; original; chief.

It hath the primal eldest curse upon it.

Shak.

The primal duties shine aloft like stars.

Wordsworth.

Pri*mal"i*ty (?), n. The quality or state of being primal. [Obs.]

Pri"ma*ri*ly (?), adv. In a primary manner; in the first place; in the first place; in the first intention; originally.

Pri"ma*ri*ness, n. The quality or state of being primary, or first in time, in act, or in intention. Norris.

Pri"ma*ry (?), a. [L. primarius, fr. primus first: cf. F. primaire. See Prime, a., and cf. Premier, Primero.] 1. First in order of time or development or in intention; primitive; fundamental; original.

The church of Christ, in its primary institution.

Bp. Pearson.

These I call original, or primary, qualities of body.

Locke.

2. First in order, as being preparatory to something higher; as, primary assemblies; primary schools.

3. First in dignity or importance; chief; principal; as, primary planets; a matter of primary importance.

4. (Geol.) Earliest formed; fundamental.

5. (Chem.) Illustrating, possessing, or characterized by, some quality or property in the first degree; having undergone the first stage of substitution or replacement.

Primary alcohol (Organic Chem.), any alcohol which possess the group CH2.OH, and can be oxidized so as to form a corresponding aldehyde and acid having the same number of carbon atoms; -- distinguished from secondary &and; tertiary alcohols. -- Primary amine (Chem.), an amine containing the amido group, or a derivative of ammonia in which only one atom of hydrogen has been replaced by a basic radical; -- distinguished from secondary &and; tertiary amines. -- Primary amputation (Surg.), an amputation for injury performed as soon as the shock due to the injury has passed away, and before symptoms of inflammation supervene. -- Primary axis (Bot.), the main stalk which bears a whole cluster of flowers. -- Primary colors. See under Color. -- Primary meeting, a meeting of citizens at which the first steps are taken towards the nomination of candidates, etc. See Caucus. -- Primary pinna (Bot.), one of those portions of a compound leaf or frond which branch off directly from the main rhachis or stem, whether simple or compounded. -- Primary planets. (Astron.) See the Note under Planet. -- Primary qualities of bodies, such are essential to and inseparable from them. -- Primary quills (Zoˆl.), the largest feathers of the wing of a bird; primaries. -- Primary rocks (Geol.), a term early used for rocks supposed to have been first formed, being crystalline and containing no organic remains, as granite, gneiss, etc.; -- called also primitive rocks. The terms Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary rocks have also been used in like manner, but of these the last two only are now in use. -- Primary salt (Chem.), a salt derived from a polybasic acid in which only one acid hydrogen atom has been replaced by a base or basic radical. -- Primary syphilis (Med.), the initial stage of syphilis, including the period from the development of the original lesion or chancre to the first manifestation of symptoms indicative of general constitutional infection. -- Primary union (Surg.), union without suppuration; union by the first intention.

Pri"ma*ry, n.; pl. Primaries (&?;). 1. That which stands first in order, rank, or importance; a chief matter.

2. A primary meeting; a caucus.

3. (Zoˆl.) One of the large feathers on the distal joint of a bird's wing. See Plumage, and Illust. of Bird.

4. (Astron.) A primary planet; the brighter component of a double star. See under Planet.

Pri"mate (?), n. [OE. primat, F. primat, L. primas, -atis one of the first, chief, fr. primus the first. See Prime, a.] 1. The chief ecclesiastic in a national church; one who presides over other bishops in a province; an archbishop.

2. (Zoˆl.) One of the Primates.

||Pri*ma"tes (?), n. pl. [NL.] (Zoˆl.) The highest order of mammals. It ||includes man, together with the apes and monkeys. Cf. Pitheci.

Pri"mate*ship (?), n. The office, dignity, or position of a primate; primacy.

Pri*ma"tial (?), a. [Cf. F. primatial.] Primatical. [R.] D'Anville (Trans. ).

Pri*mat"ic*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to a primate. Barrow.

Prime (?), a. [F., fr. L. primus first, a superl. corresponding to the compar. prior former. See Prior, a., Foremost, Former, and cf. Prim, a., Primary, Prince.] 1. First in order of time; original; primeval; primitive; primary. "Prime forests." Tennyson.

She was not the prime cause, but I myself.

Milton.

In this sense the word is nearly superseded by primitive, except in the phrase prime cost.

2. First in rank, degree, dignity, authority, or importance; as, prime minister. "Prime virtues." Dryden.

3. First in excellence; of highest quality; as, prime wheat; a prime quality of cloth.

4. Early; blooming; being in the first stage. [Poetic]

His starry helm, unbuckled, showed him prime In manhood where youth ended.

Milton.

5. Lecherous; lustful; lewd. [Obs.] Shak.

6. Marked or distinguished by a mark (&prime;) called a prime mark.

Prime and ultimate ratio. (Math.). See Ultimate. -- Prime conductor. (Elec.) See under Conductor. -- Prime factor (Arith.), a factor which is a prime number. -- Prime figure (Geom.), a figure which can not be divided into any other figure more simple than itself, as a triangle, a pyramid, etc. -- Prime meridian (Astron.), the meridian from which longitude is reckoned, as the meridian of Greenwich or Washington. -- Prime minister, the responsible head of a ministry or executive government; applied particularly to that of England. -- Prime mover. (Mech.) (a) A natural agency applied by man to the production of power. Especially: Muscular force; the weight and motion of fluids, as water and air; heat obtained by chemical combination, and applied to produce changes in the volume and pressure of steam, air, or other fluids; and electricity, obtained by chemical action, and applied to produce alternation of magnetic force. (b) An engine, or machine, the object of which is to receive and modify force and motion as supplied by some natural source, and apply them to drive other machines; as a water wheel, a water-pressure engine, a steam engine, a hot-air engine, etc. (c) Fig.: The original or the most effective force in any undertaking or work; as, Clarkson was the prime mover in English antislavery agitation. -- Prime number (Arith.), a number which is exactly divisible by no number except itself or unity, as 5, 7, 11. -- Prime vertical (Astron.), the vertical circle which passes through the east and west points of the horizon. -- Prime-vertical dial, a dial in which the shadow is projected on the plane of the prime vertical. -- Prime-vertical transit instrument, a transit instrument the telescope of which revolves in the plane of the prime vertical, -- used for observing the transit of stars over this circle.

Prime (?), n. 1. The first part; the earliest stage; the beginning or opening, as of the day, the year, etc.; hence, the dawn; the spring. Chaucer.

In the very prime of the world.

Hooker.

Hope waits upon the flowery prime.

Waller.

2. The spring of life; youth; hence, full health, strength, or beauty; perfection. "Cut off in their prime." Eustace. "The prime of youth." Dryden.

3. That which is first in quantity; the most excellent portion; the best part.

Give him always of the prime.

Swift.

4. [F. prime, LL. prima (sc. hora). See Prime, a.] The morning; specifically (R. C. Ch.), the first canonical hour, succeeding to lauds.

Early and late it rung, at evening and at prime.

Spenser.

Originally, prime denoted the first quarter of the artificial day, reckoned from 6 a. m. to 6 p. m. Afterwards, it denoted the end of the first quarter, that is, 9 a. m. Specifically, it denoted the first canonical hour, as now. Chaucer uses it in all these senses, and also in the sense of def. 1, above.

They sleep till that it was pryme large.

Chaucer.

5. (Fencing) The first of the chief guards.

6. (Chem.) Any number expressing the combining weight or equivalent of any particular element; -- so called because these numbers were respectively reduced to their lowest relative terms on the fixed standard of hydrogen as 1. [Obs. or Archaic]