Chapter 72

7. (Arith.) A prime number. See under Prime, a.

8. An inch, as composed of twelve seconds in the duodecimal system; -- denoted by [′]. See 2d Inch, n., 1.

Prime of the moon, the new moon at its first appearance.

Prime, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Primed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Priming.] [From Prime, a.] 1. To apply priming to, as a musket or a cannon; to apply a primer to, as a metallic cartridge.

2. To lay the first color, coating, or preparation upon (a surface), as in painting; as, to prime a canvas, a wall.

3. To prepare; to make ready; to instruct beforehand; to post; to coach; as, to prime a witness; the boys are primed for mischief. [Colloq.] Thackeray.

4. To trim or prune, as trees. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

5. (Math.) To mark with a prime mark.

To prime a pump, to charge a pump with water, in order to put it in working condition.

Prime, v. i. 1. To be renewed, or as at first. [Obs.]

Night's bashful empress, though she often wane, As oft repeats her darkness, primes again.

Quarles.

2. To serve as priming for the charge of a gun.

3. To work so that foaming occurs from too violent ebullition, which causes water to become mixed with, and be carried along with, the steam that is formed; -- said of a steam boiler.

Prime"ly, adv. 1. At first; primarily. [Obs.] South.

2. In a prime manner; excellently.

Prime"ness, n. 1. The quality or state of being first.

2. The quality or state of being prime, or excellent.

Prim"er (?), n. One who, or that which, primes; specifically, an instrument or device for priming; esp., a cap, tube, or water containing percussion powder or other compound for igniting a charge of gunpowder.

Prim"er, a. [OF. primer, primier, premier, F. premier. See Premier.] First; original; primary. [Obs.] "The primer English kings." Drayton.

Primer fine (O. Eng. Law), a fine due to the king on the writ or commencement of a suit by fine. Blackstone. -- Primer seizin (Feudal Law), the right of the king, when a tenant in capite died seized of a knight's fee, to receive of the heir, if of full age, one year's profits of the land if in possession, and half a year's profits if the land was in reversion expectant on an estate for life; -- now abolished. Blackstone.

Prim"er (?), n. [Originally, the book read at prime, the first canonical hour. LL. primae liber. See Prime, n., 4.] 1. Originally, a small prayer book for church service, containing the little office of the Virgin Mary; also, a work of elementary religious instruction.

The primer, or office of the Blessed Virgin.

Bp. Stillingfleet.

2. A small elementary book for teaching children to read; a reading or spelling book for a beginner.

As he sat in the school at his prymer.

Chaucer.

3. (Print.) A kind of type, of which there are two species; one, called long primer, intermediate in size between bourgeois and small pica [see Long primer]; the other, called great primer, larger than pica.

Great primer type.

Pri*me"ro (?), n. [Sp. primera, fr. primero first, from L. primarius. See Premier.] A game at cards, now unknown. Shak.

Prim"er*ole (?), n. (Bot.) See Primrose. [Obs.] "She was a primerole." Chaucer.

Pri*me"val (?), a. [L. primaevus; primus first + aevum age. See Prime, a., and Age.] Belonging to the first ages; pristine; original; primitive; primary; as, the primeval innocence of man. "This is the forest primeval." Longfellow.

From chaos, and primeval darkness, came Light.

Keats.

Pri*me"val*ly, adv. In a primeval manner; in or from the earliest times; originally. Darwin.

Pri*me"vous, a. Primeval. [Obs.]

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Pri`mi*ge"ni*al (?), a. First born, or first of all; original; primary. See Primogenial.

{ Pri`mi*ge"ni*ous (?), Pri*mig"e*nous (?), } a. [L. primigenus, primigenius. See Primogeniture.] First formed or generated; original; primigenial. Bp. Hall.

Pri"mine (?), n. [L. primus first: cf. F. primine.] (Bot.) The outermost of the two integuments of an ovule.

This word has been used by some writers to denote the inner integument, which is formed earlier than the outer. Cf. Secundine.

Prim"ing (?), n. 1. The powder or other combustible used to communicate fire to a charge of gunpowder, as in a firearm.

2. (Paint.) The first coating of color, size, or the like, laid on canvas, or on a building, or other surface.

3. (Steam Eng.) The carrying over of water, with the steam, from the boiler, as into the cylinder.

Priming of the tide. See Lag of the tide, under 2d Lag. -- Priming tube, a small pipe, filled with a combustible composition for firing cannon. -- Priming valve (Steam Eng.), a spring safety valve applied to the cylinder of a steam engine for discharging water carried into the cylinder by priming. -- Priming wire, a pointed wire used to penetrate the vent of a piece, for piercing the cartridge before priming.

||Pri*mip"a*ra (?), n. [L., fr. primus first + parere to bring forth.] ||(Med.) A woman who bears a child for the first time.

Pri*mip"a*rous (?), a. [See Primipara.] Belonging to a first birth; bearing young for the first time.

Pri*mip"i*lar (?), a. [L. primipilaris, fr. primipilus the centurion of the first cohort of a Roman legion, fr. primus pilus the division made up of the triarii in the Roman army.] Of or pertaining to the captain of the vanguard of a Roman army. Barrow.

||Pri*mi"ti*a (?), n.; pl. PrimitiÊ (#) (Primitias (#), obs.). [L. ||primitiae, pl., fr. primus first. Cf. Premices.] (Eng. Law) The first ||fruit; the first year's whole profit of an ecclesiastical preferment.

The primitias of your parsonage.

Spenser.

Pri*mi"tial (?), a. Being of the first production; primitive; original. [Obs.] Ainsworth.

Prim"i*tive (?), a. [L. primitivus, fr. primus the first: cf. F. primitif. See Prime, a.] 1. Of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first; as, primitive innocence; the primitive church. "Our primitive great sire." Milton.

2. Of or pertaining to a former time; old- fashioned; characterized by simplicity; as, a primitive style of dress.

3. Original; primary; radical; not derived; as, primitive verb in grammar.

Primitive axes of coˆrdinate (Geom.), that system of axes to which the points of a magnitude are first referred, with reference to a second set or system, to which they are afterward referred. -- Primitive chord (Mus.), that chord, the lowest note of which is of the same literal denomination as the fundamental base of the harmony; -- opposed to derivative. Moore (Encyc. of Music). -- Primitive circle (Spherical Projection), the circle cut from the sphere to be projected, by the primitive plane. -- Primitive colors (Paint.), primary colors. See under Color. -- Primitive Fathers (Eccl.), the acknowledged Christian writers who flourished before the Council of Nice, A. D. 325. Shipley. -- Primitive groove (Anat.), a depression or groove in the epiblast of the primitive streak. It is not connected with the medullary groove, which appears later and in front of it. -- Primitive plane (Spherical Projection), the plane upon which the projections are made, generally coinciding with some principal circle of the sphere, as the equator or a meridian. -- Primitive rocks (Geol.), primary rocks. See under Primary. -- Primitive sheath. (Anat.) See Neurilemma. -- Primitive streak or trace (Anat.), an opaque and thickened band where the mesoblast first appears in the vertebrate blastoderm.

Syn. -- First; original; radical; pristine; ancient; primeval; antiquated; old-fashioned.

Prim"i*tive, n. An original or primary word; a word not derived from another; -- opposed to derivative.

Prim"i*tive*ly, adv. 1. Originally; at first.

2. Primarily; not derivatively.

3. According to the original rule or ancient practice; in the ancient style. South.

Prim"i*tive*ness, n. The quality or state of being primitive; conformity to primitive style or practice.

Prim"i*ty (?), n. Quality of being first; primitiveness. [Obs.] Bp. Pearson.

Prim"ly, adv. In a prim or precise manner.

Prim"ness, n. The quality or state of being prim; affected formality or niceness; preciseness; stiffness.

||Pri"mo (?), a. [It.] (Mus.) First; chief.

Pri`mo*ge"ni*al (?), a. [See Primigenial.] First born, made, or generated; original; primary; elemental; as, primogenial light. Glanvill.

Pri`mo*gen"i*tive (?), a. [See Primogeniture.] Of or pertaining to primogeniture. [R.]

Pri`mo*gen"i*tive, n. Primogeniture. [Obs.]

The primogenitive and due of birth.

Shak.

Pri`mo*gen"i*tor (?), n. [LL., fr. L. primus first + genitor a begetter.] The first ancestor; a forefather.

Pri`mo*gen"i*ture (?; 135), n. [LL., fr. L. primus first + genitura a begetting, birth, generation, fr. genere, gignere, to beget: cf. F. primogÈniture, L. primogenitus firstborn. See Prime, a., and Genus, Kin.] 1. The state of being the firstborn of the same parents; seniority by birth among children of the same family.

2. (Eng. Law) The exclusive right of inheritance which belongs to the eldest son. Thus in England the right of inheriting the estate of the father belongs to the eldest son, and in the royal family the eldest son of the sovereign is entitled to the throne by primogeniture. In exceptional cases, among the female children, the crown descends by right of primogeniture to the eldest daughter only and her issue. Blackstone.

Pri`mo*gen"i*ture*ship (?), n. The state or privileges of the firstborn. Burke.

Pri*mor"di*al (?), a. [L. primordialis, from primordium the first beginning; primus first + ordiri to begin a web, to begin: cf. F. primordial.] 1. First in order; primary; original; of earliest origin; as, primordial condition. "The primordial facts of our intelligent nature." Sir W. Hamilton.

2. (Geol.) Of or pertaining to the lowest beds of the Silurian age, corresponding to the Acadian and Potsdam periods in American geology. It is called also Cambrian, and by many geologists is separated from the Silurian.

3. (Biol.) Originally or earliest formed in the growth of an individual or organ; as, a primordial leaf; a primordial cell.

Primordial utricle (Bot.), the interior lining of a young vegetable cell.

Pri*mor"di*al, n. A first principle or element.

Pri*mor"di*al*ism (?), n. Devotion to, or persistence in, conditions of the primordial state. H. Spencer.

Pri*mor"di*al*ly, adv. At the beginning; under the first order of things; originally.

Pri*mor"di*an (?), n. [L. primordius first of all, fr. primordium.] (Bot.) A name given to several kinds of plums; as, red primordian, amber primordian, etc.

Pri*mor"di*ate (?), a. Primordial. [R.] Boyle.

Primp (?), v. i. & t. [Cf. Prim, a.] To be formal or affected in dress or manners; -- often with up. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Halliwell.

Prim"rose` (?), n. [OE. primerole, F. primerole, a derivative fr. LL. primula, from L. primus first. See Prime, a.] (Bot.) (a) An early flowering plant of the genus Primula (P. vulgaris) closely allied to the cowslip. There are several varieties, as the white-, the red-, the yellow-flowered, etc. Formerly called also primerole, primerolles. (b) Any plant of the genus Primula.

Evening primrose, an erect biennial herb (Enothera biennis), with yellow vespertine flowers, common in the United States. The name is sometimes extended to other species of the same genus. -- Primrose peerless, the two-flowered Narcissus (N. biflorus). [Obs.]

Prim"rose`, a. Of or pertaining to the primrose; of the color of a primrose; -- hence, flowery; gay. "The primrose path of dalliance." Shak.

||Prim"u*la (?), n. [LL. See Primrose.] (Bot.) The genus of plants ||including the primrose (Primula vera).

Prim`u*la"ceous (?), a. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to an order of herbaceous plants (PrimulaceÊ), of which the primrose is the type, and the pimpernel, the cyclamen, and the water violet are other examples.

||Pri"mum mob"i*le (?). [L., first cause of motion.] (Astron.) In the ||Ptolemaic system, the outermost of the revolving concentric spheres ||constituting the universe, the motion of which was supposed to carry ||with it all the inclosed spheres with their planets in a daily ||revolution from east to west. See Crystalline heavens, under ||Crystalline.

The motions of the greatest persons in a government ought to be, as the motions of the planets, under primum mobile.

Bacon.

||Pri"mus (?), n. [L., the first.] One of the bishops of the Episcopal ||Church of Scotland, who presides at the meetings of the bishops, and ||has certain privileges but no metropolitan authority. Internat. Cyc.

Prim"y (?), a. [From Prime, a.] Being in its prime. [Obs.] "The youth of primy nature." Shak.

Prince (?), n. [F., from L. princeps, -cipis, the first, chief; primus first + capere to take. See Prime, a., and Capacious.] 1. The one of highest rank; one holding the highest place and authority; a sovereign; a monarch; - - originally applied to either sex, but now rarely applied to a female. Wyclif (Rev. i. 5).

Go, Michael, of celestial armies prince.

Milton.

Queen Elizabeth, a prince admirable above her sex.

Camden.

2. The son of a king or emperor, or the issue of a royal family; as, princes of the blood. Shak.

3. A title belonging to persons of high rank, differing in different countries. In England it belongs to dukes, marquises, and earls, but is given to members of the royal family only. In Italy a prince is inferior to a duke as a member of a particular order of nobility; in Spain he is always one of the royal family.

4. The chief of any body of men; one at the head of a class or profession; one who is preÎminent; as, a merchant prince; a prince of players. "The prince of learning." Peacham.

Prince-Albert coat, a long double-breasted frock coat for men. -- Prince of the blood, Prince consort, Prince of darkness. See under Blood, Consort, and Darkness. -- Prince of Wales, the oldest son of the English sovereign. -- Prince's feather (Bot.), a name given to two annual herbs (Amarantus caudatus and Polygonum orientale), with apetalous reddish flowers arranged in long recurved panicled spikes. -- Prince's metal, Prince Rupert's metal. See under Metal. Prince's pine. (Bot.) See Pipsissewa.

Prince, v. i. To play the prince. [R.] Shak.

Prince"dom (?), n. The jurisdiction, sovereignty, rank, or estate of a prince.

Thrones, princedoms, powers, dominions, I reduce.

Milton.

Prince"hood (?), n. Princeliness. [Obs.] E. Hall.

Prince"kin (?), n. A petty prince; a princeling.

The princekins of private life.

Thackeray.

Prince"less, a. Without a prince. Fuller.

Prince"let (?), n. A petty prince. [R.]

Prince"like` (?), a. Princely. Shak.

Prince"li*ness (?), n. The quality of being princely; the state, manner, or dignity of a prince.

Prince"ling (?), n. A petty prince; a young prince.

Prince"ly, a. 1. Of or relating to a prince; regal; royal; of highest rank or authority; as, princely birth, character, fortune, etc.

2. Suitable for, or becoming to, a prince; grand; august; munificent; magnificent; as, princely virtues; a princely fortune. "Most princely gifts." Shak.

Prince"ly (?), adv. In a princely manner.

My appetite was not princely got.

Shak.

Prin"cess (?), n. [F. princesse. See Prince, and cf. Princesse.] 1. A female prince; a woman having sovereign power, or the rank of a prince. Dryden.

So excellent a princess as the present queen.

Swift.

2. The daughter of a sovereign; a female member of a royal family. Shak.

3. The consort of a prince; as, the princess of Wales.

Princess royal, the eldest daughter of a sovereign.

Prin*cesse" (?), a. [F., a princess.] A term applied to a lady's long, close-fitting dress made with waist and skirt in one.

Prin"cess*like` (?), a. Like a princess.

Prince"wood` (?), n. (Bot.) The wood of two small tropical American trees (Hamelia ventricosa, and Cordia gerascanthoides). It is brownish, veined with lighter color.

Prin"ci*fied (?), a. [Prince + L. -ficare (in comp.).] Imitative of a prince. [R. & Colloq.] Thackeray.

Prin"ci*pal (?), a. [F., from L. principalis. See Prince.] 1. Highest in rank, authority, character, importance, or degree; most considerable or important; chief; main; as, the principal officers of a Government; the principal men of a state; the principal productions of a country; the principal arguments in a case.

Wisdom is the principal thing.

Prov. iv. 7.

2. Of or pertaining to a prince; princely. [A Latinism] [Obs.] Spenser.

Principal axis. See Axis of a curve, under Axis. -- Principal axes of a quadric (Geom.), three lines in which the principal planes of the solid intersect two and two, as in an ellipsoid. -- Principal challenge. (Law) See under Challenge. -- Principal plane. See Plane of projection (a), under Plane. -- Principal of a quadric (Geom.), three planes each of which is at right angles to the other two, and bisects all chords of the quadric perpendicular to the plane, as in an ellipsoid. -- Principal point (Persp.), the projection of the point of sight upon the plane of projection. -- Principal ray (Persp.), the line drawn through the point of sight perpendicular to the perspective plane. -- Principal section (Crystallog.), a plane passing through the optical axis of a crystal.

Prin"ci*pal, n. 1. A leader, chief, or head; one who takes the lead; one who acts independently, or who has controlling authority or influence; as, the principal of a faction, a school, a firm, etc.; -- distinguished from a subordinate, abettor, auxiliary, or assistant.

2. Hence: (Law) (a) The chief actor in a crime, or an abettor who is present at it, -- as distinguished from an accessory. (b) A chief obligor, promisor, or debtor, -- as distinguished from a surety. (c) One who employs another to act for him, -- as distinguished from an agent. Wharton. Bouvier. Burrill.

3. A thing of chief or prime importance; something fundamental or especially conspicuous. Specifically: (a) (Com.) A capital sum of money, placed out at interest, due as a debt or used as a fund; -- so called in distinction from interest or profit. (b) (Arch. & Engin.) The construction which gives shape and strength to a roof, -- generally a truss of timber or iron, but there are roofs with stone principals. Also, loosely, the most important member of a piece of framing. (c) (Mus.) In English organs the chief open metallic stop, an octave above the open diapason. On the manual it is four feet long, on the pedal eight feet. In Germany this term corresponds to the English open diapason. (d) (O. Eng. Law) A heirloom; a mortuary. Cowell. (e) pl. The first two long feathers of a hawk's wing. Spenser. J. H. Walsh. (f) One of turrets or pinnacles of waxwork and tapers with which the posts and center of a funeral hearse were formerly crowned. Oxf. Gloss. (g) A principal or essential point or rule; a principle. [Obs.]

Prin`ci*pal"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Principalities (#). [L. principalitas preÎminence, excellence: cf. F. principalitÈ, principautÈ. See Principal.] 1. Sovereignty; supreme power; hence, superiority; predominance; high, or the highest, station. Sir P. Sidney.

Your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.

Jer. xiii. 18.

The prerogative and principality above everything else.

Jer. Taylor.

2. A prince; one invested with sovereignty. "Next upstood Nisroch, of principalities the prime." Milton.

3. The territory or jurisdiction of a prince; or the country which gives title to a prince; as, the principality of Wales.

Prin"ci*pal*ly (?), adv. In a principal manner; primarily; above all; chiefly; mainly.

Prin"ci*pal*ness, n. The quality of being principal.

Prin"ci*pate (?), n. [L. principatus: cf. F. principat.] Principality; supreme rule. [Obs.] Barrow.

||Prin*cip"i*a (?), n. pl. [L. principium. See Principle.] First ||principles; fundamental beginnings; elements; as. Newton's Principia.

Prin*cip"i*al (?), a. Elementary. [Obs.] Bacon.

Prin*cip"i*ant (?), a. [L. principians, p. pr. of principiare to begin, fr. principium. See Principle.] Relating to principles or beginnings. [R.] Jer. Taylor.

Prin*cip"i*ate (?), v. t. [See Principiant.] To begin; to initiate. [Obs.] Sir M. Hale.

Prin*cip`i*a"tion (?), n. Analysis into primary or elemental parts. [Archaic] Bacon.

Prin"ci*ple (?), n. [F. principe, L. principium beginning, foundation, fr. princeps, - cipis. See Prince.] 1. Beginning; commencement. [Obs.]

Doubting sad end of principle unsound.

Spenser.

2. A source, or origin; that from which anything proceeds; fundamental substance or energy; primordial substance; ultimate element, or cause.

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The soul of man is an active principle.

Tillotson.

3. An original faculty or endowment.

Nature in your principles hath set [benignity].

Chaucer.

Those active principles whose direct and ultimate object is the communication either of enjoyment or suffering.

Stewart.

4. A fundamental truth; a comprehensive law or doctrine, from which others are derived, or on which others are founded; a general truth; an elementary proposition; a maxim; an axiom; a postulate.

Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection.

Heb. vi. 1.

A good principle, not rightly understood, may prove as hurtful as a bad.

Milton.

5. A settled rule of action; a governing law of conduct; an opinion or belief which exercises a directing influence on the life and behavior; a rule (usually, a right rule) of conduct consistently directing one's actions; as, a person of no principle.

All kinds of dishonesty destroy our pretenses to an honest principle of mind.

Law.

6. (Chem.) Any original inherent constituent which characterizes a substance, or gives it its essential properties, and which can usually be separated by analysis; -- applied especially to drugs, plant extracts, etc.

Cathartine is the bitter, purgative principle of senna.

Gregory.

Bitter principle, Principle of contradiction, etc. See under Bitter, Contradiction, etc.

Prin"ci*ple (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Principled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Principling (?).] To equip with principles; to establish, or fix, in certain principles; to impress with any tenet, or rule of conduct, good or ill.

Governors should be well principled.

L'Estrange.

Let an enthusiast be principled that he or his teacher is inspired.

Locke.

{ Prin"cock (?), Prin"cox (?), } n. [Prim + cock.] A coxcomb; a pert boy. [Obs.]

Prink (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Prinked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Prinking.] [Probably a nasalized form of prick. See Prick, v. t., and cf. Prig, Prank.] To dress or adjust one's self for show; to prank.

Prink, v. t. To prank or dress up; to deck fantastically. "And prink their hair with daisies." Cowper.

Prink"er (?), n. One who prinks.

Prin"prid`dle (?), n. (Zoˆl.) The long-tailed titmouse. [Prov. Eng.]

Print (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Printed; p. pr. & vb. n. Printing.] [Abbrev. fr. imprint. See Imprint, and Press to squeeze.] 1. To fix or impress, as a stamp, mark, character, idea, etc., into or upon something.

A look will print a thought that never may remove.

Surrey.

Upon his breastplate he beholds a dint, Which in that field young Edward's sword did print.

Sir John Beaumont.

Perhaps some footsteps printed in the clay.

Roscommon.

2. To stamp something in or upon; to make an impression or mark upon by pressure, or as by pressure.

Forth on his fiery steed betimes he rode, That scarcely prints the turf on which he trod.

Dryden.

3. Specifically: To strike off an impression or impressions of, from type, or from stereotype, electrotype, or engraved plates, or the like; in a wider sense, to do the typesetting, presswork, etc., of (a book or other publication); as, to print books, newspapers, pictures; to print an edition of a book.

4. To stamp or impress with colored figures or patterns; as, to print calico.

5. (Photog.) To take (a copy, a positive picture, etc.), from a negative, a transparent drawing, or the like, by the action of light upon a sensitized surface.