Chapter CCCXLVI: Preface: Pref"ace, v. i (3)

4. Mean; despicable; contemptible; -- used ironically; as, a pretty trick; a pretty fellow.

5. Stout; strong and brave; intrepid; valiant. [Scot.] [He] observed they were pretty men, meaning not handsome. Sir W. Scott.

Syn. -- Elegant; neat; fine. See Handsome.

PRETTY Pret"ty, adv.

Defn: In some degree; moderately; considerably; rather; almost; -- less emphatic than very; as, I am pretty sure of the fact; pretty cold weather. Pretty plainly professes himself a sincere Christian. Atterbury.

PRETTYISH Pret"ty*ish, a.

Defn: Somewhat pretty. Walpole.

PRETTYISM Pret"ty*ism, n.

Defn: Affectation of a pretty style, manner, etc. [R.] Ed. Rev.

PRETTY-SPOKEN Pret"ty-spo`ken, a.

Defn: Spoken or speaking prettily. [Colloq.]

PRETYPIFY Pre*typ"i*fy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pretypified; p. pr. & vb. n. Pretypifying.]

Defn: To prefigure; to exhibit previously in a type. Bp. Pearson.

PRETZEL Pret"zel, n. Etym: [G. pretzel, bretzel. Cf. Bretzel.]

Defn: A kind of German biscuit or cake in the form of a twisted ring, salted on the outside.

PREVAIL Pre*vail", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Prevailed; p. pr. & vb. n. Prevailing.] Etym: [F. prévaloir, OF. prevaleir, L. praevalere; prae before + valere to be strong, able, or worth. See Valiant.]

1. To overcome; to gain the victory or superiority; to gain the advantage; to have the upper hand, or the mastery; to succeed; -- sometimes with over or against. When Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. Ex. xvii. 11. So David prevailed over the Philistine. 1 Sam. xvii. 50. This kingdom could never prevail against the united power of England. Swift.

2. To be in force; to have effect, power, or influence; to be predominant; to have currency or prevalence; to obtain; as, the practice prevails this day. This custom makes the short-sighted bigots, and the warier skeptics, as far as it prevails. Locke.

3. To persuade or induce; -- with on, upon, or with; as, I prevailedon him to wait. He was prevailed with to restrain the Earl. Clarendon. Prevail upon some judicious friend to be your constant hearer, and allow him the utmost freedom. Swift.

PREVAILING Pre*vail"ing, a.

1. Having superior force or influence; efficacious; persuasive. Shak. Saints shall assist thee with prevailing prayers. Rowe.

2. Predominant; prevalent; most general; as, the prevailing disease of a climate; a prevailing opinion.

Syn. See Prevalent.

PREVAILINGLY Pre*vail"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: So as to prevail.

PREVAILMENT Pre*vail"ment, n.

Defn: Prevalence; superior influence; efficacy. [Obs.] Shak.

PREVALENCE Prev"a*lence, n. Etym: [L. praevalentia: cf. F. prévalence. See Prevail.]

Defn: The quality or condition of being prevalent; superior strength, force, or influence; general existence, reception, or practice; wide extension; as, the prevalence of virtue, of a fashion, or of a disease; the prevalence of a rumor. The duke better knew what kind of argument were of prevalence with him. Clarendon.

PREVALENCY Prev"a*len*cy, n.

Defn: See Prevalence.

PREVALENT Prev"a*lent, a. Etym: [L. praevalens, -entis, p. pr. of praevalere. See Prevail.]

1. Gaining advantage or superiority; having superior force, influence, or efficacy; prevailing; predominant; successful; victorious. Brennus told the Roman embassadors, that prevalent arms were as good as any title. Sir W. Raleigh.

2. Most generally received or current; most widely adopted or practiced; also, generally or extensively existing; widespread; prevailing; as, a prevalent observance; prevalent disease. This was the most received and prevalent opinion. Woodward.

Syn. -- Prevailing; predominant; successful; efficacious; powerful. -- Prevalent, Prevailing. What customarily prevails is prevalent; as, a prevalent fashion. What actually prevails is prevailing; as, the prevailing winds are west. Hence, prevailing is the livelier and more pointed word, since it represents a thing in action. It is sometimes the stronger word, since a thing may prevail sufficiently to be called prevalent, and yet require greater strength to make it actually prevailing.

PREVALENTLY Prev"a*lent"ly, adv.

Defn: In a prevalent manner. Prior.

PREVARICATE Pre*var"i*cate, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Prevaricated; p. pr. & vb. n. Prevaricating.] Etym: [L. praevaricatus, p. p. of praevaricari to walk crookedly, to collude; prae before + varicare to straddle, fr. varicus straddling, varus bent. See Varicose.]

1. To shift or turn from one side to the other, from the direct course, or from truth; to speak with equivocation; to shuffle; to quibble; as, he prevaricates in his statement. He prevaricates with his own understanding. South.

2. (Civil Law)

Defn: To collude, as where an informer colludes with the defendant, and makes a sham prosecution.

3. (Eng. Law)

Defn: To undertake a thing falsely and deceitfully, with the purpose of defeating or destroying it.

Syn. -- To evade; equivocate; quibble; shuffle. -- Prevaricate, Evade, Equivocate. One who evades a question ostensibly answers it, but really turns aside to some other point. He who equivocate uses words which have a double meaning, so that in one sense he can claim to have said the truth, though he does in fact deceive, and intends to do it. He who prevaricates talks all round the question, hoping to "dodge" it, and disclose nothing.

PREVARICATE Pre*var"i*cate, v. t.

Defn: To evade by a quibble; to transgress; to pervert. [Obs.] Jer. Taylor.

PREVARICATION Pre*var`i*ca"tion, n. Etym: [L. praevaricatio: cf. F. prévarication.]

1. The act of prevaricating, shuffling, or quibbling, to evade the truth or the disclosure of truth; a deviation from the truth and fair dealing. The august tribunal of the skies, where no prevarication shall avail. Cowper.

2. A secret abuse in the exercise of a public office.

3. (Law) (a) (Roman Law) The collusion of an informer with the defendant, for the purpose of making a sham prosecution. (b) (Common Law) A false or deceitful seeming to undertake a thing for the purpose of defeating or destroying it. Cowell.

PREVARICATOR Pre*var"i*ca`tor, n. Etym: [L. praevaricator: cf. F. prévaricateur.]

1. One who prevaricates.

2. (Roman Law)

Defn: A sham dealer; one who colludes with a defendant in a sham prosecution.

3. One who betrays or abuses a trust. Prynne.

PREVE Preve, v. i. & i.

Defn: To prove. [Obs.] Chaucer.

PREVE Preve, n.

Defn: Proof. [Obs.] Chaucer.

PREVENANCE Prev"e*nance, n. Etym: [F. prévenance.] (Metaph.)

Defn: A going before; anticipation in sequence or order. "The law of prevenance is simply the well-known law of phenomenal sequence." Ward.

PREVENANCY Prev"e*nan*cy, n.

Defn: The act of anticipating another's wishes, desires, etc., in the way of favor or courtesy; hence, civility; obligingness. [Obs.] Sterne.

PREVENE Pre*vene", v. t. & i. Etym: [F. prévenir, L. praevenire. See Prevent.]

Defn: To come before; to anticipate; hence, to hinder; to prevent. [Obs.] Philips.

PREVENIENCE Pre*ven"i*ence, n.

Defn: The act of going before; anticipation. [R.]

PREVENIENT Pre*ven"i*ent, a. Etym: [L. praeveniens, p. pr.]

Defn: Going before; preceding; hence, preventive. "Prevenient grace descending." Milton.

PREVENT Pre*vent", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Prevented; p. pr. & vb. n. Preventing.] Etym: [L. praevenire, praeventum; prae before + venire to come. See Come.]

1. To go before; to precede; hence, to go before as a guide; to direct. [Obs.] We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 1 Thess. iv. 15. We pray thee that thy grace may always prevent and follow us. Bk. of Common Prayer. Then had I come, preventing Sheba's queen. Prior.

2. To be beforehand with; to anticipate. [Obs.] Their ready guilt preventing thy commands. Pope.

3. To intercept; to hinder; to frustrate; to stop; to thwart. "This vile purpose to prevent." Shak. Perhaps forestalling night prevented them. Milton.

PREVENT Pre*vent", v. i.

Defn: To come before the usual time. [Obs.] Strawberries . . . will prevent and come early. Bacon.

PREVENTABILITY Pre*vent`a*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being preventable.

PREVENTABLE Pre*vent"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being prevented or hindered; as, preventable diseases.

PREVENTATIVE Pre*vent"a*tive, n.

Defn: That which prevents; -- incorrectly used instead of preventive.

PREVENTER Pre*vent"er, n.

1. One who goes before; one who forestalls or anticipates another. [Obs.] Bacon.

2. One who prevents or obstructs; a hinderer; that which hinders; as, a preventer of evils or of disease.

3. (Naut.)

Defn: An auxiliary rope to strengthen a mast. Preventer bolts, or Preventer plates (Naut.), fixtures connected with preventers to reënforce other rigging. -- Preventer stay. (Naut.) Same as Preventer, 3.

PREVENTINGLY Pre*vent"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: So as to prevent or hinder.

PREVENTION Pre*ven"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. prévention.]

1. The act of going, or state of being, before. [Obs.] The greater the distance, the greater the prevention. Bacon.

2. Anticipation; esp., anticipation of needs or wishes; hence, precaution; forethought. [Obs.] Hammond. Shak.

3. The act of preventing or hindering; obstruction of action, access, or approach; thwarting. South. Casca, be sudden, for we fear prevention. Shak.

4. Prejudice; prepossession. [A Gallicism] Dryden.

PREVENTIONAL Pre*ven"tion*al, a.

Defn: Tending to prevent. [Obs.]

PREVENTIVE Pre*vent"ive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. préventif.]

1. Going before; preceding. [Obs.] Any previous counsel or preventive understanding. Cudworth.

2. Tending to defeat or hinder; obviating; preventing the access of; as, a medicine preventive of disease. Physic is either curative or preventive. Sir T. Browne. Preventive service, the duty performed by the armed police in guarding the coast against smuggling. [Eng]

PREVENTIVE Pre*vent"ive, n.

Defn: That which prevents, hinders, or obstructs; that which intercepts access; in medicine, something to prevent disease; a prophylactic.

PREVENTIVELY Pre*vent"ive*ly, adv.

Defn: In a preventive manner.

PREVERTEBRAL Pre*ver"te*bral, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Situated immediately in front, or on the ventral side, of the vertebral column; prespinal.

PREVIOUS Pre"vi*ous, a. Etym: [L. praevius going before, leading the way; prae before + via the way. See Voyage.]

Defn: Going before in time; being or happening before something else; antecedent; prior; as, previous arrangements; a previous illness. The dull sound . . . previous to the storm, Rolls o'er the muttering earth. Thomson. Previous question. (Parliamentary Practice) See under Question, and compare Closure. -- Previous to, before; -- often used adverbially for previously. "Previous to publication." M. Arnold. "A policy . . . his friends had advised previous to 1710." J. H. Newman.

Syn. -- Antecedent; preceding; anterior; prior; foregoing; former.

PREVIOUSLY Pre"vi*ous*ly, adv.

Defn: Beforehand; antecedently; as, a plan previously formed.

PREVIOUSNESS Pre"vi*ous*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being previous; priority or antecedence in time.

PREVISE Pre*vise", v. t. Etym: [L. praevisus, p. p. of praevidere to foresee; prae before + videre to see. See Vision.]

1. To foresee. [R.]

2. To inform beforehand; to warn. Ld. Lytton.

PREVISION Pre*vi"sion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. prévision.]

Defn: Foresight; foreknowledge; prescience. H. Spencer.

PREVOYANT Pre*voy"ant, a. Etym: [F. prévoyant.]

Defn: Foreseeing; prescient. [R.] Mrs. Oliphant.

PREWARN Pre*warn", v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Prewarned; p. pr. & vb. n. Prewarning.]

Defn: To warn beforehand; to forewarn. [R.]

PREY Prey, n. Etym: [OF. preie, F. proie, L. praeda, probably for praeheda. See Prehensile, and cf. Depredate, Predatory.]

Defn: Anything, as goods, etc., taken or got by violence; anything taken by force from an enemy in war; spoil; booty; plunder. And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest. Num. xxxi. 12.

2. That which is or may be seized by animals or birds to be devoured; hence, a person given up as a victim. The old lion perisheth for lack of prey. Job iv. ii. Already sees herself the monster's prey. Dryden.

3. The act of devouring other creatures; ravage. Hog in sloth, fox in stealth, . . . lion in prey. Shak. Beast of prey, a carnivorous animal; one that feeds on the flesh of other animals.

PREY Prey, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Preyed; p. pr. & vb. n. Preying.] Etym: [OF. preier, preer, L. praedari, fr. praeda. See Prey, n.]

Defn: To take booty; to gather spoil; to ravage; to take food by violence. More pity that the eagle should be mewed, While kites and buzzards prey at liberty. Shak. To prey on or upon. (a) To take prey from; to despoil; to pillage; to rob. Shak. (b) To seize as prey; to take for food by violence; to seize and devour. Shak. (c) To wear away gradually; to cause to waste or pine away; as, the trouble preyed upon his mind. Addison.

PREYER Prey"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, preys; a plunderer; a waster; a devourer. Hooker.

PREYFUL Prey"ful, a.

1. Disposed to take prey. [Obs.] The preyful brood of savage beasts. Chapman.

2. Rich in prey. [Obs.] Shak.

PREZYGAPOPHYSIS Pre*zyg`a*poph"y*sis, n.; pl. Prezygapophyses. Etym: [NL. See Pre-, and Zygapophysis.] (Anat.)

Defn: An anterior zygapophysis.

PRIAL Pri"al, n.

Defn: A corruption of pair royal. See under Pair, n.

PRIAN Pri"an, n. Etym: [Cornish, clayey ground, from pri clay.] (Mining)

Defn: A fine, white, somewhat friable clay; also, the ore contained in a mixture of clay and pebbles. [Written also pryan.]

PRIAPEAN Pri`a*pe"an, n. Etym: [Cf. L. Priapeius pertaining to Priapus.] (Lat. Pros.)

Defn: A species of hexameter verse so constructed as to be divisible into two portions of three feet each, having generally a trochee in the first and the fourth foot, and an amphimacer in the third; -- applied also to a regular hexameter verse when so constructed as to be divisible into two portions of three feet each. Andrews.

PRIAPISM Pri"a*pism, n. Etym: [L. priapismus, Gr. Priapus the god of procreation, the penis, Gr. priapisme.] (Med.)

Defn: More or less permanent erection and rigidity of the penis, with or without sexual desire.

PRIAPULACEA Pri*ap`u*la"ce*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Priapism.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A suborder of Gephyræa, having a cylindrical body with a terminal anal opening, and usually with one or two caudal gills.

PRICASOUR Pric"a*sour, n.

Defn: A hard rider. [Obs.]

PRICE Price, n. Etym: [OE. pris, OF. pris, F. prix, L. pretium; cf. Gr. pa to buy, OI. renim I sell. Cf. Appreciate, Depreciate, Interpret, Praise, n. & v., Precious, Prize.]

1. The sum or amount of money at which a thing is valued, or the value which a seller sets on his goods in market; that for which something is bought or sold, or offered for sale; equivalent in money or other means of exchange; current value or rate paid or demanded in market or in barter; cost. "Buy wine and milk without money and without price." Isa. lv. 1. We can afford no more at such a price. Shak.

2. Value; estimation; excellence; worth. Her price is far above rubies. Prov. xxxi. 10. New treasures still, of countless price. Keble.

3. Reward; recompense; as, the price of industry. 'T is the price of toil, The knave deserves it when he tills the soil. Pope. Price current, or Price list, a statement or list of the prevailing prices of merchandise, stocks, specie, bills of exchange, etc., published statedly or occasionally.

PRICE Price, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Priced; p. pr. & vb. n. Pricing.]

1. To pay the price of. [Obs.] With thine own blood to price his blood. Spenser.

2. To set a price on; to value. See Prize.

3. To ask the price of; as, to price eggs. [Colloq.]

PRICED Priced, a.

Defn: Rated in price; valued; as, high-priced goods; low-priced labor.

PRICEITE Price"ite, n. Etym: [From Thomas Price of San Francisco.] (Min.)

Defn: A hydrous borate of lime, from Oregon.

PRICELESS Price"less, a.

1. Too valuable to admit of being appraised; of inestimable worth; invaluable.

2. Of no value; worthless. [R.] J. Barlow.

PRICK Prick, n. Etym: [AS. prica, pricca, pricu; akin to LG. prick, pricke, D. prik, Dan. prik, prikke, Sw. prick. Cf. Prick, v.]

1. That which pricks, penetrates, or punctures; a sharp and slender thing; a pointed instrument; a goad; a spur, etc.; a point; a skewer. Pins, wooden pricks, nails, sprigs of rosemary. Shak. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. Acts ix. 5.

2. The act of pricking, or the sensation of being pricked; a sharp, stinging pain; figuratively, remorse. "The pricks of conscience." A. Tucker.

3. A mark made by a pointed instrument; a puncture; a point. Hence: (a) A point or mark on the dial, noting the hour. [Obs.] "The prick of noon." Shak. (b) The point on a target at which an archer aims; the mark; the pin. "They that shooten nearest the prick." Spenser. (c) A mark denoting degree; degree; pitch. [Obs.] "To prick of highest praise forth to advance." Spenser. (d) A mathematical point; -- regularly used in old English translations of Euclid. (e) The footprint of a hare. [Obs.]

4. (Naut.)

Defn: A small roll; as, a prick of spun yarn; a prick of tobacco.

PRICK Prick, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pricked; p. pr. & vb. n. Pricking.] Etym: [AS. prician; akin to LG. pricken, D. prikken, Dan. prikke, Sw. pricka. See Prick, n., and cf. Prink, Prig.]

1. To pierce slightly with a sharp-pointed instrument or substance; to make a puncture in, or to make by puncturing; to drive a fine point into; as, to prick one with a pin, needle, etc.; to prick a card; to prick holes in paper.

2. To fix by the point; to attach or hang by puncturing; as, to prick a knife into a board. Sir I. Newton. The cooks prick it [a slice] on a prong of iron. Sandys.

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 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 Prick"-eared`, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having erect, pointed ears; -- said of certain dogs. Thou prick-eared cur of Iceland. Shak.

PRICKER 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.)

Defn: A small marline spike having generally a wooden handle, -- used in sailmaking. R. H. Dana, Ir.

PRICKET Prick"et, n. Etym: [Perhaps so called from the state of his horns. See Prick, and cf. Brocket.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A buck in his second year. See Note under 3d Buck. Shak.

PRICKING 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.]

PRICKING-UP Prick"ing-up, n. (Arch.)

Defn: 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.

PRICKLE Pric"kle, n. Etym: [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.]

PRICKLE Pric"kle, v. t.

Defn: To prick slightly, as with prickles, or fine, sharp points. Felt a horror over me creep, Prickle skin, and catch my breath. Tennyson.

PRICKLEBACK; PRICKLEFISH Pric"kle*back`, Pric"kle*fish`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The stickleback.

PRICKLINESS Prick"li*ness, n. Etym: [From Prickly.]

Defn: The quality of being prickly, or of having many prickles.

PRICKLING Prick"ling, a.

Defn: Prickly. [Obs.] Spenser.

PRICKLOUSE Prick"louse`, n.

Defn: A tailor; -- so called in contempt. [Old slang] L'Estrange.

PRICKLY Prick"ly, a.

Defn: 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 (Zoöl.), any one of several species of South American burrowing rodents belonging to Ctenomys and allied genera. The hair is usually intermingled with sharp spines.

PRICKMADAM Prick"mad`am, n. Etym: [F. trique-madame. Cf. Tripmadam.] (Bot.)

Defn: A name given to several species of stonecrop, used as ingredients of vermifuge medicines. See Stonecrop.

PRICKPUNCH Prick"punch`, n.

Defn: A pointed steel punch, to prick a mark on metal.

PRICKSHAFT Prick"shaft`, n.

Defn: An arrow. [Obs.]

PRICKSONG Prick"song`, n. Etym: [See Prick, v. t., 4.]

Defn: 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.

PRICKWOOD Prick"wood`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A shrub (Euonymus Europæus); -- so named from the use of its wood for goads, skewers, and shoe pegs. Called also spindle tree.

PRICKY Prick"y, a.

Defn: Stiff and sharp; prickly. Holland.

PRIDE Pride, n. Etym: [Cf. AS. lamprede, LL. lampreda, E. lamprey.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small European lamprey (Petromyzon branchialis); -- called also prid, and sandpiper.

PRIDE Pride, n. Etym: [AS. pryte; akin to Icel. pryedhi honor, ornament, pr 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 (Zoöl.), 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 Pride, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Prided; p. pr. & vb. n. Priding.]

Defn: 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 Pride, v. i.

Defn: To be proud; to glory. [R.]

PRIDEFUL Pride"ful, a.

Defn: Full of pride; haughty. Tennyson. -- Pride"ful*ly, adv. -- Pride"ful-ness, n.

PRIDELESS Pride"less, a.

Defn: Without pride. Chaucer.

PRIDIAN Prid"i*an, a. Etym: [L. pridianus.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to the day before, or yesterday. [R.] Thackeray.

PRIDINGLY Prid"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: Proudly. [Obs.]

PRIE Prie, n. (Bot.)

Defn: The plant privet. [Obs.] Tusser.

PRIE Prie, v. i.

Defn: To pry. [Obs.] Chaucer.

PRIED Pried,

Defn: imp. & p. p. of Pry.

PRIEDIEU Prie`dieu", n. Etym: [F., literally, pray God.]

Defn: A kneeling desk for prayers.

PRIEF Prief, n.

Defn: Proof. [Obs.] Spenser. Lydgate.

PRIER Pri"er, n. Etym: [From Pry.]

Defn: One who pries; one who inquires narrowly and searches, or is inquisitive. So pragmatical a prier he is into divine secrets. Fuller.

PRIEST Priest, n. Etym: [OE. prest, preost, AS. preóst, fr. L. presbyter, Gr. pristinus. Cf. Pristine, Presbyter.]

1. (Christian Church)

Defn: 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.)

Defn: 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.

Note: 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 Priest, v. t.

Defn: To ordain as priest.

PRIESTCAP Priest"cap`, n. (Fort.)

Defn: A form of redan, so named from its shape; -- called also swallowtail.

PRIESTCRAFT Priest"craft`, n.

Defn: 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.

PRIESTERY Priest"er*y, n.

Defn: Priests, collectively; the priesthood; -- so called in contempt. [R.] Milton.

PRIESTESS Priest"ess, n.

Defn: A woman who officiated in sacred rites among pagans. Abp. Potter.

PRIESTHOOD 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.

PRIESTING Priest"ing, n.

Defn: The office of a priest. [Obs.] Milton.

PRIESTISM Priest"ism, n.

Defn: The influence, doctrines, principles, etc., of priests or the priesthood. [R.]

PRIESTLESS Priest"less, a.

Defn: Without a priest. Pope.

PRIESTLIKE Priest"like`, a.

Defn: Priestly. B. Jonson.

PRIESTLINESS Priest"li*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being priestly. R. Browning.

PRIESTLY Priest"ly, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a priest or the priesthood; sacerdotal; befitting or becoming a priest; as, the priestly office; a priestly farewell. Shak.

PRIEST-RIDDEN Priest"-rid`den, a.

Defn: Controlled or oppressed by priests; as, a priest-ridden people. Swift.

PRIEVE Prieve, v. t.

Defn: To prove. [Obs. or Scot.]

PRIG Prig, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Prigged; p. pr. & vb. n. Prigging.] Etym: [A modification of prick.]

Defn: To haggle about the price of a commodity; to bargain hard. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

PRIG Prig, v. t.

1. To cheapen. [Scot.]

2. Etym: [Perhaps orig., to ride off with. See Prick, v. t.]

Defn: To filch or steal; as, to prig a handkerchief. [Cant]

PRIG Prig, n.

1. A pert, conceited, pragmatical fellow. The queer prig of a doctor. Macaulay.

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

PRIGGERY Prig"ger*y, n.

Defn: Priggism.

PRIGGISH Prig"gish, a.

Defn: Like a prig; conceited; pragmatical. -- Prig"gish*ly, adv. -- Prig"gish-ness, n.

PRIGGISM Prig"gism, n.

1. The quality or state of being priggish; the manners of a prig. Ed. Rev.

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

PRIGHTE Prigh"te, obs.

Defn: imp. of Prick. Chaucer.

PRILL Prill, n. Etym: [Cf. Brill.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The brill.

PRILL Prill, v. i.

Defn: To flow. [Obs.] Stow.

PRILL Prill, n.

Defn: A stream. [Obs.] Davies (Microcosmos).

PRILL Prill, n. Etym: [Etymol. uncertain.]

1. (Mining) (a) A nugget of virgin metal. (b) Ore selected for excellence.

2. The button of metal from an assay.

PRILLION Pril"lion, n.

Defn: Tin extracted from the slag.

PRIM Prim, n. Etym: [See Privet.] (Bot)

Defn: The privet.

PRIM Prim, a. Etym: [OF. prim, prin, prime, first, principal. sharp, thin, piercing, fr. L. primus first. See Prime, a.]

Defn: Formal; precise; affectedly neat or nice; as, prim regularity; a prim person. Swift.

PRIM Prim, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Primmed; p. pr. & vb. n. Primming.]

Defn: To deck with great nicety; to arrange with affected preciseness; to prink.

PRIM Prim, v. i.

Defn: To dress or act smartly. [R.]

PRIMACY Pri"ma*cy, n. Etym: [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.

PRIMA DONNA Pri"ma don"na; pl. E. Prima donnas, It. Prime Donne. Etym: [It., fr. primo, prima, the first + donna lady, mistress. See Prime, a., and Donna.]

Defn: The first or chief female singer in an opera.

PRIMA FACIE Pri"ma fa"ci*e. Etym: [L., from abl. of primus first + abl. of facies appearance.]

Defn: 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.

PRIMAGE Pri"mage (; 48), n. Etym: [F.] (Com.)

Defn: 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.

PRIMAL Pri"mal, a. Etym: [LL. primalis, fr. L. primus the first. See Prime, a.]

Defn: First; primary; original; chief. It hath the primal eldest curse upon it. Shak. The primal duties shine aloft like stars. Wordsworth.

PRIMALITY Pri*mal"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being primal. [Obs.]

PRIMARILY Pri"ma*ri*ly, adv.

Defn: In a primary manner; in the first place; in the first place; in the first intention; originally.

PRIMARINESS Pri"ma*ri*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being primary, or first in time, in act, or in intention. Norris.

PRIMARY Pri"ma*ry, a. Etym: [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.)

Defn: Earliest formed; fundamental.

5. (Chem.)

Defn: 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 (Zoöl.), 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.

PRIMARY 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. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the large feathers on the distal joint of a bird's wing. See Plumage, and Illust. of Bird.

4. (Astron.)

Defn: A primary planet; the brighter component of a double star. See under Planet.

PRIMATE Pri"mate, n. Etym: [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. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the Primates.

PRIMATES Pri*ma"tes, n. pl. Etym: [NL.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The highest order of mammals. It includes man, together with the apes and monkeys. Cf. Pitheci.

PRIMATESHIP Pri"mate*ship, n.

Defn: The office, dignity, or position of a primate; primacy.

PRIMATIAL Pri*ma"tial, a. Etym: [Cf. F. primatial.]

Defn: Primatical. [R.] D'Anville (Trans. ).

PRIMATICAL Pri*mat"ic*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a primate. Barrow.

PRIME Prime, a. Etym: [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.

Note: 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 (') 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 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. Etym: [F. prime, LL. prima (sc. hora). See Prime, a.]

Defn: The morning; specifically (R. C. Ch.), the first canonical hour, succeeding to lauds. Early and late it rung, at evening and at prime. Spenser.

Note: 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. a. 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)

Defn: The first of the chief guards.

6. (Chem.)

Defn: 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]

7. (Arith.)

Defn: 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 Prime, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Primed; p. pr. & vb. n. Priming.] Etym: [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.)

Defn: 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 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.

PRIMELY Prime"ly, adv.

1. At first; primarily. [Obs.] South.

2. In a prime manner; excellently.

PRIMENESS Prime"ness, n.

1. The quality or state of being first.

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

PRIMER Prim"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, primes; specifically, an instrument or device for priming; esp., a cap, tube, or water containing percussion powder or other capable for igniting a charge of gunpowder.

PRIMER Prim"er, a. Etym: [OF. primer, primier, premier, F. premier. See Premier.]

Defn: 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.

PRIMER Prim"er, n. Etym: [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.)

Defn: 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.

Note: Great primer type.

PRIMERO Pri*me"ro, n. Etym: [Sp. primera, fr. primero first, from L. primarius. See Premier.]

Defn: A game at cards, now unknown. Shak.

PRIMEROLE Prim"er*ole, n. (Bot.)

Defn: See Primrose. [Obs.] "She was a primerole." Chaucer.

PRIMEVAL Pri*me"val, a. Etym: [L. primaevus; primus first + aevum age. See Prime, a., and Age.]

Defn: 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.

PRIMEVALLY Pri*me"val*ly, adv.

Defn: In a primeval manner; in or from the earliest times; originally. Darwin.

PRIMEVOUS Pri*me"vous, a.

Defn: Primeval. [Obs.]

PRIMIGENIAL Pri`mi*ge"ni*al, a.

Defn: First born, or first of all; original; primary. See Primogenial.

PRIMIGENIOUS; PRIMIGENOUS Pri`mi*ge"ni*ous, Pri*mig"e*nous, a. Etym: [L. primigenus, primigenius. See Primogeniture.]

Defn: First formed or generated; original; primigenial. Bp. Hall.

PRIMINE Pri"mine, n. Etym: [L. primus first: cf. F. primine.] (Bot.)

Defn: The outermost of the two integuments of an ovule.

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

PRIMING Prim"ing, n.

1. The powder or other combustible used to communicate fire to a charge of gunpowder, as in a firearm.

2. (Paint.)

Defn: The first coating of color, size, or the like, laid on canvas, or on a building, or other surface.

3. (Steam Eng.)

Defn: 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.

PRIMIPARA Pri*mip"a*ra, n. Etym: [L., fr. primus first + parere to bring forth.] (Med.)

Defn: A woman who bears a child for the first time.

PRIMIPAROUS Pri*mip"a*rous, a. Etym: [See Primipara.]

Defn: Belonging to a first birth; bearing young for the first time.

PRIMIPILAR Pri*mip"i*lar, a. Etym: [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.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to the captain of the vanguard of a Roman army. Barrow.

PRIMITIA Pri*mi"ti*a, n.; pl. Primitiæ (Primitias, obs.). Etym: [L. primitiae, pl., fr. primus first. Cf. Premices.] (Eng. Law)

Defn: The first fruit; the first year's whole profit of an ecclesiastical preferment. The primitias of your parsonage. Spenser.

PRIMITIAL Pri*mi"tial, a.

Defn: Being of the first production; primitive; original. [Obs.] Ainsworth.

PRIMITIVE Prim"i*tive, a. Etym: [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 coördinate (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.

PRIMITIVE Prim"i*tive, n.

Defn: An original or primary word; a word not derived from another; - - opposed to derivative.

PRIMITIVELY 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.

PRIMITIVENESS Prim"i*tive*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being primitive; conformity to primitive style or practice.

PRIMITY Prim"i*ty, n.

Defn: Quality of being first; primitiveness. [Obs.] Bp. Pearson.

PRIMLY Prim"ly, adv.

Defn: In a prim or precise manner.

PRIMNESS Prim"ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being prim; affected formality or niceness; preciseness; stiffness.

PRIMO Pri"mo, a. Etym: [It.] (Mus.)

Defn: First; chief.

PRIMOGENIAL Pri`mo*ge"ni*al, a. Etym: [See Primigenial.]

Defn: First born, made, or generated; original; primary; elemental; as, primogenial light. Glanvill.

PRIMOGENITIVE Pri`mo*gen"i*tive, a. Etym: [See Primogeniture.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to primogeniture. [R.]

PRIMOGENITIVE Pri`mo*gen"i*tive, n.

Defn: Primogeniture. [Obs.] The primogenitive and due of birth. Shak.

PRIMOGENITOR Pri`mo*gen"i*tor, n. Etym: [LL., fr. L. primus first + genitor a begetter.]

Defn: The first ancestor; a forefather.

PRIMOGENITURE Pri`mo*gen"i*ture, n. Etym: [LL., fr. L. primus first + genitura a begetting, birth, generation, fr. genere, gignere, to beget: cf. F. primogéniture, 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)

Defn: 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.

PRIMOGENITURESHIP Pri`mo*gen"i*ture*ship, n.

Defn: The state or privileges of the firstborn. Burke.

PRIMORDIAL Pri*mor"di*al, a. Etym: [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.)

Defn: 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.)

Defn: 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.

PRIMORDIAL Pri*mor"di*al, n.

Defn: A first principle or element.

PRIMORDIALISM Pri*mor"di*al*ism, n.

Defn: Devotion to, or persistence in, conditions of the primordial state. H. Spencer.

PRIMORDIALLY Pri*mor"di*al*ly, adv.

Defn: At the beginning; under the first order of things; originally.

PRIMORDIAN Pri*mor"di*an, n. Etym: [L. primordius first of all, fr. primordium.] (Bot.)

Defn: A name given to several kinds of plums; as, red primordian, amber primordian, etc.

PRIMORDIATE Pri*mor"di*ate, a.

Defn: Primordial. [R.] Boyle.

PRIMP Primp, v. i. & t. Etym: [Cf. Prim, a.]

Defn: To be formal or affected in dress or manners; -- often with up. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Halliwell.

PRIMROSE Prim"rose`, n. Etym: [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.]

PRIMROSE Prim"rose`, a.

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

PRIMROSE LEAGUE Prim"rose` League. (Eng. Politics)

Defn: A league of both sexes among the Conservatives, founded in 1883. So called because primrose was (erroneously, it is said) taken to be the favorite flower of the Conservative statesman Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield.

PRIMULA Prim"u*la, n. Etym: [LL. See Primrose.] (Bot.)

Defn: The genus of plants including the primrose (Primula vera).

PRIMULACEOUS Prim`u*la"ceous, a. (Bot.)