Chapter CCCXLVII: Preface: Pref"ace, v. i (4)

Defn: Of or pertaining to an order of herbaceous plants (Primulaceæ), of which the primrose is the type, and the pimpernel, the cyclamen, and the water violet are other examples.

PRIMUM MOBILE Pri"mum mob"i*le. Etym: [L., first cause of motion.] (Astron.)

Defn: 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.

PRIMUS Pri"mus, n. Etym: [L., the first.]

Defn: 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.

PRIMY Prim"y, a. Etym: [From Prime, a.]

Defn: Being in its prime. [Obs.] "The youth of primy nature." Shak.

PRINCE Prince, n. Etym: [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 preëminent; 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 Prince, v. i.

Defn: To play the prince. [R.] Shak.

PRINCEDOM Prince"dom, n.

Defn: The jurisdiction, sovereignty, rank, or estate of a prince. Thrones, princedoms, powers, dominions, I reduce. Milton.

PRINCEHOOD Prince"hood, n.

Defn: Princeliness. [Obs.] E. Hall.

PRINCEKIN Prince"kin, n.

Defn: A petty prince; a princeling. The princekins of private life. Thackeray.

PRINCELESS Prince"less, a.

Defn: Without a prince. Fuller.

PRINCELET Prince"let, n.

Defn: A petty prince. [R.]

PRINCELIKE Prince"like`, a.

Defn: Princely. Shak.

PRINCELINESS Prince"li*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being princely; the state, manner, or dignity of a prince.

PRINCELING Prince"ling, n.

Defn: A petty prince; a young prince.

PRINCELY 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.

PRINCELY Prince"ly, adv.

Defn: In a princely manner. My appetite was not princely got. Shak.

PRINCESS Prin"cess, n. Etym: [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.

PRINCESSE Prin*cesse", a. Etym: [F., a princess.]

Defn: A term applied to a lady's long, close-fitting dress made with waist and skirt in one.

PRINCESSLIKE Prin"cess*like`, a.

Defn: Like a princess.

PRINCEWOOD Prince"wood`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: The wood of two small tropical American trees (Hamelia ventricosa, and Cordia gerascanthoides). It is brownish, veined with lighter color.

PRINCIFIED Prin"ci*fied, a. Etym: [Prince + L. -ficare (in comp.).]

Defn: Imitative of a prince. [R. & Colloq.] Thackeray.

PRINCIPAL Prin"ci*pal, a. Etym: [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.

PRINCIPAL 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.

Defn: 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.]

PRINCIPALITY Prin`ci*pal"i*ty, n.; pl. Principalities. Etym: [L. principalitas preëminence, excellence: cf. F. principalité, principauté. 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.

PRINCIPALLY Prin"ci*pal*ly, adv.

Defn: In a principal manner; primarily; above all; chiefly; mainly.

PRINCIPALNESS Prin"ci*pal*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being principal.

PRINCIPATE Prin"ci*pate, n. Etym: [L. principatus: cf. F. principat.]

Defn: Principality; supreme rule. [Obs.] Barrow.

PRINCIPIA Prin*cip"i*a, n. pl. Etym: [L. principium. See Principle.]

Defn: First principles; fundamental beginnings; elements; as. Newton's Principia.

PRINCIPIAL Prin*cip"i*al, a.

Defn: Elementary. [Obs.] Bacon.

PRINCIPIANT Prin*cip"i*ant, a. Etym: [L. principians, p. pr. of principiare to begin, fr. principium. See Principle.]

Defn: Relating to principles or beginnings. [R.] Jer. Taylor.

PRINCIPIATE Prin*cip"i*ate, v. t. Etym: [See Principiant.]

Defn: To begin; to initiate. [Obs.] Sir M. Hale.

PRINCIPIATION Prin*cip`i*a"tion, n.

Defn: Analysis into primary or elemental parts. [Archaic] Bacon.

PRINCIPLE Prin"ci*ple, n. Etym: [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.

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.)

Defn: 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.

PRINCIPLE Prin"ci*ple, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Principled; p. pr. & vb. n. Principling.]

Defn: 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.

PRINCOCK; PRINCOX Prin"cock, Prin"cox, n. Etym: [Prim + cock.]

Defn: A coxcomb; a pert boy. [Obs.]

PRINK Prink, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Prinked; p. pr. & vb. n. Prinking.] Etym: [Probably a nasalized form of prick. See Prick, v. t., and cf. Prig, Prank.]

Defn: To dress or adjust one's self for show; to prank.

PRINK Prink, v. t.

Defn: To prank or dress up; to deck fantastically. "And prink their hair with daisies." Cowper.

PRINKER Prink"er, n.

Defn: One who prinks.

PRINPRIDDLE Prin"prid`dle, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The longtailed titmouse. [Prov. Eng.]

PRINT Print, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Printed; p. pr. & vb. n. Printing.] Etym: [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:

Defn: 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.)

Defn: 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. Printed goods, textile fabrics printed in patterns, especially cotton cloths, or calicoes.

PRINT Print, v. i.

1. To use or practice the art of typography; to take impressions of letters, figures, or electrotypes, engraved plates, or the like.

2. To publish a book or an article. From the moment he prints, he must except to hear no more truth. Pope.

PRINT Print, n. Etym: [See Print, v., Imprint, n.]

1. A mark made by impression; a line, character, figure, or indentation, made by the pressure of one thing on another; as, the print of teeth or nails in flesh; the print of the foot in sand or snow. Where print of human feet was never seen. Dryden.

2. A stamp or die for molding or impressing an ornamental design upon an object; as, a butter print.

3. That which receives an impression, as from a stamp or mold; as, a print of butter.

4. Printed letters; the impression taken from type, as to excellence, form, size, etc.; as, small print; large print; this line is in print.

5. That which is produced by printing. Specifically: (a) An impression taken from anything, as from an engraved plate. "The prints which we see of antiquities." Dryden. (b) A printed publication, more especially a newspaper or other periodical. Addison. (c) A printed cloth; a fabric figured by stamping, especially calico or cotton cloth. (d) A photographic copy, or positive picture, on prepared paper, as from a negative, or from a drawing on transparent paper.

6. (Founding)

Defn: A core print. See under Core. Blue print, a copy in white lines on a blue ground, of a drawing, plan, tracing, etc., or a positive picture in blue and white, from a negative, produced by photographic printing on peculiarly prepared paper.blueprint for action -- In print. (a) In a printed form; issued from the press; published. Shak. (b) To the letter; with accurateness. "All this I speak in print." Shak. -- Out of print. See under Out. -- Print works, a factory where cloth, as calico, is printed.

PRINTA-BLE Print"a-ble, a.

Defn: Worthy to be published. [R.]

PRINTER Print"er, n.

Defn: One who prints; especially, one who prints books, newspapers, engravings, etc., a compositor; a typesetter; a pressman. Printer's devil, Printer's gauge. See under Devil, and Gauge. -- Printer's ink. See Printing ink, below.

PRINTERY Print"er*y, n.

Defn: A place where cloth is printed; print works; also, a printing office. [R.]

PRINTING Print"ing, n.

Defn: The act, art, or practice of impressing letters, characters, or figures on paper, cloth, or other material; the business of a printer, including typesetting and presswork, with their adjuncts; typography; also, the act of producing photographic prints. Block printing. See under Block. -- Printing frame (Photog.), a shallow box, usually having a glass front, in which prints are made by exposure to light. -- Printing house, a printing office. -- Printing ink, ink used in printing books, newspapers, etc. It is composed of lampblack or ivory black mingled with linseed or nut oil, made thick by boiling and burning. Other ingredients are employed for the finer qualities. Ure. -- Printing office, a place where books, pamphlets, or newspapers, etc., are printed. -- Printing paper, paper used in the printing of books, pamphlets, newspapers, and the like, as distinguished from writing paper, wrapping paper, etc. -- Printing press, a press for printing, books, newspaper, handbills, etc. -- Printing wheel, a wheel with letters or figures on its periphery, used in machines for paging or numbering, or in ticket-printing machines, typewriters, etc.; a type wheel.

PRINTING IN Print"ing in. (Photog.)

Defn: A process by which cloud effects or other features not in the original negative are introduced into a photograph. Portions, such as the sky, are covered while printing and the blank space thus reserved is filled in by printing from another negative.

PRINTING OUT Printing out. (Photog.)

Defn: A method of printing, in which the image is fully brought out by the direct actinic action of light without subsequent development by means of chemicals.

PRINTLESS Print"less, a.

Defn: Making no imprint. Milton.

PRINTLESS Print"less, a.

Defn: Making no imprint. Milton.

PRINTSHOP Print"shop`, n.

Defn: A shop where prints are sold.

PRIOR Pri"or, a. Etym: [L. prior former, previous, better, superior; compar. corresponding to primus first, and pro for. See Former, and cf. Prime, a., and Pre-, Pro-.]

Defn: Preceding in the order of time; former; antecedent; anterior; previous; as, a prior discovery; prior obligation; -- used elliptically in cases like the following: he lived alone [in the time] prior to his marriage.

PRIOR Pri"or, n. Etym: [OE. priour, OF. priour, prior, priur, F. prieur, from L. prior former, superior. See Prior, a.] (Eccl.)

Defn: The superior of a priory, and next below an abbot in dignity. Conventical, or Conventual, prior, a prior who is at the head of his own house. See the Note under Priory. -- Claustral prior, an official next in rank to the abbot in a monastery; prior of the cloisters.

PRIORATE Pri"or*ate, n. Etym: [LL. prioratus: cf. F. priorat.]

Defn: The dignity, office, or government, of a prior. T. Warton.

PRIORESS Pri"or*ess, n. Etym: [OF. prioresse.]

Defn: A lady superior of a priory of nuns, and next in dignity to an abbess.

PRIORITY Pri*or"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf. F. priorité. See Prior, a.]

1. The quality or state of being prior or antecedent in time, or of preceding something else; as, priority of application.

2. Precedence; superior rank. Shak. Priority of debts, a superior claim to payment, or a claim to payment before others.

Syn. -- Antecedence; precedence; preëminence.

PRIORLY Pri"or*ly, adv.

Defn: Previously. [R.] Geddes.

PRIORSHIP Pri"or*ship, n.

Defn: The state or office of prior; priorate.

PRIORY Pri"o*ry, n.; pl. Priories. Etym: [Cf. LL. prioria. See Prior, n.]

Defn: A religious house presided over by a prior or prioress; -- sometimes an offshoot of, an subordinate to, an abbey, and called also cell, and obedience. See Cell, 2.

Note: Of such houses there were two sorts: one where the prior was chosen by the inmates, and governed as independently as an abbot in an abbey; the other where the priory was subordinate to an abbey, and the prior was placed or displaced at the will of the abbot. Alien priory, a small religious house dependent on a large monastery in some other country.

Syn. -- See Cloister.

PRIS Pris, n.

Defn: See Price, and 1st Prize. [Obs.]

PRISAGE Pris"age (; 48), n. Etym: [OF. prisage a praising, valuing, taxing; cf. LL. prisagium prisage; or from F. prise a taking, capture, prize. See Prize.] (O. Eng. Law) (a) A right belonging to the crown of England, of taking two tuns of wine from every ship importing twenty tuns or more, -- one before and one behind the mast. By charter of Edward I. butlerage was substituted for this. Blackstone. (b) The share of merchandise taken as lawful prize at sea which belongs to the king or admiral.

PRISCILLIANIST Pris*cil"lian*ist, n. (Eccl. Hist.)

Defn: A follower of Priscillian, bishop of Avila in Spain, in the fourth century, who mixed various elements of Gnosticism and Manicheism with Christianity.

PRISE Prise, n.

Defn: An enterprise. [Obs.] Spenser.

PRISE Prise, n. & v.

Defn: See Prize, n., 5. Also Prize, v. t.

PRISER Pris"er, n.

Defn: See 1st Prizer. [Obs.]

PRISM Prism, n. Etym: [L. prisma, Gr. prisme.]

1. (Geom.)

Defn: A solid whose bases or ends are any similar, equal, and parallel plane figures, and whose sides are parallelograms.

Note: Prisms of different forms are often named from the figure of their bases; as, a triangular prism, a quadrangular prism, a rhombic prism, etc.

2. (Opt.)

Defn: A transparent body, with usually three rectangular plane faces or sides, and two equal and parallel triangular ends or bases; -- used in experiments on refraction, dispersion, etc.

3. (Crystallog.)

Defn: A form the planes of which are parallel to the vertical axis. See Form, n., 13. Achromatic prism (Opt.), a prism composed usually of two prisms of different transparent substances which have unequal dispersive powers, as two different kinds of glass, especially flint glass and crown glass, the difference of dispersive power being compensated by giving them different refracting angles, so that, when placed together so as to have opposite relative positions, a ray of light passed through them is refracted or bent into a new position, but is free from color. -- Nicol's prism, Nicol prism. Etym: [So called from Wm. Nicol, of Edinburgh, who first proposed it.] (Opt.) An instrument for experiments in polarization, consisting of a rhomb of Iceland spar, which has been bisected obliquely at a certain angle, and the two parts again joined with transparent cement, so that the ordinary image produced by double refraction is thrown out of the field by total reflection from the internal cemented surface, and the extraordinary, or polarized, image alone is transmitted.

PRISMATIC; PRISMATICAL Pris*mat"ic, Pris*mat"ic*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. prismatique.]

1. Resembling, or pertaining to, a prism; as, a prismatic form or cleavage.

2. Separated or distributed by a prism; formed by a prism; as, prismatic colors.

3. (Crystallog.)

Defn: Same as Orthorhombic. Prismatic borax (Chem.), borax crystallized in the form of oblique prisms, with ten molecules of water; -- distinguished from octahedral borax. -- Prismatic colors (Opt.), the seven colors into which light is resolved when passed through a prism; primary colors. See Primary colors, under Color. -- Prismatic compass (Surv.), a compass having a prism for viewing a distant object and the compass card at the same time. -- Prismatic spectrum (Opt.), the spectrum produced by the passage of light through a prism.

PRISMATICALLY Pris*mat"ic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In the form on manner of a prism; by means of a prism.

PRISMATOIDAL Pris`ma*toid"al, a. Etym: [Gr. -oid: F. prismatoïde.]

Defn: Having a prismlike form. Ure.

PRISM GLASS Prism glass.

Defn: Glass with one side smooth and the other side formed into sharp-edged ridges so as to reflect the light that passes through, used at windows to throw the light into the interior.

PRISMOID Pris"moid, n. Etym: [Cf. F. prismtoïde.]

Defn: A body that approaches to the form of a prism.

PRISMOIDAL Pris*moid"al, a.

Defn: Having the form of a prismoid; as, prismoidal solids.

PRISMY Pris"my, a.

Defn: Pertaining to a prism. [R.]

PRISON Pris"on, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. prehensio, prensio, a seizing, arresting, fr. prehendre, prendere, to lay hold of, to seize. See Prehensile, and cf. Prize, n., Misprision.]

1. A place where persons are confined, or restrained of personal liberty; hence, a place or state o Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name. Ps. cxlii. 7. The tyrant Æolus, . . . With power imperial, curbs the struggling winds, And sounding tempests in dark prisons binds. Dryden.

2. Specifically, a building for the safe custody or confinement of criminals and others committed by lawful authority. Prison bars, or Prison base. See Base, n., 24. -- Prison breach. (Law) See Note under 3d Escape, n., 4. -- Prison house, a prison. Shak. -- Prison ship (Naut.), a ship fitted up for the confinement of prisoners. -- Prison van, a carriage in which prisoners are conveyed to and from prison.

PRISON Pris"on, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Prisoned; p. pr. & vb. n. Prisoning.]

1. To imprison; to shut up in, or as in, a prison; to confine; to restrain from liberty. The prisoned eagle dies for rage. Sir W. Scott. His true respect will prison false desire. Shak.

2. To bind (together); to enchain. [Obs.] Sir William Crispyn with the duke was led Together prisoned. Robert of Brunne.

PRISONER Pris"on*er, n. Etym: [F. prisonnier.]

1. One who is confined in a prison. Piers Plowman.

2. A person under arrest, or in custody, whether in prison or not; a person held in involuntary restraint; a captive; as, a prisoner at the bar of a court. Bouvier. Prisoner of Hope thou art, -- look up and sing. Keble. Prisoner's base. See Base, n., 24.

PRISONMENT Pris"on*ment, n.

Defn: Imprisonment. [Obs.] Shak.

PRISTINATE Pris"tin*ate, a.

Defn: Pristine; primitive. [Obs.] "Pristinate idolatry." Holinshed.

PRISTINE Pris"tine, a. Etym: [L. pristinus, akin to prior: cf. F. pristin. See Prior, a.]

Defn: Belonging to the earliest period or state; original; primitive; primeval; as, the pristine state of innocence; the pristine manners of a people; pristine vigor.

PRITCH Pritch, n. Etym: [See Prick.]

1. A sharp-pointed instrument; also, an eelspear. [Prov. Eng.]

2. Pique; offense. [Obs.] D. Rogers.

PRITCHEL Pritch"el, n.

Defn: A tool employed by blacksmiths for punching or enlarging the nail holes in a horseshoe.

PRITHEE Prith"ee, interj.

Defn: A corruption of pray thee; as, I prithee; generally used without I. Shak. What was that scream for, I prithee L'Estrange. Prithee, tell me, Dimple-chin. E. C. Stedman.

PRITTLE-PRATTLE Prit"tle-prat`tle, n. Etym: [See Prattle.]

Defn: Empty talk; trifling loquacity; prattle; -- used in contempt or ridicule. [Colloq.] Abp. Bramhall.

PRIVACY Pri"va*cy, n.; pl. Privacies. Etym: [See Private.]

1. The state of being in retirement from the company or observation of others; seclusion.

2. A place of seclusion from company or observation; retreat; solitude; retirement. Her sacred privacies all open lie. Rowe.

3. Concealment of what is said or done. Shak.

4. A private matter; a secret. Fuller.

5. See Privity, 2. [Obs.] Arbuthnot.

PRIVADO Pri*va"do, n. Etym: [Sp., fr. L. privatus. See Private.]

Defn: A private friend; a confidential friend; a confidant. [Obs.] Fuller.

PRIVATDOCENT Pri*vat"do*cent`, n.; G. pl. -docenten (#). [Also Privatdozent.] [G.; privat private + docent teacher. See Docent.]

Defn: In the universities of Germany and some other European countries, a licensed teacher or lecturer having no share in the university government and dependent upon fees for remuneration.

PRIVATE Pri"vate (; 48), a. Etym: [L. privatus apart from the state, peculiar to an individual, private, properly p. p. of privare to bereave, deprive, originally, to separate, fr. privus single, private, perhaps originally, put forward (hence, alone, single) and akin to prae before. See Prior, a., and cf. Deprive, Privy, a.]

1. Belonging to, or concerning, an individual person, company, or interest; peculiar to one's self; unconnected with others; personal; one's own; not public; not general; separate; as, a man's private opinion; private property; a private purse; private expenses or interests; a private secretary.

2. Sequestered from company or observation; appropriated to an individual; secret; secluded; lonely; solitary; as, a private room or apartment; private prayer. Reason . . . then retires Into her private cell when nature rests. Milton.

3. Not invested with, or engaged in, public office or employment; as, a private citizen; private life. Shak. A private person may arrest a felon. Blackstone.

4. Not publicly known; not open; secret; as, a private negotiation; a private understanding.

5. Having secret or private knowledge; privy. [Obs.] Private act or statute, a statute exclusively for the settlement of private and personal interests, of which courts do not take judicial notice; -- opposed to a general law, which operates on the whole community. -- Private nuisance or wrong. See Nuisance. -- Private soldier. See Private, n., 5. -- Private way, a right of private passage over another man's ground. Kent.

PRIVATE Pri"vate, n.

1. A secret message; a personal unofficial communication. [Obs.] Shak.

2. Personal interest; particular business.[Obs.] Nor must I be unmindful of my private. B. Jonson.

3. Privacy; retirement. [Archaic] "Go off; I discard you; let me enjoy my private." Shak.

4. One not invested with a public office. [Archaic] What have kings, that privates have not too Shak.

5. (Mil.)

Defn: A common soldier; a soldier below the grade of a noncommissioned officer. Macaulay.

6. pl.

Defn: The private parts; the genitals. In private, secretly; not openly or publicly.

PRIVATEER Pri`va*teer" n. Etym: [From Private.]

1. An armed private vessel which bears the commission of the sovereign power to cruise against the enemy. See Letters of marque, under Marque.

2. The commander of a privateer. Kidd soon threw off the character of a privateer and became a pirate. Macaulay.

PRIVATEER Pri`va*teer", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Privateered; p. pr. & vb. n. Privateering.]

Defn: To cruise in a privateer.

PRIVATEERING Pri`va*teer"ing, n.

Defn: Cruising in a privateer.

PRIVATEERSMAN Pri`va*teers"man, n.; pl. Privateersmen (.

Defn: An officer or seaman of a privateer.

PRIVATELY Pri"vate*ly, adv.

1. In a private manner; not openly; without the presence of others.

2. In a manner affecting an individual; personally not officially; as, he is not privately benefited.

PRIVATENESS Pri"vate*ness, n.

1. Seclusion from company or society; retirement; privacy; secrecy. Bacon.

2. The state of one not invested with public office.

PRIVATION Pri*va"tion n. Etym: [L. privatio: cf. F. privation. See Private.]

1. The act of depriving, or taking away; hence, the depriving of rank or office; degradation in rank; deprivation. Bacon.

2. The state of being deprived or destitute of something, especially of something required or desired; destitution; need; as, to undergo severe privations.

3. The condition of being absent; absence; negation. Evil will be known by consequence, as being only a privation, or absence, of good. South. Privation mere of light and absent day. Milton.

PRIVATIVE Priv"a*tive a. Etym: [L. privativus: cf. F. privatif. See Private.]

1. Causing privation; depriving.

2. Consisting in the absence of something; not positive; negative. Privative blessings, blessings of immunity, safeguard, liberty, and integrity. Jer. Taylor.

3. (Gram.)

Defn: Implying privation or negation; giving a negative force to a word; as, alpha privative; privative particles; -- applied to such prefixes and suffixes as a- (Gr. un-, non-, -less.

PRIVATIVE Priv"a*tive, n.

1. That of which the essence is the absence of something. Blackness and darkness are indeed but privatives. Bacon.

2. (Logic)

Defn: A term indicating the absence of any quality which might be naturally or rationally expected; -- called also privative term.

3. (Gram.)

Defn: A privative prefix or suffix. See Privative, a., 3.

PRIVATIVELY Priv"a*tive*ly, adv.

Defn: In a privative manner; by the absence of something; negatively. [R.] Hammond.

PRIVATIVENESS Priv"a*tive*ness, n.

Defn: The state of being privative.

PRIVET Priv"et, n. Etym: [Cf. Scot. privie, Prov. E. prim-print, primwort. Prob. for primet, and perh. named from being cut and trimmed. See, Prim, a., and cf. Prime to prune, Prim, n., Prie, n.] (Bot.)

Defn: An ornamental European shrub (Ligustrum vulgare), much used in hedges; -- called also prim. Egyptian privet. See Lawsonia. -- Evergreen privet, a plant of the genus Rhamnus. See Alatern. -- Mock privet, any one of several evergreen shrubs of the genus Phillyrea. They are from the Mediterranean region, and have been much cultivated for hedges and for fancifully clipped shrubberies.

PRIVILEGE Priv"i*lege, n. Etym: [F. privilège, L. privilegium an ordinance or law against or in favor of an individual; privus private + lex, legis, law. See Private, and Legal.]

1. A peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor; a right or immunity not enjoyed by others or by all; special enjoyment of a good, or exemption from an evil or burden; a prerogative; advantage; franchise. He pleads the legal privilege of a Roman. Kettlewell. The privilege birthright was a double portion. Locke. A people inheriting privileges, franchises, and liberties. Burke.

2. (Stockbroker's Cant)

Defn: See Call, Put, Spread, etc. Breach of privilege. See under Breach. -- Question of privilege (Parliamentary practice), a question which concerns the security of a member of a legislative body in his special privileges as such. -- Water privilege, the advantage of having machinery driven by a stream, or a place affording such advantage. [ U. S.] -- Writ of privilege (Law), a writ to deliver a privileged person from custody when arrested in a civil suit. Blackstone.

Syn. -- Prerogative; immunity; franchise; right; claim; liberty. -- Privilege, Prerogative. Privilege, among the Romans, was something conferred upon an individual by a private law; and hence, it denotes some peculiar benefit or advantage, some right or immunity, not enjoyed by the world at large. Prerogative, among the Romans, was the right of voting first; and, hence, it denotes a right of precedence, or of doing certain acts, or enjoying certain privileges, to the exclusion of others. It is the privilege of a member of Congress not to be called in question elsewhere for words uttered in debate. It is the prerogative of the president to nominate judges and executive officers. It is the privilege of a Christian child to be instructed in the true religion. It is the prerogative of a parent to govern and direct his children.

PRIVILEGE Priv"i*lege, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Privileged; p. pr. & vb. n. Privileging.] Etym: [Cf. F. privilégier.]

1. To grant some particular right or exemption to; to invest with a peculiar right or immunity; to authorize; as, to privilege representatives from arrest. To privilege dishonor in thy name. Shak.

2. To bring or put into a condition of privilege or exemption from evil or danger; to exempt; to deliver. He took this place for sanctuary, And it shall privilege him from your hands. Shak.

PRIVILEGED Priv"i*leged, a.

Defn: Invested with a privilege; enjoying a peculiar right, advantage, or immunity. Privileged communication. (Law) (a) A communication which can not be disclosed without the consent of the party making it, -- such as those made by a client to his legal adviser, or by persons to their religious or medical advisers. (b) A communication which does not expose the party making it to indictment for libel, -- such as those made by persons communicating confidentially with a government, persons consulted confidentially as to the character of servants, etc. -- Privileged debts (Law), those to which a preference in payment is given out of the estate of a deceased person, or out of the estate of an insolvent. Wharton. Burrill. -- Privileged witnesses (Law) witnesses who are not obliged to testify as to certain things, as lawyers in relation to their dealings with their clients, and officers of state as to state secrets; also, by statute, clergymen and physicans are placed in the same category, so far as concerns information received by them professionally.

PRIVILY Priv"i*ly, adv.

Defn: In a privy manner; privately; secretly. Chaucer. 2 Pet. ii. 1.

PRIVITY Priv"i*ty, n.; pl. Privities (-tîz). Etym: [From Privy, a.: cf. F. privauté extreme familiarity.]

1. Privacy; secrecy; confidence. Chaucer. I will unto you, in privity, discover . . . my purpose. Spenser.

2. Private knowledge; joint knowledge with another of a private concern; cognizance implying consent or concurrence. All the doors were laid open for his departure, not without the privity of the Prince of Orange. Swift.

3. A private matter or business; a secret. Chaucer.

4. pl.

Defn: The genitals; the privates.

5. (Law)

Defn: A connection, or bond of union, between parties, as to some particular transaction; mutual or successive relationship to the same rights of property.

PRIVY Priv"y, a. Etym: [F. privé, fr. L. privatus. See Private.]

1. Of or pertaining to some person exclusively; assigned to private uses; not public; private; as, the privy purse. " Privee knights and squires." Chaucer.

2. Secret; clandestine. " A privee thief." Chaucer.

3. Appropriated to retirement; private; not open to the public. " Privy chambers." Ezek. xxi. 14.

4. Admitted to knowledge of a secret transaction; secretly cognizant; privately knowing. His wife also being privy to it. Acts v. 2. Myself am one made privy to the plot. Shak. Privy chamber, a private apartment in a royal residence. [Eng.] -- Privy council (Eng. Law), the principal council of the sovereign, composed of the cabinet ministers and other persons chosen by the king or queen. Burrill. -- Privy councilor, a member of the privy council. -- Privy purse, moneys set apart for the personal use of the monarch; also, the title of the person having charge of these moneys. [Eng.] Macaulay. -- Privy seal or signed, the seal which the king uses in grants, etc., which are to pass the great seal, or which the uses in matters of subordinate consequence which do not require the great seal; also, elliptically, the principal secretary of state, or person intrusted with the privy seal. [Eng.] -- Privy verdict, a verdict given privily to the judge out of court; -- now disused. Burrill.

PRIVY Priv"y, n.; pl. Privies (.

1. (Law)

Defn: A partaker; a person having an interest in any action or thing; one who has an interest in an estate created by another; a person having an interest derived from a contract or conveyance to which he is not himself a party. The term, in its proper sense, is distinguished from party. Burrill. Wharton.

2. A necessary house or place; a backhouse.

PRIZABLE Priz"a*ble, a.

Defn: Valuable. H. Taylor.

PRIZE Prize, n. Etym: [F. prise a seizing, hold, grasp, fr. pris, p. p. of prendre to take, L. prendere, prehendere; in some senses, as 2 (b), either from, or influenced by, F. prix price. See Prison, Prehensile, and cf. Pry, and also Price.]

1. That which is taken from another; something captured; a thing seized by force, stratagem, or superior power. I will depart my pris, or may prey, by deliberation. Chaucer. His own prize, Whom formerly he had in battle won. Spenser.

2. Hence, specifically; (a) (Law) Anything captured by a belligerent using the rights of war; esp., property captured at sea in virtue of the rights of war, as a vessel. Kent. Brande & C. (b) An honor or reward striven for in a competitive contest; anything offered to be competed for, or as an inducement to, or reward of, effort. I'll never wrestle for prize more. Shak. I fought and conquered, yet have lost the prize. Dryden.

(c) That which may be won by chance, as in a lottery.

3. Anything worth striving for; a valuable possession held or in prospect. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Phil. iii. 14.

4. A contest for a reward; competition. [Obs.] Shak.

5. A lever; a pry; also, the hold of a lever. [Written also prise.] Prize court, a court having jurisdiction of all captures made in war on the high seas. Bouvier. -- Prize fight, an exhibition contest, esp. one of pugilists, for a stake or wager. -- Prize fighter, one who fights publicly for a reward; -- applied esp. to a professional boxer or pugilist. Pope. -- Prize fighting, fighting, especially boxing, in public for a reward or wager. -- Prize master, an officer put in charge or command of a captured vessel. -- Prize medal, a medal given as a prize. -- Prize money, a dividend from the proceeds of a captured vessel, etc., paid to the captors. -- Prize ring, the ring or inclosure for a prize fight; the system and practice of prize fighting. -- To make prize of, to capture. Hawthorne.

PRIZE Prize, v. t.

Defn: To move with a lever; to force up or open; to pry. [Written also prise.]

PRIZE Prize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Prized; p. pr. & vb. n. Prizing.] Etym: [F. priser, OF. prisier, preisier, fr. L. pretiare, fr. pretium worth, value, price. See Price, and cf. Praise.] [Formerly written also prise. ]

1. To set or estimate the value of; to appraise; to price; to rate. A goodly price that I was prized at. Zech. xi. 13. I prize it [life] not a straw, but for mine honor. Shak.

2. To value highly; to estimate to be of great worth; to esteem. "[I] do love, prize, honor you. " Shak. I prized your person, but your crown disdain. Dryden.

PRIZE Prize, n. Etym: [F. prix price. See 3d Prize. ]

Defn: Estimation; valuation. [Obs.] Shak.

PRIZEMAN Prize"man, n.; pl. Prizemen (.

Defn: The winner of a prize.

PRIZER Priz"er, n. Etym: [See 3d Prize.]

Defn: One who estimates or sets the value of a thing; an appraiser. Shak.

PRIZER Priz"er, n. Etym: [See 1st Prize.]

Defn: One who contends for a prize; a prize fighter; a challenger. [Obs.] Shak. Appeareth no man yet to answer the prizer. B. Jonson.

PRIZING Priz"ing, n. Etym: [See 2d Prize.]

Defn: The application of a lever to move any weighty body, as a cask, anchor, cannon, car, etc. See Prize, n., 5.

PRO- Pro-. Etym: [L. pro, or Gr. Pro.]

Defn: A prefix signifying before, in front, forth, for, in behalf of, in place of, according to; as, propose, to place before; proceed, to go before or forward; project, to throw forward; prologue, part spoken before (the main piece); propel, prognathous; provide, to look out for; pronoun, a word instead of a noun; proconsul, a person acting in place of a consul; proportion, arrangement according to parts.

PRO Pro, prep. Etym: [L.; akin to prae before, Gr. for. See For, prep., and cf. Prior, a.]

Defn: A Latin preposition signifying for, before, forth. Pro confesso Etym: [L.] (Law), taken as confessed. The action of a court of equity on that portion of the pleading in a particular case which the pleading on the other side does not deny. -- Pro rata. Etym: [L. See Prorate.] In proportion; proportion. -- Pro re nata Etym: [L.] (Law), for the existing occasion; as matters are.

PRO Pro, adv.

Defn: For, on, or in behalf of, the affirmative side; -- in contrast with Ant: con. Pro and con, for and against, on the affirmative and on the negative side; as, they debated the question pro and con; -- formerly used also as a verb. -- Pros and cons, the arguments or reasons on either side.

PROA Pro"a, n. Etym: [Malay praah.] (Naut.)

Defn: A sailing canoe of the Ladrone Islands and Malay Archipelago, having its lee side flat and its weather side like that of an ordinary boat. The ends are alike. The canoe is long and narrow, and is kept from overturning by a cigar-shaped log attached to a frame extending several feet to windward. It has been called the flying proa, and is the swiftest sailing craft known.

PROACH Proach, v. i.

Defn: See Approach. [Obs.]

PROATLAS Pro*at"las, n. Etym: [Pref. pro- + atlas.] (Anat.)

Defn: A vertebral rudiment in front of the atlas in some reptiles.

PROBABILIORISM Prob`a*bil"i*o*rism, n.

Defn: The doctrine of the probabiliorists.

PROBABILIORIST Prob`a*bil"i*o*rist, n. Etym: [From L. probabilior, compar. of probabilis probable.] (Casuistry)

Defn: One who holds, in opposition to the probabilists, that a man is bound to do that which is most probably right.

PROBABILISM Prob"a*bil*ism n. Etym: [Cf. F. probabilisme.]

Defn: The doctrine of the probabilists.

PROBABILIST Prob"a*bil*ist, n. Etym: [Cf. F. probabilists.]

1. One who maintains that certainty is impossible, and that probability alone is to govern our faith and actions.

2. (Casuistry)

Defn: One who maintains that a man may do that which has a probability of being right, or which is inculcated by teachers of authority, although other opinions may seem to him still more probable.

PROBABILITY Prob`a*bil"i*ty, n.; pl. Probabilities. Etym: [L. probabilitas: cf. F. probabilité.]

1. The quality or state of being probable; appearance of reality or truth; reasonable ground of presumption; likelihood. Probability is the appearance of the agreement or disagreement of two ideas, by the intervention of proofs whose connection is not constant, but appears for the most part to be so. Locke.

2. That which is or appears probable; anything that has the appearance of reality or truth. The whole life of man is a perpetual comparison of evidence and balancing of probabilities. Buckminster. We do not call for evidence till antecedent probabilities fail. J. H. Newman.

3. (Math.)

Defn: Likelihood of the occurrence of any event in the doctrine of chances, or the ratio of the number of favorable chances to the whole number of chances, favorable and unfavorable. See 1st Chance, n., 5.

Syn. -- Likeliness; credibleness; likelihood; chance.

PROBABLE Prob"a*ble, a. Etym: [L. probabilis, fr. probare to try, approve, prove: cf. F. probable. See Prove, and cf. Provable.]

1. Capable of being proved. [Obs.]

2. Having more evidence for than against; supported by evidence which inclines the mind to believe, but leaves some room for doubt; likely. That is accounted probable which has better arguments producible for it than can be brought against it. South. I do not say that the principles of religion are merely probable; I have before asserted them to be morally certain. Bp. Wilkins.

3. Rendering probable; supporting, or giving ground for, belief, but not demonstrating; as, probable evidence; probable presumption. Blackstone. Probable cause (Law), a reasonable ground of presumption that a charge is, or my be, well founded. -- Probable error (of an observation, or of the mean of a number), that within which, taken positively and negatively, there is an even chance that the real error shall lie. Thus, if 3" is the probable error in a given case, the chances that the real error is greater than 3" are equal to the chances that it is less. The probable error is computed from the observations made, and is used to express their degree of accuracy. -- The probable, that which is within the bounds of probability; that which is not unnatural or preternatural; -- opposed to the marvelous.

PROBABLY Prob"a*bly, adv.

Defn: In a probable manner; in likelihood. Distinguish between what may possibly and what will probably be done. L'Estrange.

PROBACY Pro"ba*cy, n. Etym: [See Probate.]

Defn: Proof; trial. [Obs.] Chaucer.

PROBAL Pro"bal, a.

Defn: Approved; probable. [Obs.] Shak.

PROBALITY Pro*bal"i*ty, n.

Defn: Probability. [Obs.] "With as great probality." Holland.

PROBANG Pro"bang, n. Etym: [See Probe.]

Defn: A slender elastic rod, as of whalebone, with a sponge on the end, for removing obstructions from the esophagus, etc.

PROBATE Pro"bate, n. Etym: [From L. probatus, p. p. of probare to prove. See Prove.]

1. Proof. [Obs.] Skelton.

2. (Law) (a) Official proof; especially, the proof before a competent officer or tribunal that an instrument offered, purporting to be the last will and testament of a person deceased, is indeed his lawful act; the copy of a will proved, under the seal of the Court of Probate, delivered to the executors with a certificate of its having been proved. Bouvier. Burrill. (b) The right or jurisdiction of proving wills.

PROBATE Pro"bate, a.

Defn: Of or belonging to a probate, or court of probate; as, a probate record. Probate Court, or Court of Probate, a court for the probate of wills. -- Probate duty, a government tax on property passing by will. [Eng.]

PROBATE Pro"bate v. t.

Defn: To obtain the official approval of, as of an instrument purporting to be the last will and testament; as, the executor has probated the will.

PROBATION Pro*ba"tion, n. Etym: [L. probatio, fr. probare to try, examine, prove: cf. F. probation. See Prove.]

1. The act of proving; also, that which proves anything; proof. [Obs.] When by miracle God dispensed great gifts to the laity, . . . he gave probation that he intended that all should prophesy and preach. Jer. Taylor.

2. Any proceeding designed to ascertain truth, to determine character, qualification, etc.; examination; trial; as, to engage a person on probation. Hence, specifically: (a) The novitiate which a person must pass in a convent, to probe his or her virtue and ability to bear the severities of the rule. (b) The trial of a ministerial candidate's qualifications prior to his ordination, or to his settlement as a pastor. (c) Moral trial; the state of man in the present life, in which he has the opportunity of proving his character, and becoming qualified for a happier state. No [view of human life] seems so reasonable as that which regards it as a state of probation. Paley.

PROBATIONAL Pro*ba"tion*al, a.

Defn: Probationary.

PROBATIONARY Pro*ba"tion*a*ry a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to probation; serving for trial. To consider this life . . . as a probationary state. Paley.

PROBATIONER Pro*ba"tion*er, n.

1. One who is undergoing probation; one who is on trial; a novice. While yet a young probationer, And candidate of heaven. Dryden.

2. A student in divinity, who, having received certificates of good morals and qualifications from his university, is admitted to several trials by a presbytery, and, on acquitting himself well, is licensed to preach. [Scot.]

PROBATIONERSHIP Pro*ba"tion*er*ship, n.

Defn: The state of being a probationer; novitiate. Locke.

PROBATIONSHIP Pro*ba"tion*ship, n.

Defn: A state of probation.

PROBATIVE Pro"ba*tive, a. Etym: [L. probativus: cf. F.probatif.]

Defn: Serving for trial or proof; probationary; as, probative judgments; probative evidence. South.

PROBATOR Pro*ba"tor n. Etym: [L.]

1. An examiner; an approver. Maydman.

2. (O. Eng. Law)

Defn: One who, when indicted for crime, confessed it, and accused others, his accomplices, in order to obtain pardon; a state's evidence.

PROBATORY Pro"ba*to*ry, a. Etym: [Cf. F. probatoire.]

1. Serving for trial; probationary. Abp. Bramhall.

2. Pertaining to, or serving for, proof. Jer. Taylor. Probatory term (Law), a time for taking testimony.

PROBE Probe, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Probed; p. pr. & vb. n. Probing.] Etym: [L. probare to try, examine. See Prove.]

1. To examine, as a wound, an ulcer, or some cavity of the body, with a probe.

2. Fig.: to search to the bottom; to scrutinize or examine thoroughly. Dryden. The growing disposition to probe the legality of all acts, of the crown. Hallam.

PROBE Probe, n. (Surg.)

Defn: An instrument for examining the depth or other circumstances of a wound, ulcer, or cavity, or the direction of a sinus, of for exploring for bullets, for stones in the bladder, etc. Parr. Probe, or Probe-pointed, scissors (Surg.), scissors used to open wounds, the blade of which, to be thrust into the orifice, has a button at the end. Wiseman.

PROBEAGLE Pro"bea`gle, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Porbeagle.

PROBE-POINTED Probe"-point`ed, a. (Surg.)

Defn: Having a blunt or button-shaped extremity; -- said of cutting instruments.

PROBITY Prob"i*ty, n. Etym: [F. probité, fr. L. probitas, fr. probus good, proper, honest. Cf. Prove.]

Defn: Tried virtue or integrity; approved moral excellence; honesty; rectitude; uprightness. "Probity of mind." Pope.

Syn. -- Probity, Integrity. Probity denotes unimpeachable honesty and virtue, shown especially by the performance of those obligations, called imperfect, which the laws of the state do not reach, and can not enforce. Integrity denotes a whole-hearted honesty, and especially that which excludes all injustice that might favor one's self. It has a peculiar reference to uprightness in mutual dealings, transfer of property, and the execution of trusts for others.

PROBLEM Prob"lem, n. Etym: [F. problème, L. problema, fr. Gr. Parable. ]

1. A question proposed for solution; a matter stated for examination or proof; hence, a matter difficult of solution or settlement; a doubtful case; a question involving doubt. Bacon.

2. (Math.)

Defn: Anything which is required to be done; as, in geometry, to bisect a line, to draw a perpendicular; or, in algebra, to find an unknown quantity.

Note: Problem differs from theorem in this, that a problem is something to be done, as to bisect a triangle, to describe a circle, etc.; a theorem is something to be proved, as that all the angles of a triangle are equal to two right angles. Plane problem (Geom.), a problem that can be solved by the use of the rule and compass. -- Solid problem (Geom.), a problem requiring in its geometric solution the use of a conic section or higher curve.

PROBLEMATIC; PROBLEMATICAL Prob`lem*at"ic, Prob`lem*at"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. problematicus, Gr. problématique.]

Defn: Having the nature of a problem; not shown in fact; questionable; uncertain; unsettled; doubtful. -- Prob`lem*at"ic*al*ly, adv. Diligent inquiries into remote and problematical guilt leave a gate wide open to . . . informers. Swift.

PROBLEMATIST Prob"lem*a*tist n.

Defn: One who proposes problems. [R.] Evelyn.

PROBLEMATIZE Prob"lem*a*tize v. t.

Defn: To propose problems. [R.] "Hear him problematize." B. Jonson.

PROBOSCIDATE Pro*bos"ci*date, a. Etym: [See Proboscis.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having a proboscis; proboscidial.

PROBOSCIDEA Pro`bos*cid"e*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Proboscis.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An order of large mammal

PROBOSCIDEAN Pro`bos*cid"e*an, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Proboscidian.

PROBOSCIDIAL Pro`bos*cid"i*al, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Proboscidate.

PROBOSCIDIAN Pro`bos*cid"i*an, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Pertaining to the Proboscidea. -- n.

Defn: One of the Proboscidea.

PROBOSCIDIFERA Pro*bos`ci*dif"e*ra, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Proboscis, and -ferous.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: An extensive division of pectinibranchiate gastropods, including those that have a long retractile proboscis, with the mouth at the end, as the cones, whelks, tritons, and cowries. See Illust. of Gastropoda, and of Winkle.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A subdivision of the tænioglossate gastropods, including the fig-shells (Pyrula), the helmet shells (Cassis), the tritons, and allied genera.

PROBOSCIDIFORM Pro`bos*cid"i*form a.

Defn: Having the form or uses of a proboscis; as, a proboscidiform mouth.

PROBOSCIS Pro*bos"cis, n.; pl. Proboscides. Etym: [L. fr. Gr.

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A hollow organ or tube attached to the head, or connected with the mouth, of various animals, and generally used in taking food or drink; a snout; a trunk.

Note: The proboscis of an elephant is a flexible muscular elongation of the nose. The proboscis of insects is usually a chitinous tube formed by the modified maxillæ, or by the labium. See Illusts. of Hemiptera and Lepidoptera.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: By extension, applied to various tubelike mouth organs of the lower animals that can be everted or protruded.

Note: The proboscis of annelids and of mollusks is usually a portion of the pharynx that can be everted or protruded. That of nemerteans is a special long internal organ, not connected with the mouth, and not used in feeding, but capable of being protruded from a pore in the head. See Illust. in Appendix.

3. The nose. [Jocose] Proboscis monkey. (Zoöl.) See Kahau.

PROCACIOUS Pro*ca"cious, a. Etym: [L. procax, -acis, fr. procare to ask, demand.]

Defn: Pert; petulant; forward; saucy. [R.] Barrow.

PROCACITY Pro*cac"i*ty n. Etym: [L. procacitas.]

Defn: Forwardness; pertness; petulance. [R.] Burton.

PROCAMBIUM Pro*cam"bi*um n. Etym: [NL. See Pro-, and Cambium.] (Bot.)