Chapter CCCXLIX: Preface: Pref"ace, v. i (6)

2. (Med.)

Defn: A sign or symptom indicating the course and termination of a disease. Parr.

Syn. -- Sign; omen; presage; token; indication.

PROGNOSTIC Prog*nos"tic, v. t.

Defn: To prognosticate. [Obs.]

PROGNOSTICABLE Prog*nos"tic*a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being prognosticated or foretold. Sir T. Browne.

PROGNOSTICATE Prog*nos"ti*cate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Prognosticated; p. pr. & vb. n. Prognosticating.] Etym: [See Prognostic.]

Defn: To indicate as future; to foretell from signs or symptoms; to prophesy; to foreshow; to predict; as, to prognosticate evil. Burke. I neither will nor can prognosticate To the young gaping heir his father's fate. Dryden.

Syn. -- To foreshow; foretoken; betoken; forebode; presage; predict; prophesy.

PROGNOSTICATION Prog*nos`ti*ca"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. prognostication.]

1. The act of foreshowing or foretelling something future by present signs; prediction.

2. That which foreshows; a foretoken. Shak.

PROGNOSTICATOR Prog*nos"ti*ca`tor, n.

Defn: One who prognosticates; a foreknower or foreteller of a future course or event by present signs. Isa. xlvii. 13.

PROGRAM Pro"gram, n.

Defn: Same as Programme.

PROGRAMMA Pro*gram"ma, n.; pl. Programmata. Etym: [ L. See Programme.]

1. (Gr. Antiq.)

Defn: Any law, which, after it had passed the Athenian senate, was fixed on a tablet for public inspection previously to its being proposed to the general assembly of the people.

2. An edict published for public information; an official bulletin; a public proclamation.

3. See Programme.

4. A preface. [Obs.] T. Warton.

PROGRAMME Pro"gramme, n. Etym: [L. programma a public proclamation, manifesto, Gr. programme. See Graphic.]

Defn: That which is written or printed as a public notice or advertisement; a scheme; a prospectus; especially, a brief outline or explanation of the order to be pursued, or the subjects embraced, in any public exercise, performance, or entertainment; a preliminary sketch. Programme music (Mus.), descriptive instrumental music which requires an argument or programme to explain the meaning of its several movements.

PROGRESS Prog"ress, n. Etym: [L. progressus, from progredi, p. p. progressus, to go forth or forward; pro forward + gradi to step, go: cf. F. progrès. See Grade.]

1. A moving or going forward; a proceeding onward; an advance; specifically: (a) In actual space, as the progress of a ship, carriage, etc. (b) In the growth of an animal or plant; increase. (c) In business of any kind; as, the progress of a negotiation; the progress of art. (d) In knowledge; in proficiency; as, the progress of a child at school. (e) Toward ideal completeness or perfection in respect of quality or condition; -- applied to individuals, communities, or the race; as, social, moral, religious, or political progress.

2. A journey of state; a circuit; especially, one made by a sovereign through parts of his own dominions. The king being returned from his progresse. Evelyn.

PROGRESS Pro*gress" (; formerly pronounced like Progress, n.), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Progressed; p. pr. & vb. n. Progressing.]

1. To make progress; to move forward in space; to continue onward in course; to proceed; to advance; to go on; as, railroads are progressing. "As his recovery progressed." Thackeray. Let me wipe off this honorable dew, That silverly doth progress on thy checks. Shak. They progress in that style in proportion as their pieces are treated with contempt. Washington. The war had progressed for some time. Marshall.

2. To make improvement; to advance. Bayard. If man progresses, art must progress too. Caird.

PROGRESS Prog"ress (; see Progress, v. i.), v. t.

Defn: To make progress in; to pass through. [Obs.] Milton.

PROGRESSION Pro*gres"sion, n. Etym: [L. progressio: cf. F. progression.]

1. The act of moving forward; a proceeding in a course; motion onward.

2. Course; passage; lapse or process of time. I hope, in a short progression, you will be wholly immerged in the delices and joys of religion. Evelyn.

3. (Math.)

Defn: Regular or proportional advance in increase or decrease of numbers; continued proportion, arithmetical, geometrical, or harmonic.

4. (Mus.)

Defn: A regular succession of tones or chords; the movement of the parts in harmony; the order of the modulations in a piece from key to key. Arithmetical progression, a progression in which the terms increase or decrease by equal differences, as the numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, 1010, 8, 6, 4, 2 -- Geometrical progression, a progression in which the terms increase or decrease by equal ratios, as the numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 6464, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2 -- Harmonic progression, a progression in which the terms are the reciprocals of quantities in arithmetical progression, as

PROGRESSIONAL Pro*gres"sion*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to progression; tending to, or capable of, progress.

PROGRESSIONIST Pro*gres"sion*ist, n.

1. One who holds to a belief in the progression of society toward perfection.

2. One who maintains the doctrine of progression in organic forms; -- opposed to uniformitarian. H. Spencer.

PROGRESSIST Prog"ress*ist, n.

Defn: One who makes, or holds to, progress; a progressionist.

PROGRESSIVE Pro*gress"ive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. progressif.]

1. Moving forward; proceeding onward; advancing; evincing progress; increasing; as, progressive motion or course; -- opposed to retrograde.

2. Improving; as, art is in a progressive state. Progressive euchre or whist, a way of playing at card parties, by which after every game, the losers at the first table go to the last table, and the winners at all the tables, except the first, move up to the next table. -- Progressive muscular atrophy (Med.), a nervous disorder characterized by continuous atrophy of the muscles. -- Pro*gress"ive*ly, adv. -- Pro*gress"ive*ness, n.

PROGRESSIVE PARTY Progressive party. (U. S. Politics)

Defn: The political party formed, chiefly out of the Republican party, by the adherents of Theodore Roosevelt in the presidential campaign of 1912. The name Progressive party was chosen at the meeting held on Aug. 7, 1912, when the candidates were nominated and the platform adopted. Among the chief articles in the platform are those demanding direct primaries, preferential primaries for presidential nominations, direct election of United States senators, women's suffrage, and recall of judicial decisions in certain cases.

PROGUE Progue, v. i.

Defn: To prog. [Obs.] P. Fletcher.

PROGUE Progue, n.

Defn: A sharp point; a goad. [ Scot. & Local, U. S.] -- v. t.

Defn: To prick; to goad. [ Scot. & Local, U. S.].

PROHEME Pro"heme, n.

Defn: Proem. [Obs.] Chaucer.

PROHIBIT Pro*hib"it, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Prohibited; p. pr. & vb. n. Prohibiting.] Etym: [L. prohibitus, p. p. of prohibere to prohibit; pro before, forth + habere to have, hold. See Habit.]

1. To forbid by authority; to interdict; as, God prohibited Adam from eating of the fruit of a certain tree; we prohibit a person from doing a thing, and also the doing of the thing; as, the law prohibits men from stealing, or it prohibits stealing.

Note: Prohibit was formerly followed by to with the infinitive, but is now commonly followed by from with the verbal noun in -ing.

2. To hinder; to debar; to prevent; to preclude. Gates of burning adamant, Barred over us, prohibit all egress. Milton.

Syn. -- To forbid; interdict; debar; prevent; hinder. -- Prohibit, Forbid. To forbid is Anglo-Saxon, and is more familiar; to prohibit is Latin, and is more formal or official. A parent forbids his child to be out late at night; he prohibits his intercourse with the profane and vicious.

PROHIBITER Pro*hib"it*er, n.

Defn: One who prohibits or forbids; a forbidder; an interdicter.

PROHIBITION Pro`hi*bi"tion, n. Etym: [L. prohibitio: cf. F. prohibition.]

1. The act of prohibiting; a declaration or injunction forbidding some action; interdict. The law of God, in the ten commandments, consists mostly of prohibitions. Tillotson.

2. Specifically, the forbidding by law of the sale of alcoholic liquors as beverages. Writ of prohibition (Law), a writ issued by a superior tribunal, directed to an inferior court, commanding the latter to cease from the prosecution of a suit depending before it. Blackstone.

Note: By ellipsis, prohibition is used for the writ itself.

PROHIBITIONIST Pro`hi*bi"tion*ist, n.

1. One who favors prohibitory duties on foreign goods in commerce; a protectionist.

2. One who favors the prohibition of the sale (or of the sale and manufacture) of alcoholic liquors as beverages.

PROHIBITIVE Pro*hib"it*ive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. prohibitif.]

Defn: That prohibits; prohibitory; as, a tax whose effect is prohibitive.

PROHIBITORY Pro*hib"it*o*ry, a. Etym: [L. prohibitorius.]

Defn: Tending to prohibit, forbid, or exclude; implying prohibition; forbidding; as, a prohibitory law; a prohibitory price. Prohibitory index. (R. C. Ch.) See under Index.

PROIN Proin (proin), v. t. Etym: [See Prune to trim.]

Defn: To lop; to trim; to prune; to adorn. [Obs.] Chaucer. The sprigs that did about it grow He proined from the leafy arms. Chapman.

PROIN Proin, v. i.

Defn: To employed in pruning. [Obs.]

PROJECT Proj"ect, n. Etym: [OF. project, F. projet, fr. L. projectus, p. p. of projicere to project; pro forward + jacere to throw. See Jet a shooting forth, and cf. Projet.]

1. The place from which a thing projects, or starts forth. [Obs.] Holland.

2. That which is projected or designed; something intended or devised; a scheme; a design; a plan. Vented much policy, and projects deep. Milton. Projects of happiness devised by human reason. Rogers. He entered into the project with his customary ardor. Prescott.

3. An idle scheme; an impracticable design; as, a man given to projects.

Syn. -- Design; scheme; plan; purpose. -- Project, Design. A project is something of a practical nature thrown out for consideration as to its being done. A design is a project when matured and settled, as a thing to be accomplished. An ingenious man has many projects, but, if governed by sound sense, will be slow in forming them into designs. See also Scheme.

PROJECT Pro*ject", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Projected; p. pr. & vb. n. Projecting.] Etym: [Cf. OF. projecter, F. projeter.]

1. To throw or cast forward; to shoot forth. Before his feet herself she did project. Spenser. Behold! th' ascending villas on my side Project long shadows o'er the crystal tide. Pope.

2. To cast forward or revolve in the mind; to contrive; to devise; to scheme; as, to project a plan. What sit then projecting peace and war Milton.

3. (Persp.)

Defn: To draw or exhibit, as the form of anything; to delineate; as, to project a sphere, a map, an ellipse, and the like; -- sometimes with on, upon, into, etc.; as, to project a line or point upon a plane. See Projection, 4.

PROJECT Pro*ject", v. i.

1. To shoot forward; to extend beyond something else; to be prominent; to jut; as, the cornice projects; branches project from the tree.

2. To form a project; to scheme. [R.] Fuller.

PROJECTILE Pro*ject"ile, a. Etym: [Cf. F. projectile.]

1. Projecting or impelling forward; as, a projectile force.

2. Caused or imparted by impulse or projection; impelled forward; as, projectile motion. Arbuthnot.

PROJECTILE Pro*ject"ile, n. Etym: [Cf. F. projectile.]

1. A body projected, or impelled forward, by force; especially, a missile adapted to be shot from a firearm.

2. pl. (Mech.)

Defn: A part of mechanics which treats of the motion, range, time of flight, etc., of bodies thrown or driven through the air by an impelling force.

PROJECTION Pro*jec"tion, n. Etym: [L. projectio: cf. F. projection.]

1. The act of throwing or shooting forward.

2. A jutting out; also, a part jutting out, as of a building; an extension beyond something else.

3. The act of scheming or planning; also, that which is planned; contrivance; design; plan. Davenant.

4. (Persp.)

Defn: The representation of something; delineation; plan; especially, the representation of any object on a perspective plane, or such a delineation as would result were the chief points of the object thrown forward upon the plane, each in the direction of a line drawn through it from a given point of sight, or central point; as, the projection of a sphere. The several kinds of projection differ according to the assumed point of sight and plane of projection in each.

5. (Geog.)

Defn: Any method of representing the surface of the earth upon a plane. Conical projection, a mode of representing the sphere, the spherical surface being projected upon the surface of a cone tangent to the sphere, the point of sight being at the center of the sphere. -- Cylindric projection, a mode of representing the sphere, the spherical surface being projected upon the surface of a cylinder touching the sphere, the point of sight being at the center of the sphere. -- Globular, Gnomonic, Orthographic, projection,etc. See under Globular, Gnomonic, etc. -- Mercator's projection, a mode of representing the sphere in which the meridians are drawn parallel to each other, and the parallels of latitude are straight lines whose distance from each other increases with their distance from the equator, so that at all places the degrees of latitude and longitude have to each other the same ratio as on the sphere itself. -- Oblique projection, a projection made by parallel lines drawn from every point of a figure and meeting the plane of projection obliquely. -- Polar projection, a projection of the sphere in which the point of sight is at the center, and the plane of projection passes through one of the polar circles. -- Powder of projection (Alchemy.), a certain powder cast into a crucible or other vessel containing prepared metal or other matter which is to be thereby transmuted into gold. -- Projection of a point on a plane (Descriptive Geom.), the foot of a perpendicular to the plane drawn through the point. -- Projection of a straight line of a plane, the straight line of the plane connecting the feet of the perpendiculars let fall from the extremities of the given line.

Syn. -- See Protuberance.

PROJECTMENT Pro*ject"ment, n.

Defn: Design; contrivance; projection. [Obs.] Clarendon.

PROJECTOR Pro*ject"or, n. Etym: [Cf. F. projeteur.]

Defn: One who projects a scheme or design; hence, one who forms fanciful or chimerical schemes. L'Estrange.

PROJECTURE Pro*jec"ture, n. Etym: [L. projectura: cf. F. projecture.]

Defn: A jutting out beyond a surface.

PROJET Pro`jet", n. Etym: [F. See Project, n.]

Defn: A plan proposed; a draft of a proposed measure; a project.

PROKE Proke, v. i.

Defn: To poke; to thrust. [Obs.] Holland.

PROLAPSE Pro*lapse", n. Etym: [L. prolapsus, fr. prolapsus, p. p. of prolabi to fall forward; pro forward + labi to glide, fall.] (Med.)

Defn: The falling down of a part through the orifice with which it is naturally connected, especially of the uterus or the rectum. Dunglison.

PROLAPSE Pro*lapse", v. i.

Defn: To fall down or out; to protrude.

PROLAPSION Pro*lap"sion, n. Etym: [L. prolapsio.] (Med.)

Defn: Prolapse. [ Written also prolaption.] [Obs.]

PROLAPSUS Pro*lap"sus, n. Etym: [L.] (Med.)

Defn: Prolapse.

PROLATE Pro"late, a. Etym: [L. prolatus, used as p. p. of proferre to bring forth, to extend; pro + latus, p. p. See Pro-, and Tolerate. ]

Defn: Stretched out; extended; especially, elongated in the direction of a line joining the poles; as, a prolate spheroid; -- opposed to oblate. Prolate cycloid. See the Note under Cycloid. -- Prolate ellipsoid or spheroid (Geom.), a figure generated by the revolution of an ellipse about its major axis. See Ellipsoid of revolution, under Ellipsoid.

PROLATE Pro*late", v. t.

Defn: To utter; to pronounce. [Obs.] "Foun-der-ed; prolate it right." B. Jonson.

PROLATION Pro*la"tion, n. Etym: [L. prolatio: cf. F. prolation.]

1. The act of prolating or pronouncing; utterance; pronunciation. [Obs.] Ray.

2. The act of deferring; delay. [Obs.] Ainsworth.

3. (Mus.)

Defn: A mediæval method of determining of the proportionate duration of semibreves and minims. Busby.

PROLATUM Pro*la"tum, n.; pl. Prolata. Etym: [ NL. See Prolate.] (Geom.)

Defn: A prolate spheroid. See Ellipsoid of revolution, under Ellipsoid.

PROLEG Pro"leg, n. Etym: [Pref. pro- for, in place of + leg.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the fleshy legs found on the abdominal segments of the larvæ of Lepidoptera, sawflies, and some other insects. Those of Lepidoptera have a circle of hooks. Called also proped, propleg, and falseleg.

PROLEGATE Pro"leg`ate (; 48), n. Etym: [L. prolegatus; pro for + legatus legate.] (Rom. Hist.)

Defn: The deputy or substitute for a legate.

PROLEGOMENARY Prol`e*gom"e*na*ry, a.

Defn: Of the nature of a prolegomenon; preliminary; introductory; prefatory.

PROLEGOMENON Prol`e*gom"e*non, n.; pl. Prolegomena. Etym: [ NL., fr. Gr.

Defn: A preliminary remark or observation; an introductory discourse prefixed to a book or treatise. D. Stokes (1659). Sir W. Scott.

PROLEPSIS Pro*lep"sis, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr.

1. (Rhet.) (a) A figure by which objections are anticipated or prevented. Abp. Bramhall. (b) A necessary truth or assumption; a first or assumed principle.

2. (Chron.)

Defn: An error in chronology, consisting in an event being dated before the actual time.

3. (Gram.)

Defn: The application of an adjective to a noun in anticipation, or to denote the result, of the action of the verb; as, to strike one dumb.

PROLEPTIC; PROLEPTICAL Pro*lep"tic, Pro*lep"tic*al, a. Etym: [Gr. proleptique.]

1. Of or pertaining to prolepsis; anticipative. "A far-seeing or proleptic wisdom." De Quincey.

2. Previous; antecedent. Glanvill.

3. (Med.)

Defn: Anticipating the usual time; -- applied to a periodical disease whose paroxysms return at an earlier hour at every repetition.

PROLEPTICALLY Pro*lep"tic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In a proleptical manner.

PROLEPTICS Pro*lep"tics, n. (Med.)

Defn: The art and science of predicting in medicine. Laycock.

PROLETAIRE Pro`lé`taire", n. Etym: [F. See Proletary.]

Defn: One of the common people; a low person; also, the common people as a class or estate in a country.

PROLETANEOUS Prol`e*ta"ne*ous, a. Etym: [L. proletaneus.]

Defn: Having a numerous offspring. [R.]

PROLETARIAN Prol`e*ta"ri*an, a. Etym: [L. proletarius. See Proletary.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to the proletaries; belonging to the commonalty; hence, mean; vile; vulgar. "Every citizen, if he were not a proletarian animal kept at the public cost." De Quincey. -- n.

Defn: A proletary.

PROLETARIAT Prol`e*ta"ri*at, n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: The indigent class in the State; the body of proletarians.

PROLETARIATE Prol`e*ta"ri*ate, n.

Defn: The lower classes; beggars. "The Italian proletariate." J. A. Symonds.

PROLETARY Prol"e*ta*ry, n.; pl. Proletaries. Etym: [ L. proletarius, fr. proles offspring. Cf. Prolétaire.] (Rom. Antiq.)

Defn: A citizen of the lowest class, who served the state, not with property, but only by having children; hence, a common person.

PROLICIDE Prol"i*cide, n. Etym: [L. proles offspring + caedere to kill.]

Defn: The crime of destroying one's offspring, either in the womb or after birth. Bouvier.

PROLIFERATE Pro*lif"er*ate, v. t. Etym: [L. proles offspring + ferre to bear.]

1. (Biol.)

Defn: To produce or form cells; especially, to produce cells rapidly.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: To produce zooids by budding.

PROLIFERATION Pro*lif`er*a"tion, n.

1. (Biol.)

Defn: The continuous development of cells in tissue formation; cell formation. Virchow.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The production of numerous zooids by budding, especially when buds arise from other buds in succession.

PROLIFEROUS Pro*lif"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. proles offspring + -ferous.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: Bearing offspring; -- applied to a flower from within which another is produced, or to a branch or frond from which another rises, or to a plant which is reproduced by buds or gemmæ.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) Producing young by budding. (b) Producing sexual zooids by budding; -- said of the blastostyle of a hydroid. (c) Producing a cluster of branchlets from a larger branch; -- said of corals. Proliferous cyst (Med.), a cyst that produces highly- organized or even vascular structures. Paget. -- Pro*lif"er*ous*ly, adv.

PROLIFIC Pro*lif"ic, a. Etym: [F. prolifique, fr. L. proles offspring (from pro for, forward + the root of alere to nourish) + facere to make. See Adult, Old, and Fact.]

1. Having the quality of generating; producing young or fruit; generative; fruitful; productive; -- applied to plants producing fruit, animals producing young, etc.; -- usually with the implied idea of frequent or numerous production; as, a prolific tree, female, and the like.

2. Serving to produce; fruitful of results; active; as, a prolific brain; a controversy prolific of evil.

3. (Bot.)

Defn: Proliferous.

PROLIFICACY Pro*lif"ic*a*cy, n.

Defn: Prolificness. [R.]

PROLIFICAL Pro*lif"ic*al, a.

Defn: Producing young or fruit abundantly; fruitful; prolific. -- Pro*lif"ic*al*ly, adv.

PROLIFICATE Pro*lif"ic*ate, v. t. Etym: [See Prolific.]

Defn: To make prolific; to fertilize; to impregnate. Sir T. Browne.

PROLIFICATION Pro*lif`i*ca"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. prolification, LL. prolificatio.]

1. The generation of young.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Reproduction by the growth of a plant, or part of a plant, directly from an older one, or by gemmæ.

PROLIFICNESS Pro*lif"ic*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being prolific; fruitfulness; prolificacy.

PROLIX Pro*lix", a. Etym: [L. prolixus extended, long, prolix, probably fr. pro before, forward + liqui to flow, akin to liquidus liquid; cf. OL. lixa water: cf. F. prolixe. See Liquid.]

1. Extending to a great length; unnecessarily long; minute in narration or argument; excessively particular in detail; -- rarely used except with reference to discourse written or spoken; as, a prolix oration; a prolix poem; a prolix sermon. With wig prolix, down flowing to his waist. Cowper.

2. Indulging in protracted discourse; tedious; wearisome; -- applied to a speaker or writer.

Syn. -- Long; diffuse; prolonged; protracted; tedious; tiresome; wearisome. -- Prolix, Diffuse. A prolix writer delights in circumlocution, extended detail, and trifling particulars. A diffuse writer is fond of amplifying, and abounds in epithets, figures, and illustrations. Diffuseness often arises from an exuberance of imagination; prolixity is generally connected with a want of it.

PROLIXIOUS Pro*lix"ious, a.

Defn: Dilatory; tedious; superfluous. [Obs.] "Lay by all nicety, and prolixious blushes." Shak.

PROLIXITY Pro*lix"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. prolixitas: cf. F. prolixité.]

Defn: The quality or state of being prolix; great length; minute detail; as, prolixity in discourses and writings. "For fulsomeness of his prolixitee." Chaucer. Idly running on with vain prolixity. Drayton.

PROLIXLY Pro*lix"ly, adv.

Defn: In a prolix manner. Dryden.

PROLIXNESS Pro*lix"ness, n.

Defn: Prolixity. Adam Smith.

PROLL Proll, v. t. Etym: [See Prowl.] [imp. & p. p. Prolled (; p. pr. & vb. n. Prolling.]

Defn: To search or prowl after; to rob; to plunder. [Obs.] Barrow.

PROLL Proll, v. i.

Defn: To prowl about; to rob. [Obs.] South. Though ye prolle aye, ye shall it never find. Chaucer.

PROLLER Proll"er, n.

Defn: Prowler; thief. [Obs.] Chapman.

PROLOCUTOR Prol`o*cu"tor, n. Etym: [L., from proloqui, p. p. prolocutus, to speak out; pro for + loqui to speak.]

1. One who speaks for another. Jeffrey.

2. The presiding officer of a convocation. Macaulay.

PROLOCUTORSHIP Pro`lo*cu"tor*ship, n.

Defn: The office of a prolocutor.

PROLOG Pro"log, n. & v.

Defn: Prologue.

PROLOGIZE Pro"lo*gize, v. i. Etym: [Gr. Prologue.]

Defn: To deliver a Prologue. [R.] Whewell.

PROLOGIZER Pro"lo*gi`zer, n.

Defn: One who prologizes. [R.]

PROLOGUE Pro"logue, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. prologus, fr. Gr. Logic.]

1. The preface or introduction to a discourse, poem, or performance; as, the prologue of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales;" esp., a discourse or poem spoken before a dramatic performance

2. One who delivers a prologue. [R.] Shak.