Prepare Pre·pare" transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Prepare... ;
present participle & verbal noun Preparing .] [ French
préparer , Latin
praeparare ;
prae before +
parare to make ready. See
Pare .]
1. To fit, adapt, or qualify for a particular purpose or condition; to make ready; to put into a state for use or application; as, to prepare ground for seed; to prepare a lesson. Our souls, not yet prepared for upper light.
Dryden. 2. To procure as suitable or necessary; to get ready; to provide; as, to prepare ammunition and provisions for troops; to prepare ships for defence; to prepare an entertainment. Milton. That they may prepare a city for habitation.
Ps. cvii. 36 Syn. -- To fit; adjust; adapt; qualify; equip; provide; form; make; make; ready.
Prepare Pre·pare" intransitive verb 1. To make all things ready; to put things in order; as, to prepare for a hostile invasion. "Bid them
prepare for dinner."
Shak. 2. To make one's self ready; to get ready; to take the necessary previous measures; as, to prepare for death.
Prepare Pre·pare" noun Preparation. [ Obsolete]
Shak.
Prepared Pre·pared" adjective Made fit or suitable; adapted; ready; as, prepared food; prepared questions. --
Pre*par"ed*ly adverb Shak. --
Pre*par"ed*ness ,
noun
Preparer Pre·par"er noun One who, or that which, prepares, fits, or makes ready. Wood.
Prepay Pre·pay" transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Prepaid ;
present participle & verbal noun Prepaying .]
To pay in advance, or beforehand; as, to prepay postage.
Prepayment Pre·pay"ment noun Payment in advance.
Prepenial Pre·pe"ni·al adjective (Anat.) Situated in front of, or anterior to, the penis.
Prepense Pre·pense" transitive verb [ Prefix
pre + French
penser to think. See
Pansy .]
To weigh or consider beforehand; to premeditate. [ Obsolete]
Spenser. Sir T. Elyot.
Prepense Pre·pense" intransitive verb To deliberate beforehand. [ Obsolete]
Prepense Pre·pense" adjective [ See
Pansy , and confer
Prepense ,
transitive verb ]
Devised, contrived, or planned beforehand; preconceived; premeditated; aforethought; -- usually placed after the word it qualifies; as, malice prepense . This has not arisen from any misrepresentation or error prepense .
Southey.
Prepensely Pre·pense"ly adverb In a premeditated manner.
Prepollence, Prepollency Pre·pol"lence, Pre·pol"len·cy noun [ Latin
praepollentia .]
The quality or state of being prepollent; superiority of power; predominance; prevalence. [ R.]
Coventry.
Prepollent Pre·pol"lent adjective [ Latin
praepollens , past participle of
praepollere to surpass in power;
prae before +
pollere to be powerful.]
Having superior influence or power; prevailing; predominant. [ R.]
Boyle.
Prepollent Pre·pol"lent noun ;
plural Prepollices . [ New Latin See
Pre- ,
Pollex .]
(Anat.) An extra first digit, or rudiment of a digit, on the preaxial side of the pollex.
Preponder Pre·pon"der transitive verb To preponderate. [ Obsolete]
Preponderance, Preponderancy Pre·pon"der·ance, Pre·pon"der·an·cy noun [ Confer French
prépondérance .]
1. The quality or state of being preponderant; superiority or excess of weight, influence, or power, etc.; an outweighing. The mind should . . . reject or receive proportionably to the preponderancy of the greater grounds of probability.
Locke. In a few weeks he had changed the relative position of all the states in Europe, and had restored the equilibrium which the preponderance of one power had destroyed.
Macaulay. 2. (Gun.) The excess of weight of that part of a canon behind the trunnions over that in front of them.
Preponderant Pre·pon"der·ant adjective [ Latin
praeponderans ,
-antis : confer French
prépondérant . See
Preponderate .]
Preponderating; outweighing; overbalancing; -- used literally and figuratively; as, a preponderant weight; of preponderant importance. --
Pre*pon"der*ant*ly ,
adverb
Preponderate Pre·pon"der·ate transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Preponderated ;
present participle & verbal noun Preponderating .] [ Latin
praeponderatus , past participle of
praeponderare ;
prae before +
ponderare to weigh, from ,
pondus ,
ponderis , a weight. See
Ponder .]
1. To outweigh; to overpower by weight; to exceed in weight; to overbalance. An inconsiderable weight, by distance from the center of the balance, will preponderate greater magnitudes.
Glanvill. 2. To overpower by stronger or moral power. 3. To cause to prefer; to incline; to decide. [ Obsolete]
The desire to spare Christian blood preponderates him for peace.
Fuller.
Preponderate Pre·pon"der·ate intransitive verb To exceed in weight; hence, to incline or descend, as the scale of a balance; figuratively, to exceed in influence, power, etc.; hence; to incline to one side; as, the affirmative side preponderated . That is no just balance in which the heaviest side will not preponderate .
Bp. Wilkins.
Preponderatingly Pre·pon"der·a`ting·ly adverb In a preponderating manner; preponderantly.
Preponderation Pre·pon`der·a"tion noun [ Latin
praeponderatio .]
The act or state of preponderating; preponderance; as, a preponderation of reasons. I. Watts.
Prepose Pre·pose" transitive verb [ French
préposer ; prefix
pré- (L.
prae before) +
poser . See
Pose .]
To place or set before; to prefix. [ Obsolete]
Fuller.
Preposition Prep`o·si"tion noun [ Latin
praepositio , from
praeponere to place before;
prae before +
ponere to put, place: confer French
préposition . See
Position , and confer
Provost .]
1. (Gram.) A word employed to connect a noun or a pronoun, in an adjectival or adverbial sense, with some other word; a particle used with a noun or pronoun (in English always in the objective case) to make a phrase limiting some other word; -- so called because usually placed before the word with which it is phrased; as, a bridge of iron; he comes from town; it is good for food; he escaped by running. 2. A proposition; an exposition; a discourse. [ Obsolete]
He made a long preposition and oration.
Fabyan.
Prepositional Prep`o·si"tion·al adjective [ Confer French
prépositionnel .]
Of or pertaining to a preposition; of the nature of a preposition. Early. --
Prep`o*si"tion*al*ly ,
adverb
Prepositive Pre·pos"i·tive adjective [ Latin
praepositivus : confer French
prépositif .]
(Gram.) Put before; prefixed; as, a prepositive particle. --
noun A prepositive word. Tooke.
Prepositor Pre·pos"i·tor noun [ New Latin ]
A scholar appointed to inspect other scholars; a monitor. Todd.
Prepositure Pre·pos"i·ture noun [ Latin
praepositura . See
Preposition , and confer
Provost .]
The office or dignity of a provost; a provostship. Lowth.
Prepossess Pre`pos·sess" transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Prepossessed ;
present participle & verbal noun Prepossessing .]
1. To preoccupy, as ground or land; to take previous possession of. Dryden. 2. To preoccupy, as the mind or heart, so as to preclude other things; hence, to bias or prejudice; to give a previous inclination to, for or against anything; esp., to induce a favorable opinion beforehand, or at the outset. It created him enemies, and prepossessed the lord general.
Evelyn.
Prepossessing Pre`pos·sess"ing adjective Tending to invite favor; attracting confidence, favor, esteem, or love; attractive; as, a prepossessing manner. --
Pre`pos*sess"ing*ly ,
adverb
Prepossession Pre`pos·ses"sion noun 1. Preoccupation; prior possession. Hammond. 2. Preoccupation of the mind by an opinion, or impression, already formed; preconceived opinion; previous impression; bias; -- generally, but not always, used in a favorable sense; as, the prepossessions of childhood. "The prejudices and
prepossessions of the country."
Sir W. Scott. Syn. -- Bent; bias; inclination; preoccupancy; prejudgment. See
Bent .
Prepossessor Pre`·pos·sess"or noun One who possesses, or occupies, previously. R. Brady.
Preposterous Pre·pos"ter·ous adjective [ Latin
praeposterus ;
prae before +
posterus coming after, latter. See
Posterior .]
1. Having that first which ought to be last; inverted in order. [ Obsolete]
The method I take may be censured as preposterous , because I thus treat last of the antediluvian earth, which was first in the order of nature.
Woodward. 2. Contrary to nature or reason; not adapted to the end; utterly and glaringly foolish; unreasonably absurd; perverted. "Most
preposterous conclusions."
Shak. Preposterous ass, that never read so far!
Shak. Syn. -- Absurd; perverted; wrong; irrational; foolish; monstrous. See
Absurd . --
Pre*pos"ter*ous*ly ,
adverb -
Pre*pos"ter*ous*ness ,
noun
Prepostor Pre·pos"tor noun See Prepositor .
Prepotency Pre·po"ten·cy noun [ Latin
praepotentia : confer French
prépotence .]
1. The quality or condition of being prepotent; predominance. [ Obsolete]
Sir T. Browne. 2. (Biol.) The capacity, on the part of one of the parents, as compared with the other, to transmit more than his or her own share of characteristics to their offspring.
Prepotent Pre·po"tent adjective [ Latin
praepotens . See
Pre- , and
Potent .]
1. Very powerful; superior in force, influence, or authority; predominant. Plaifere. 2. (Biol.) Characterized by prepotency. Darwin.
Preprovide Pre`pro·vide" transitive verb To provide beforehand. "The materials
preprovided ."
Fuller.
Prepubic Pre·pu"bic adjective (Anat.) Situated in front of, or anterior to, the pubis; pertaining to the prepubis.
Prepubis Pre·pu"bis noun [ New Latin See
Pre- , and
Pubis .]
(Anat.) A bone or cartilage, of some animals, situated in the middle line in front of the pubic bones.
Prepuce Pre"puce noun [ French
prépuce , Latin
praeputium .]
(Anat.) The foreskin.
Preputial Pre·pu"tial adjective (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the prepuce.
Preraphaelism, Preraphaelitism Pre·raph"a·el·ism, Pre·raph"a·el·i`tism noun (Fine Arts) The doctrine or practice of a school of modern painters who profess to be followers of the painters before Raphael. Its adherents advocate careful study from nature, delicacy and minuteness of workmanship, and an exalted and delicate conception of the subject.
Preraphaelite Pre·raph"a·el·ite adjective Of or pertaining to the style called preraphaelitism; as, a preraphaelite figure; a preraphaelite landscape. Ruskin.
Preraphaelite Pre·raph"a·el·ite noun One who favors or practices art as it was before Raphael; one who favors or advocates preraphaelitism.
Preregnant Pre·reg"nant noun One who reigns before another; a sovereign predecessor. [ R.]
Warner.
Preremote Pre`re·mote adjective More remote in previous time or prior order. In some cases two more links of causation may be introduced; one of them may be termed the preremote cause, the other the postremote effect.
E. Darwin.
Prerequire Pre`re·quire" transitive verb To require beforehand. Some things are prerequired of us.
Bp. Hall.
Prerequisite Pre·req"ui·site adjective Previously required; necessary as a preliminary to any proposed effect or end; as, prerequisite conditions of success.
Prerequisite Pre·req"ui·site noun Something previously required, or necessary to an end or effect proposed. The necessary prerequisites of freedom.
Goldsmith.
Preresolve Pre`re·solve" transitive verb & i. [
imperfect & past participle Preresolved ;
present participle & verbal noun Preresolving .]
To resolve beforehand; to predetermine. Sir E. Dering.
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