Prevaricate Pre·var"i·cate transitive verb To evade by a quibble; to transgress; to pervert. [ Obsolete] Jer. Taylor.

Prevarication Pre·var`i·ca"tion noun [ Latin praevaricatio : confer French 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 noun [ Latin praevaricator : confer French prévaricateur .] 1. One who prevaricates. 2. (Roman Law) A sham dealer; one who colludes with a defendant in a sham prosecution. 3. One who betrays or abuses a trust. Prynne.

Preve Preve intransitive verb & i. To prove. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Preve Preve noun Proof. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Prevenance Prev"e·nance noun [ French prévenance .] (Metaph.) 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 noun The act of anticipating another's wishes, desires, etc., in the way of favor or courtesy; hence, civility; obligingness. [ Obsolete] Sterne.

Prevene Pre·vene" transitive verb & i. [ French prévenir , Latin praevenire . See Prevent .] To come before; to anticipate; hence, to hinder; to prevent. [ Obsolete] Philips.

Prevenience Pre·ven"i·ence noun The act of going before; anticipation. [ R.]

Prevenient Pre·ven"i·ent adjective [ Latin praeveniens , present participle] Going before; preceding; hence, preventive. " Prevenient grace descending." Milton.

Prevent Pre·vent" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Prevented ; present participle & verbal noun Preventing .] [ Latin praevenire , praeventum ; prae before + venire to come. See Come .] 1. To go before; to precede; hence, to go before as a guide; to direct. [ Obsolete]

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. [ Obsolete]

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" intransitive verb To come before the usual time. [ Obsolete]

Strawberries . . . will prevent and come early.

Bacon.

Preventability Pre·vent`a·bil"i·ty noun The quality or state of being preventable.

Preventable Pre·vent"a·ble adjective Capable of being prevented or hindered; as, preventable diseases.

Preventative Pre·vent"a·tive noun That which prevents; -- incorrectly used instead of preventive .

Preventer Pre·vent"er noun 1. One who goes before; one who forestalls or anticipates another. [ Obsolete] Bacon. 2. One who prevents or obstructs; a hinderer; that which hinders; as, a preventer of evils or of disease. 3. (Nautical) An auxiliary rope to strengthen a mast. Preventer bolts , or Preventer plates (Nautical) , fixtures connected with preventers to reënforce other rigging. -- Preventer stay . (Nautical) Same as Preventer , 3.

Preventingly Pre·vent"ing·ly adverb So as to prevent or hinder.

Prevention Pre·ven"tion noun [ Confer French prévention .] 1. The act of going, or state of being, before. [ Obsolete]

The greater the distance, the greater the prevention .

Bacon. 2. Anticipation; esp., anticipation of needs or wishes; hence, precaution; forethought. [ Obsolete] 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 adjective Tending to prevent. [ Obsolete]

Preventive Pre·vent"ive adjective [ Confer French préventif .] 1. Going before; preceding. [ Obsolete]

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

Preventively Pre·vent"ive·ly adverb In a preventive manner.

Prevertebral Pre·ver"te·bral adjective (Anat.) Situated immediately in front, or on the ventral side, of the vertebral column; prespinal.

Previous Pre"vi·ous adjective [ Latin praevius going before, leading the way; prae before + via the way. See Voyage .] 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 adverb Beforehand; antecedently; as, a plan previously formed.

Previousness Pre"vi·ous·ness noun The quality or state of being previous; priority or antecedence in time.

Previse Pre·vise" transitive verb [ Latin praevisus , past participle 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 noun [ Confer French prévision .] Foresight; foreknowledge; prescience. H. Spencer.

Prevoyant Pre·voy"ant adjective [ French prévoyant .] Foreseeing; prescient. [ R.] Mrs. Oliphant.

Prewarn Pre·warn" transitive verb & i. [ imperfect & past participle Prewarned ; present participle & verbal noun Prewarning .] To warn beforehand; to forewarn. [ R.]

Prey Prey noun [ Old French preie , French proie , Latin praeda , probably for praeheda . See Prehensile , and confer Depredate , Predatory .] 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 intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Preyed ; present participle & verbal noun Preying .] [ Old French preier , preer , Latin praedari , from praeda . See Prey , noun ] 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 noun One who, or that which, preys; a plunderer; a waster; a devourer. Hooker.

Preyful Prey"ful adjective 1. Disposed to take prey. [ Obsolete]

The preyful brood of savage beasts.

Chapman. 2. Rich in prey. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Prezygapophysis Pre·zyg`a·poph"y·sis noun ; plural Prezygapophyses . [ New Latin See Pre- , and Zygapophysis .] (Anat.) An anterior zygapophysis.

Prial Pri"al noun A corruption of pair royal . See under Pair , noun

Prian Pri"an noun [ Cornish, clayey ground, from pri clay.] (Mining) 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 noun [ Confer Latin Priapeius pertaining to Priapus.] (Lat. Pros.) 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 noun [ Latin priapismus , Greek ..., from Priapus the god of procreation, the penis, Greek ...: confer French priapisme .] (Medicine) More or less permanent erection and rigidity of the penis, with or without sexual desire.

Priapulacea Pri·ap`u·la"ce·a noun plural [ New Latin See Priapism .] (Zoology) 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 noun A hard rider. [ Obsolete]

Price Price noun [ Middle English pris , Old French pris , French prix , Latin pretium ; confer Greek ... I sell ... to buy, Sanskrit pa... to buy, OI. renim I sell. Confer Appreciate , Depreciate , Interpret , Praise , noun & 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 transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Priced ; present participle & verbal noun Pricing .] 1. To pay the price of. [ Obsolete]

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

Priceite Price"ite noun [ From Thomas Price of San Francisco.] (Min.) A hydrous borate of lime, from Oregon.

Priceless Price"less adjective 1. Too valuable to admit of being appraised; of inestimable worth; invaluable. 2. Of no value; worthless. [ R.] J. Barlow.

Prick Prick noun [ Anglo-Saxon prica , pricca , pricu ; akin to LG. prick , pricke , Dutch prik , Danish prik , prikke , Swedish prick . Confer 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. [ Obsolete] "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. [ Obsolete] "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. [ Obsolete] 4. (Nautical) A small roll; as, a prick of spun yarn; a prick of tobacco.

Prick Prick transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Pricked ; present participle & verbal noun Pricking .] [ Anglo-Saxon prician ; akin to LG. pricken , Dutch prikken , Danish prikke , Swedish pricka . See Prick , noun , and confer 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. [ Obsolete] Hudibras. 9. To dress; to prink; -- usually with up . [ Obsolete] 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 intransitive verb 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` adjective (Zoology) Having erect, pointed ears; -- said of certain dogs.

Thou prick-eared cur of Iceland.

Shak.