Pricker Prick"er noun 1. One who, or that which, pricks; a pointed instrument; a sharp point; a prickle.

2. One who spurs forward; a light horseman.

The prickers , who rode foremost, . . . halted.

Sir W. Scott.

3. A priming wire; a priming needle, -- used in blasting and gunnery. Knight.

4. (Nautical) A small marline spike having generally a wooden handle, -- used in sailmaking. R. H. Dana, Ir.

Pricket Prick"et noun [ Perhaps so called from the state of his horns. See Prick , and confer Brocket .] (Zoology) A buck in his second year. See Note under 3d Buck . Shak.

Pricking Prick"ing noun 1. The act of piercing or puncturing with a sharp point. "There is that speaketh like the prickings of a sword." Prov. xii. 18 [ 1583].

2. (Far.) (a) The driving of a nail into a horse's foot so as to produce lameness. (b) Same as Nicking .

3. A sensation of being pricked. Shak.

4. The mark or trace left by a hare's foot; a prick; also, the act of tracing a hare by its footmarks. [ Obsolete]

5. Dressing one's self for show; prinking. [ Obsolete]

Pricking-up Prick"ing-up noun (Architecture) The first coating of plaster in work of three coats upon laths. Its surface is scratched once to form a better key for the next coat. In the United States called scratch coat . Brande & C.

Prickle Pric"kle noun [ Anglo-Saxon pricele , pricle ; akin to LG. prickel , Dutch prikkel . See Prick , noun ] 1. A little prick; a small, sharp point; a fine, sharp process or projection, as from the skin of an animal, the bark of a plant, etc.; a spine. Bacon.

2. A kind of willow basket; -- a term still used in some branches of trade. B. Jonson.

3. A sieve of filberts, -- about fifty pounds. [ Eng.]

Prickle Pric"kle transitive verb To prick slightly, as with prickles, or fine, sharp points.

Felt a horror over me creep,
Prickle skin, and catch my breath.

Tennyson.

Prickleback, Pricklefish Pric"kle·back`, Pric"kle·fish` noun (Zoology) The stickleback.

Prickliness Prick"li·ness noun [ From Prickly .] The quality of being prickly, or of having many prickles.

Prickling Prick"ling adjective Prickly. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Pricklouse Prick"louse` noun A tailor; -- so called in contempt. [ Old slang] L'Estrange.

Prickly Prick"ly adjective Full of sharp points or prickles; armed or covered with prickles; as, a prickly shrub.

Prickly ash (Botany) , a prickly shrub ( Xanthoxylum Americanum ) with yellowish flowers appearing with the leaves. All parts of the plant are pungent and aromatic. The southern species is X. Carolinianum . Gray. -- Prickly heat (Medicine) , a noncontagious cutaneous eruption of red pimples, attended with intense itching and tingling of the parts affected. It is due to inflammation of the sweat glands, and is often brought on by overheating the skin in hot weather. -- Prickly pear (Botany) , a name given to several plants of the cactaceous genus Opuntia , American plants consisting of fleshy, leafless, usually flattened, and often prickly joints inserted upon each other. The sessile flowers have many petals and numerous stamens. The edible fruit is a large pear-shaped berry containing many flattish seeds. The common species of the Northern Atlantic States is Opuntia vulgaris . In the South and West are many others, and in tropical America more than a hundred more. O. vulgaris , O. Ficus-Indica , and O. Tuna are abundantly introduced in the Mediterranean region, and O. Dillenii has become common in India. -- Prickly pole (Botany) , a West Indian palm ( Bactris Plumierana ), the slender trunk of which bears many rings of long black prickles. -- Prickly withe (Botany) , a West Indian cactaceous plant ( Cereus triangularis ) having prickly, slender, climbing, triangular stems. -- Prickly rat (Zoology) , any one of several species of South American burrowing rodents belonging to Ctenomys and allied genera. The hair is usually intermingled with sharp spines.

Prickmadam Prick"mad`am noun [ French trique- madame . Confer Tripmadam .] (Botany) A name given to several species of stonecrop, used as ingredients of vermifuge medicines. See Stonecrop .

Prickpunch Prick"punch` noun A pointed steel punch, to prick a mark on metal.

Prickshaft Prick"shaft` noun An arrow. [ Obsolete]

Pricksong Prick"song` noun [ See Prick , transitive verb , 4.] Music written, or noted, with dots or points; -- so called from the points or dots with which it is noted down. [ Obsolete]

He fights as you sing pricksong .

Shak.

Prickwood Prick"wood` noun (Botany) A shrub ( Euonymus Europćus ); -- so named from the use of its wood for goads, skewers, and shoe pegs. Called also spindle tree .

Pricky Prick"y adjective Stiff and sharp; prickly. Holland.

Pride Pride noun [ Confer Anglo-Saxon lamprede , Late Latin lampreda , English lamprey .] (Zoology) A small European lamprey ( Petromyzon branchialis ); -- called also prid , and sandpiper .

Pride Pride noun [ Anglo-Saxon prȳte ; akin to Icelandic prȳđi honor, ornament, pr......a to adorn, Danish pryde , Swedish pryda ; confer W. prydus comely. See Proud .] 1. The quality or state of being proud; inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable conceit of one's own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, rank, etc., which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve, and often in contempt of others.

Those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

Dan. iv. 37.

Pride that dines on vanity sups on contempt.

Franklin.

2. A sense of one's own worth, and abhorrence of what is beneath or unworthy of one; lofty self-respect; noble self- esteem; elevation of character; dignified bearing; proud delight; -- in a good sense.

Thus to relieve the wretched was his pride .

Goldsmith.

A people which takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendants.

Macaulay.

3. Proud or disdainful behavior or treatment; insolence or arrogance of demeanor; haughty bearing and conduct; insolent exultation; disdain.

Let not the foot of pride come against me.

Ps. xxxvi. 11.

That hardly we escaped the pride of France.

Shak.

4. That of which one is proud; that which excites boasting or self-gratulation; the occasion or ground of self- esteem, or of arrogant and presumptuous confidence, as beauty, ornament, noble character, children, etc.

Lofty trees yclad with summer's pride .

Spenser.

I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

Zech. ix. 6.

A bold peasantry, their country's pride .

Goldsmith.

5. Show; ostentation; glory.

Pride , pomp, and circumstance of glorious war.

Shak.

6. Highest pitch; elevation reached; loftiness; prime; glory; as, to be in the pride of one's life.

A falcon, towering in her pride of place.

Shak.

7. Consciousness of power; fullness of animal spirits; mettle; wantonness; hence, lust; sexual desire; esp., an excitement of sexual appetite in a female beast. [ Obsolete]

Pride of India , or Pride of China . (Botany) See Margosa . -- Pride of the desert (Zoology) , the camel.

Syn. -- Self-exaltation; conceit; hauteur; haughtiness; lordliness; loftiness. -- Pride , Vanity . Pride is a high or an excessive esteem of one's self for some real or imagined superiority, as rank, wealth, talents, character, etc. Vanity is the love of being admired, praised, exalted, etc., by others. Vanity is an ostentation of pride ; but one may have great pride without displaying it. Vanity , which is etymologically "emptiness," is applied especially to the exhibition of pride in superficialities, as beauty, dress, wealth, etc.

Pride Pride transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Prided ; present participle & verbal noun Priding .] To indulge in pride, or self-esteem; to rate highly; to plume; -- used reflexively. Bp. Hall.

Pluming and priding himself in all his services.

South.

Pride Pride intransitive verb To be proud; to glory. [ R.]

Prideful Pride"ful adjective Full of pride; haughty. Tennyson.

-- Pride"ful*ly , adverb -- Pride"ful- ness , noun

Prideless Pride"less adjective Without pride. Chaucer.

Pridian Prid"i·an adjective [ Latin pridianus .] Of or pertaining to the day before, or yesterday. [ R.] Thackeray.

Pridingly Prid"ing·ly adverb Proudly. [ Obsolete]

Prie Prie noun (Botany) The plant privet. [ Obsolete] Tusser.

Prie Prie intransitive verb To pry. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Pried Pried imperfect & past participle of Pry .

Priedieu Prie`dieu" noun [ French, literally, pray God.] A kneeling desk for prayers.

Prief Prief noun Proof. [ Obsolete] Spenser. Lydgate.

Prier Pri"er noun [ From Pry .] One who pries; one who inquires narrowly and searches, or is inquisitive.

So pragmatical a prier he is into divine secrets.

Fuller.

Priest Priest noun [ Middle English prest , preost , Anglo-Saxon preóst , from Latin presbyter , Greek ... elder, older, noun , an elder, compar. of ... an old man, the first syllable of which is probably akin to Latin pristinus . Confer Pristine , Presbyter .]

1. (Christian Church) A presbyter elder; a minister ; specifically: (a) (R. C. Ch. & Greek Ch.) One who is authorized to consecrate the host and to say Mass; but especially, one of the lowest order possessing this power. Murdock. (b) (Ch. of Eng. & Prot. Epis. Ch.) A presbyter; one who belongs to the intermediate order between bishop and deacon. He is authorized to perform all ministerial services except those of ordination and confirmation.

2. One who officiates at the altar, or performs the rites of sacrifice; one who acts as a mediator between men and the divinity or the gods in any form of religion; as, Buddhist priests . "The priests of Dagon." 1 Sam. v. 5.

Then the priest of Jupiter . . . brought oxen and garlands . . . and would have done sacrifice with the people.

Acts xiv. 13.

Every priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

Hebrew v. 1.

» In the New Testament presbyters are not called priests ; but Christ is designated as a priest , and as a high priest , and all Christians are designated priests .

Priest Priest transitive verb To ordain as priest.

Priest-ridden Priest"-rid`den adjective Controlled or oppressed by priests; as, a priest-ridden people. Swift.

Priestcap Priest"cap` noun (Fort.) A form of redan, so named from its shape; -- called also swallowtail .

Priestcraft Priest"craft` noun Priestly policy; the policy of a priesthood; esp., in an ill sense, fraud or imposition in religious concerns; management by priests to gain wealth and power by working upon the religious motives or credulity of others.

It is better that men should be governed by priestcraft than by violence.

Macaulay.

Priestery Priest"er·y noun Priests, collectively; the priesthood; -- so called in contempt. [ R.] Milton.

Priestess Priest"ess noun A woman who officiated in sacred rites among pagans. Abp. Potter.

Priesthood Priest"hood noun 1. The office or character of a priest; the priestly function. Bk. of Com. Prayer.

2. Priests, taken collectively; the order of men set apart for sacred offices; the order of priests.

Priesting Priest"ing noun The office of a priest. [ Obsolete] Milton.

Priestism Priest"ism noun The influence, doctrines, principles, etc., of priests or the priesthood. [ R.]

Priestless Priest"less adjective Without a priest. Pope.

Priestlike Priest"like` adjective Priestly. B. Jonson.

Priestliness Priest"li·ness noun The quality or state of being priestly. R. Browning.

Priestly Priest"ly adjective Of or pertaining to a priest or the priesthood; sacerdotal; befitting or becoming a priest; as, the priestly office; a priestly farewell. Shak.

Prieve Prieve transitive verb To prove. [ Obsolete or Scot.]

Prig Prig intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Prigged ; present participle & verbal noun Prigging .] [ A modification of prick .] To haggle about the price of a commodity; to bargain hard. [ Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Prig Prig transitive verb 1. To cheapen. [ Scot.]

2. [ Perhaps orig., to ride off with. See Prick , transitive verb ] To filch or steal; as, to prig a handkerchief. [ Cant]

Prig Prig noun 1. A pert, conceited, pragmatical fellow.

The queer prig of a doctor.

Macaulay.

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

Priggery Prig"ger·y noun Priggism.

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