Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Prīn'ce's-mēt'al, n. p. 1037An alloy composed of seventy-five parts of copper and twenty-five of zinc, in imitation of gold;—called also Prince Rupert's metal. Ure.Prin'cess, n. p. 1037A female prince; a female having the rank of a prince. Dryden. 2. The daughter of a king. Shak. 3. The consort of a prince; as, the princess of Wales. ☞ By the English sometimes accented on the last…Prin'cess-ly, a. p. 1037Having the manner of a prince. [Rare.] Byron.Prin-cē'tas, n. p. 1037A worsted fabric, which is sometimes made with a cotton warp. Simmonds.Prin'çi-pal, a. p. 1037Highest in rank, authority, character, or importance; most considerable; chief; as, the principal officers of a government; the principal men of a city, town, or state; the principal arguments in a…Prin'çi-pal, n. p. 1037A chief or head; one who takes the lead; as, the principal of a faction, an insurrection, or mutiny; hence, specifically, (a.) One who possesses or exercises chief authority; as, the principal of a…Prin'çi-päl'i-ty, n. p. 1037Sovereignty; supreme power. Sidney. 2. A prince; one invested with sovereignty. Milton. 3. The territory of a prince; or the country which gives title to a prince; as, the principality of Wales. 4.…Prin'çi-pal-ly, adv. p. 1037In a principal manner; above all; chiefly. They mistake the nature of criticism who think its business is principally to find fault. — Dryden. Syn.—Chiefly; mainly; essentially; especially…Prin'ci-pal-ness, n. p. 1038The state of being principal or chief.Prin'ci·pate, n. p. 1038Principality; supreme rule. [Obs.] Barrow.Prin·cip'i·a, n. pl. p. 1038First principles; fundamental beginnings; elements; as, Newton's Principia.Prin·cip'i·al, a. p. 1038Initial; elementary. [Obs.]Prin-cip'i-ant, a. p. 1038Relating to principles or beginnings. [Rare.]Prin·cip'i·ā'tion, n. p. 1038Analysis into constituent or elemental parts. [Rare.] In a system of writing by sound, there must be a very accurate appreciation of sound, and a faultless principiation of language. A. M. Bell.Prin'ci-ple, n. p. 1038Beginning; commencement. [Obs. and rare.] “Doubting sad end of principle unsound.” Spenser. 2. Hence, a source, or origin; that from which any thing proceeds; fundamental substance or energy…Prin'ci-ple, v. t. p. 1038To establish or fix in tenets; to impress with any tenet, good or ill; — chiefly used in the participle. With goodness principled not to reject The penitent. Milton. 2. To establish firmly in the…Prin'cŏck or Prin'cŏx, n. p. 1038A coxcomb; a conceited person; a pert young rogue; — used humorously or in contempt. [Obs.] Shak.Prĭn'i-ă, n. p. 1038(Ornith.) A genus of birds found in Java.Prink, v. i. p. 1038To dress for show; to spend much time in arranging the dress in a foppish or finical manner; to prank. 2. To put on stately airs; to strut.Prĭnk, v. t. p. 1038To dress or adjust to ostentation.Prĭnk'er, n. p. 1038One who prinks; one who dresses with much care.Print, v. t. p. 1038To press or impress; to imprint. “And print on thy soft cheek a parent’s kiss.” Byron. 2. To take an impression of; to copy or take off the impress of; to stamp. “Perhaps some footsteps printed in…Print, v. i. p. 1038To use or practice the art of typography, or of taking impressions of letters, figures, and the like. 2. To publish a book. From the moment he prints, he must expect to hear no more of truth. Pope.Print, n. p. 1038A mark made by impression; a line, character, figure, or indentation, made by the pressure of one body or thing on another; mark; sign imparted or communicated, as, the print of the tooth or of the…Print'er, n. p. 1038One who prints, impresses, or stamps; especially, one who prints books, newspapers, and the like.Print'er-y, n. p. 1038A place where cloth is printed; print-works; also, sometimes, a printing-office. [Rare.] Pilkin. Bartlett.Print'ing, n. p. 1038The act, art, or practice of impressing letters, characters, or figures on paper, cloth, or other material; the business of a printer; typography. Letter-press printing (Typog.), that kind of…Print'ing-house, n. p. 1038A printing-office.Print'ing-ink, n. p. 1038Ink used in printing books, newspapers, and the like. It is composed of lamp-black mingled with linseed or nut oil, made thick by boiling and burning, by black rosin, soap, &c., or with balsam of…Print'ing-ma-chine', n. p. 1038A printing-press in which the work is performed by machinery, and not directly by hand.Print'ing-öf'fiçe, n. p. 1038A place where books, pamphlets, and the like, are printed.Printing-pā'per, n. p. 1038Paper to be used in the printing of books, pamphlets, and the like, as distinguished from writing-paper, press-paper, wrapping-paper, &c.Print'ing-press, n. p. 1038A press for printing books, newspapers, handbills, and the like.Print'less, a. p. 1038Leaving no print or impression. “Thus I set my print-less feet.” Milton.Print'-shōp, n. p. 1038A shop where prints are kept for sale.Print'-works, n. p. 1038A place, or establishment, where cloth is printed.Prī-ōn'ō-dōn, n. p. 1038(Zoöl.) A genus of quadrupeds related to the weasels.Pri'or, a. p. 1038Preceding in the order of time; former; antecedent; anterior; as, a prior discovery; prior obligation. Syn. — Antecedent; precedent; pre-eminent.Prī'or, n. p. 1038(Eccl.) The superior of a priory; one next in dignity to an abbot. Claustral prior. See CLAUSTRAL. — Conventical prior. See CONVENTICAL.Pri'or-ate, n. p. 1038Government by a prior. Warton.Pri'or-ess, n. p. 1038A female superior of a convent of nuns.Prī-ŏr'i-ty, n. p. 1038The state of being antecedent in time, or of preceding something else; as, priority of birth. Priority of debts, a superior claim to payment, or to payment before others. Syn.—Antecedence…Prī'or-ly, adv. p. 1038Antecedently. [Rare.] Geddes.Prī'or-ship, n. p. 1038The state or office of prior.Prī'o-ry, n. p. 1038A religious house, the head of which was a prior or prioress, and which was in dignity below an abbey. ☞ Of such houses there were two sorts: one, where the prior was chosen by the inmates, and…Pri's'age, n. p. 1038(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. This, by charter of Edward…Pris-cĭl'li-an-ist, n. p. 1038(Eccl. Hist.) A follower of Priscillian, bishop of Avila, in Spain, in the fourth century, who embraced some of the errors of the Gnostics, and, though of unimpeachable morals and a very devout man…Prīse, n. p. 1038See PRIZE. Halliwell.Priʹser, n. p. 1038One who contends for a prize; a prizer. [Obs.] See PRIZER.Prism, n. p. 1038(Geom.) A solid whose bases or ends are any similar, equal, and parallel plane figures, and whose sides are parallelograms. 2. (Opt.) A transparent body, with, usually, three rectangular plane faces…Pris-măt'ic or Pris-măt'ic-al, a. p. 1038Resembling or related to a prism; as, a prismatic form. 2. Separated or distributed by a prism; formed by a prism; as, prismatic colors. 3. (Crystal-log.) Pertaining to the trimeric system or…Pris-măt′/ic-al-ly, adv. p. 1038In the form or manner of a prism; by means of a prism.Prĭs'ma-toid'al, a. p. 1038Having a prism-like form. Ure.Pris'moid, n. p. 1038A body that approaches to the form of a prism.Pris-moid'al, a. p. 1038Having the form of a prismoid.Prism’y, a. p. 1038Pertaining to, or like, a prism.Prĭs'on, n. p. 1038A building for the confinement or safe custody of debtors and criminals committed by process of law; a place of safe custody; a place of confinement or restraint. The tyrant Æolus, With power…Prĭs'ōn, v. t. p. 1039To shut up in a prison; to confine; to restrain from liberty; to enchain; to captivate. “The prisoned soul.” Milton.Prĭs'on-bāse, n. p. 1039A kind of rural sport depending on swiftness in running from goals when pursued, by a player who is to catch the others;—also called prisoner's-base, and prisoner's-bars. Strutt.Prīz'on-er, n. p. 1039One who is confined in a prison. 2. A person under arrest or in custody, whether in prison or not; one held in confinement against his will; a captive; as, a prisoner at the bar of a court. Bouvier.