Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
- Pages
- 1,538
- Illustrations
- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Prŏf'fer-er, n. p. 1043One who offers any thing for acceptance.Pro-fi'cience or Pro-fi'cien-cy, n. p. 1043The state or quality of being proficient; advance in the acquisition of any art, science, or knowledge; improvement; progression in knowledge.Pro-fi'cient, a. p. 1043Well advanced in any branch of knowledge or skill; possessed of considerable acquirements; well-skilled; versed.Pro-fĭ'cient, n. p. 1043One who has made considerable advances in any business, art, science, or branch of learning; an expert; an adept; as, a proficient in a trade or occupation; a proficient in mathematics, in anatomy…Pro-fi'cient-ly, adv. p. 1043In a proficient manner; with proficiency.Pro-fic'u-ous, a. p. 1043Profitable; advantageous; useful. [Obs.] Harvey.Prŏ'file, n. p. 1043An outline or contour. 2. (Paint. & Sculp.) A head or portrait represented sidewise or in a side view; the side face or half face; as, to draw or appear in profile; the profile of Pope or Addison. 3.…Prō'file, v. t. p. 1043To draw the outline of; to draw in profile, as a building.Prō'file, n. p. 1043(Fort.) The act or process of setting up wooden profiles to guide workmen in throwing up a parapet.Prŏ'fil-ist, n. p. 1043One who takes profiles.Prŏf'it, n. p. 1043Acquisition beyond expenditure; excess of value received for keeping or selling, over cost; hence, in commerce, pecuniary gain in any transaction or occupation; emolument. Let no man anticipate…Prŏf'it, v. t. p. 1043To be of service to; to be good to; to help on; to benefit; to advantage. It is a great means of profiting yourself, to copy diligently excellent pieces and beautiful designs. Dryden.Prŏf'it, v. i. p. 1043To gain advantage; to make improvement; to improve; to gain; to advance. I profit not by thy talk. Shak. She has profited so well already by your counsel, that she can say her lesson. Dryden. 2. To…Prŏf'it-a-ble, a. p. 1044Yielding or bringing profit or gain; gainful; lucrative; useful; advantageous; as, a profitable trade; profitable business; a profitable study or profession. What was so profitable to the empire…Prŏf'it-a-ble-ness, n. p. 1044The quality of being profitable; gainfulness; usefulness; advantageousness.Prŏf'it-a-bly, adv. p. 1044In a profitable manner; gainfully; usefully; advantageously; with improvement: as, to be profitably occupied in reading.Prŏf'it-ing, n. p. 1044Gain; advantage; profit. “That thy profiting may appear to all.” 1 Tim. iv. 15.Prŏf'it-less, a. p. 1044Void of profit, gain, or advantage. Shak.Prŏf'li-ga-cy, n. p. 1044The condition or quality of being profligate; a profligate or very vicious course of life; a state of being abandoned in moral principle and in vice.Prŏf'li-gate, a. p. 1044Overthrown; beaten; conquered. [Obs.] The foe is profligate, and run. Hudibras. 2. Abandoned to vice; lost to principle, virtue, or decency; openly and shamelessly immoral or vicious; as, a…Prŏf'li-gate, n. p. 1044An abandoned man; a person openly and shamelessly vicious. How could such a profligate as Antony, or a boy of eighteen, like Octavius, ever dare to dream of giving law to such an empire? Swift.Prŏf'li-gāte, v. t. p. 1044To drive away; to overcome. [A Latinism.] [Obs.] Harvey.Prŏf'li-gate-ly, adv. p. 1044In a profligate manner; without principle or shame; in a course of extreme viciousness; as, to spend life profligately.Prŏf'li-gate-ness, n. p. 1044The quality of being profligate; the quality or state of being lost to virtue and decency. 2. An abandoned course of life; extreme viciousness; profligacy.Prŏf'li-gā'tion, n. p. 1044Defeat; rout. [Obs.] Bacon.Prŏf'lu-ence, n. p. 1044The quality or act of being profluent; forward flow; course. [Obs.] Walton.Prŏf'lu-ent, a. p. 1044Flowing forward. “In the profluent stream.” Milton.Pro-found', a. p. 1044Descending far below the surface; opening or reaching to a great depth; deep. “A gulf profound.” Milton. 2. Low bending; very low; lowly; humble; as, a profound bow. 3. Characterized by intensity…Pro-found', n. p. 1044The deep; the abyss. “Through the blue profound.” Wordsworth. 2. Especially, the sea; the ocean. God in the fathomless profound Hath all his choice commanders drowned. Sandys.Pro-found', v. i. p. 1044To dive deeply; to penetrate. [Obs.] Glanville.Pro-found', v. t. p. 1044To cause to sink deeply; to cause to dive or penetrate far down. [Obs.] Browne.Pro-found'ly, adv. p. 1044In a profound manner; deeply. Why sigh you so profoundly? Shak. 2. With deep penetration, knowledge, or insight; as, profoundly wise; profoundly skilled in music or painting.Pro-found'ness, n. p. 1044The quality of being profound; profundity; depth.Pro-fŭl'gent, a. p. 1044Shining forth; blazing out; brilliant; effulgent. [Obs.] Chaucer.Pro-fûn'di-ty, n. p. 1044Condition or quality of being profound; depth of place, of knowledge, of science, of feeling, or the like. “The vast profundity obscure.” Milton.Pro-fūse', a. p. 1044Pouring forth with fulness or exuberance; exceedingly liberal; giving without stint; lavish; as, a profuse government; a profuse administration. “A green shady bank, profuse of flowers.” Milton. 2.…Pro-fūse′, v. t. p. 1044To pour out; to lavish. [Obs.] Thy help hath been profused Ever with most grace in consorts of travelers distressed. Chapman. 2. To squander. [Rare.] Steele.Pro-fūse'ly, adv. p. 1044In a profuse manner; lavishly; prodigally; as, an income profusely expended. 2. With exuberance; with great abundance; as, ornaments may be too profusely scattered over a building.Pro-fūse’ness, n. p. 1044Extravagant expenditures; lavishness; prodigality. Hospitality sometimes degenerates into profuseness. Atterbury. 2. Great abundance; profusion; as, profuseness of ornaments.Pro-fū’sion, n. p. 1044The act of one who is profuse; a lavishing or pouring out without stint; prodigality; extravagance of expenditures. What meant thy pompous progress through the empire, Thy vast profusion to the…Pro-fū'sive, a. p. 1044Profuse; lavish; prodigal. [Obs.]Prŏg, v. i. p. 1044To wander about and beg; to seek food or other supplies by low arts; to seek to acquire by beggarly tricks; to strive after by shifts. “Pandulf, an Italian and pope’s legate, a perfect artist in…Prŏg, n. p. 1044Victuals or provisions sought by begging, or found by wandering about; victuals of any kind; food; supplies. [Low.] Swift.Prŏg, n. p. 1044One who seeks his victuals by wandering and begging.Pro-gĕn'er-āte, v. t. p. 1044To beget; to generate; to produce; to procreate. [Rare.] “To progenerate a more numerous and better race.” Landor.Pro-gĕn'er-ā'tion, n. p. 1044The act of begetting; propagation. [Obs.]Pro-gĕn'i-tor, n. p. 1044An ancestor in the direct line; a forefather. “And reverence thee their great progenitor.” Milton.Pro-gĕn'i-tūre, n. p. 1044A begetting or birth. [Rare.]Prŏg'e-ny, n. p. 1044Descendants of the human kind, or offspring of other animals; offspring; race; children. “Issued from the progeny of kings.” Shak.Prog-nā′thĭsm, n. p. 1044Projection of the lower jaw.Prog-nā'thoüs, a. p. 1044Having, or characterized by, projecting jaws. Their countenances had the true prognathous character. Kane.Prog-nō'sis, n. p. 1044(Med.) The act or art of foretelling the course and event of a disease; the judgment of the course and event of a disease by particular symptoms. Coxe.Prog-nōs'tic, a. p. 1044Indicating something future by signs or symptoms; foreshowing; as, the prognostic symptoms of a disease; prognostic signs.Prog·nōs'tic, n. p. 1044That which prognosticates; a sign by which a future event may be known or foretold; hence, a foretelling; a prediction. That choice would inevitably be considered by the country as a prognostic of…Prog-nōs'tie, v. t. p. 1044To prognosticate. [Obs.]Prog-nŏs'ti-ca-ble, a. p. 1044Capable of being prognosticated or foretold. Browne.Prog-nŏs’tĭ-cāte, v. t. p. 1044To indicate as future; to foretell from signs or symptoms; to foreshow; to predict. I neither will nor can prognosticate To the young gaping heir his father's fate. Dryden. Syn.—To foreshow…Prog-nōs'ti-cā'tion, n. p. 1044The act of foreshowing or foretelling something future by present signs. 2. That which foreshows; a foretoken; previous sign. Shak.Prog·nŏs'ti·cā'tor, n. p. 1044One who prognosticates; a foreknower or foreteller of a future course or event by present signs.Prō'gram, n. p. 1044The same as PROGRAMME, q. v. [Rare.]