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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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Pro-pōse' (prō-pōz'), v. t. p. 1049To set before or forth. That being proposed brim full of wine, one scarce could lift it up. Chapman. 2. To offer for consideration, discussion, acceptance, or adoption; as, to propose a bill or…Pro-pōse', v. i. p. 1050To lay schemes; to intend. Run thee into the parlor; There shalt thou find my cousin Beatrice, Proposing with the prince and Claudio. Shak. 2. To offer one's self in marriage.Pro-pōse', n. p. 1050Talk; discourse. [Obs.] Shak.Pro-pōs'er, n. p. 1050One who proposes or offers any thing for consideration or adoption.Prōp'o·sī'tion, n. p. 1050The act of setting or placing before; the act of offering. It also causes that nothing spring there but gums fit for incense and oblations for the altar of proposition. Sp. Taylor. 2. That which is…Prŏp'o-sĭ'tion-al, a. p. 1050Pertaining to, or in the nature of, a proposition; considered as a proposition; as, a propositional sense. Watts.Pro-pound', v. t. p. 1050To lay before; to offer for consideration; to exhibit; to propose; as, to propound a question. And darest thou to the Son of God propound To worship thee accursed? Milton. It is a strange folly to…Pro-pound'er, n. p. 1050One who proposes or offers for consideration.Pro·prē'tor, n. p. 1050(Rom. Antiq.) A magistrate who, having discharged the office of pretor at home, was appointed to the government of a province.Pro·prī'e-ta·ry, n. p. 1050A proprietor or owner; one who has the exclusive title to a thing; one who possesses or holds the title to a thing in his own right. Fuller. 2. A body of proprietors taken collectively. 3.…Pro-pri'e-ta-ry, a. p. 1050Belonging, or pertaining, to a proprietor.Pro-prī'e-tor, n. p. 1050One who has the legal right or exclusive title to any thing, whether in possession or not: an owner; as, the proprietor of a farm, or of a mill.Pro-pri'e-tō'ri-al, a. p. 1050Proprietary.Pro-pri'e-tor-ship, n. p. 1050The state of being proprietor.Pro-prí'e-tress, n. p. 1050A female proprietor.Pro-prí'e-ty, n. p. 1050Peculiar or exclusive right of possession; ownership; property. [Obs.] So are the proprieties of a wife to be disposed of by her lord, and yet all are for her provisions, it being a part of his need…Pro-prōc'tor, n. p. 1050(Eng. Universities.) An assistant proctor. Hook.Prōps, n. pl. p. 1050A certain game played with four shells;— much practiced by gamblers.Pro-pūgn', v. t. p. 1050To contend for; to defend; to vindicate. [Obs.] Hammond.Pro-pŭg'na-cle, n. p. 1050A fortress. [Obs.] Howell.Prō’pug-nā’tĭon, n. p. 1050Defense. [Obs.] Shak.Pro-pūgn'er, n. p. 1050A defender; a vindicator.Prō'pul-sā'tion, n. p. 1050The act of driving away or repelling; the keeping at a distance. [Obs.]Pro-pūlse', v. t. p. 1050To repel; to drive off. [Obs.] Cotgr.Pro-pŭl’sion, n. p. 1050The act of driving forward. God works in all things; all obey His first propulsion. Whittier.Pro-pŭl'sive, a. p. 1050Tending or having power to propel; driving on; urging. “The propulsive movement of the verse.” Coleridge.Prŏp'yl-læ'um, n. p. 1050(Anc. Arch.) Any court or vestibule before a building, or before its principal parts; especially, the entrance to such court or vestibule. Gwilt.Prŏp'ĭ-lōn, n. p. 1050(Anc. Arch.) The porch, vestibule, or entrance of an edifice; a propylæum.Pro-rāte', v. t. p. 1050To divide or distribute proportionally; to assess pro rata. [Corrupt. U. S.]Prōre, n. p. 1050The prow or fore part of a ship. [Poet. and rare.] Pope.Pro-rē'ctor, n. p. 1050An assistant of the rector in a high school; an officer who presides over the academic senate of a German university. Heyse.Pro-rē'tor-ate, n. p. 1050The office or station of pro-rector.Pro-rĕp'tion, n. p. 1050A creeping on.Prō'ro-gā'tion, n. p. 1050The act of proroguing or continuing in time or duration; a lengthening or prolongation of time; as, the prorogation of something already possessed. [Obs.] South. 2. The continuance of Parliament from…Pro-rō'gāte, v. t. p. 1050To prorogue.Pro-rōgue', v. t. p. 1050To protract; to prolong. He prorogued his government. Dryden. 2. To defer; to delay; to postpone; as, to prorogue death. Shak. 3. To continue from one session to another; to adjourn for an indefinite…Pro-rŭp'tion, n. p. 1050The act of bursting forth; a bursting out. Browne.Pro-sā'ic or Pro-sā'ic-al, a. p. 1050Pertaining to prose; resembling prose; not restricted by numbers;—said of writings; as, a prosaic composition. 2. Hence, dull; uninteresting; prosy. Ed. Rev.Pro-sā'ic-al-ly, adv. p. 1050In a dull or prosaic manner.Pro-sā'ic-al-ness, n. p. 1050The state or quality of being prosaic or dull.Pro-sā'i-çism, n. p. 1050The quality of being prosaic; prosaic manner or style.Prō'sa-ism, n. p. 1050That which is in the form of prose writing. Coleridge.Prō'sa-ist, n. p. 1050A writer of prose. Then comes Hannah More, an estimable prosaist. I. Taylor.Prō'sal, a. p. 1050Prosaic. [Obs.] Browne.Pro-sçē'ni-ŭm, n. p. 1050(Anc. Theater.) The part where the actors performed;—now called the stage. 2. (Modern Theater.) The front part of the stage, where the drop-scene separates the stage from the audience. Brande.Pro-scribe', v. t. p. 1050To doom to destruction; to put out of the protection of law; as, Sylla and Marius proscribed each other's adherents. Robert Vere, Earl of Oxford, was banished the realm, and proscribed. Spencer. 2.…Pro-scrīb'er, n. p. 1050One who, or that which, proscribes; one who denounces as dangerous, or as utterly unworthy of reception.Prō'script, n. p. 1050A prohibition; an interdict. 2. One who is proscribed.Pro-scrĭp'tion, n. p. 1050The act of proscribing or dooming to death, exile, or outlawry; among the ancient Romans, the public offer of a reward for the head of a political enemy; as, under the triumvirate, many of the best…Pro-scrĭp'tion-al, a. p. 1050Proscriptive.Pro-scrĭp'tion-ĭst, n. p. 1050One who proscribes.Pro-scrĭp'tĭve, a. p. 1050Pertaining to, or consisting in, proscription; proscribing.Prōse, n. p. 1050The common language of men; language not in verse, or unconfined to poetical measure, as opposed to verse or metrical composition. “Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme.” Milton. I wish our…Prōse, v. t. p. 1050To write in prose. 2. To make a tedious relation of; to relate in a dull or prosy manner.Prōse, v. i. p. 1050To write prose. 2. To talk in a dull, prosy, tedious manner.Prōse, a. p. 1050Pertaining to, or composed of, prose; as, prose composition. 2. Possessing or exhibiting unpoetical characteristics; plain; dull; unromantic; as, the prose duties of life. Thackeray.Pro-sĕc′tor, n. p. 1050A person who prepares the subjects for lectures on anatomy. Dunglison.Prŏs'e-cūt'a-ble, a. p. 1050Capable of being prosecuted; liable to prosecution.Prŏs'e-cūte, v. t. p. 1050To follow or pursue with a view to reach, execute, or accomplish; to endeavor to obtain or complete; to continue; as, to prosecute a scheme; to prosecute an undertaking. I am beloved of beauteous…Prŏs'e-cūte, v. i. p. 1051To carry on a legal prosecution; as, to prosecute for public offenses. Blackstone.