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.
Prŏs'tate, a. p. 1051(Anat.) Standing before:—applied to a gland situated just before the neck of the bladder in males, and surrounding the beginning of the urethra. It is situated on the under and posterior part of the…Prŏs'tate, n. p. 1051(Anat.) The prostate gland.Pro-stāt'ic, a. p. 1051(Anat.) Of, or pertaining to, the prostate gland. Dunglison.Prŏs'ter-nā'tion, n. p. 1051A state of being cast down; dejection; depression. [Obs.] Wisseman.Prŏs'the-sis, n. p. 1051(Surg.) The addition of an artificial part to supply a defect of the body; prothesis. Quincy. 2. (Gram.) A figure consisting in prefixing one or more letters to the beginning of a word; as, beloved.Pros-thĕt'ic, a. p. 1051Prefixed, as a letter to a word.Pros-tĭb'ū-lōŭs, a. p. 1051Of, or pertaining to, prostitutes; hence, meretricious. [Obs.]Prŏs'ti-tūte, v. t. p. 1051To offer, as a woman, to a lewd use; to give up for hire to sexual gratification. Do not prostitute thy daughter. Lev. xix. 29. 2. Hence, to devote to base or unworthy purposes; to give up to low or…Prŏs’ti-tūte, a. p. 1051Openly devoted to lewdness; devoted to base or infamous purposes. “Made bold by want, and prostitute for bread.” Prior.Prŏs'ti-tūte, n. p. 1051A woman given to indiscriminate lewdness; a strumpet. 2. Hence, a base hireling; a mercenary; one who offers himself to infamous employments for hire. No hireling she, no prostitute to praise. Pope.Prŏs'ti-tū'tion, n. p. 1051The act or practice of prostituting or offering the body to an indiscriminate intercourse with men; common lewdness of a female. “An infamous woman, having passed her youth in a shameless state of…Prŏs'ti-tū'tor, n. p. 1051One who prostitutes; one who submits himself or offers another to vile purposes.Prŏs'trate, a. p. 1051Lying at length, or with the body extended on the ground or other surface; stretched out. “Groveling and prostrate on yon lake of fire.” Milton. 2. Lying at mercy, as a supplicant; especially…Prŏs'trāte, v. t. p. 1051To lay flat; to throw down; as, to prostrate the body; to prostrate trees or plants. 2. To overthrow; to demolish; to destroy; to ruin; as, to prostrate a village; to prostrate a government; to…Pros-trā'tion, n. p. 1052The act of throwing down, or laying flat; the act of falling down, or of bowing in humility or adoration;—primarily, the act of falling on the face, but now used for kneeling or bowing in reverence…Prō'style, n. p. 1052(Arch.) A portico in which the columns stand in advance of the building to which they belong. Gwilt.Prō'sy, a. p. 1052Like prose. 2. Dull and tedious in discourse or writing.Pro-sy̆l'lo-gĭsm, n. p. 1052(Logic.) A syllogism preliminary or logically essential to another syllogism; the conclusion of such a syllogism.Pro-tăc'tic, a. p. 1052Giving a previous narrative or explanation, as of the plot or personages of a play.Pro-tā'g'o-nīst, n. p. 1052One who fills the leading part in a drama; hence, one who takes the lead in some great scene, enterprise, conflict, or the like. “Shakespeare, the protagonist on the great arena of modern poetry.” De…Prŏt'a-sĭs, n. p. 1052A proposition; a maxim. Johnson. 2. (Gram.) The subordinate member of a sentence, generally of a conditional sentence;—opposed to apodosis. 3. (Anc. Drama.) The first part of a comic or tragic piece…Pro-tăt'ic, a. p. 1052Being placed in the beginning; previous.Prō’te-an, a. p. 1052Pertaining to Proteus; readily assuming different shapes. See PROTEUS.Prō'te-an-ly, adv. p. 1052Like Proteus, or that which readily changes shape. Cudworth.Pro-tĕct', v. t. p. 1052To cover or shield from danger or injury; to defend; to guard; to preserve in safety. The gods of Greece protect you. Shak. Syn.—To defend; guard; shield; preserve; save; secure. See DEFEND.Pro-tĕct'ing-ly, adv. p. 1052By protecting; in the way of protection.Pro-tēc'tion, n. p. 1052The act of protecting; preservation from loss, injury, or annoyance; shelter. To your protection I commend me, gods. Shak. 2. The state of being protected. 3. That which protects or preserves from…Writ of protection p. 1052A writ by which the king formerly exempted a person from arrest;—now disused. [Eng.] Blackstone. (b.) A judicial writ issued to a person required to attend court, as party, juror, &c., intended to…Pro-tēc'tion-ist, n. p. 1052One who favors the protection of some branch of industry by legal enactments.Pro-tēct'ive, a. p. 1052Affording protection; sheltering; defensive.Pro-tēct’or, n. p. 1052One who defends or shields from injury, evil, or oppression; a defender; a guardian. For the world's protector shall be known. Waller. 2. One who had the care of the kingdom during the king's…Lord Protector p. 1052the title assumed by Cromwell in 1653.Pro-tēct’or-al, a. p. 1052Protectorial.Pro-tēct’or-ate, n. p. 1052Government by a protector;—applied especially to the government of England by Cromwell. 2. The authority assumed by a superior power over an inferior or a dependent one.Prō'tee-tō'rī-al, a. p. 1052Pertaining to a protector.Pro-tēct'or-less, a. p. 1052Having no protector.Pro-tēct'or-ship, n. p. 1052The office of a protector or regent; protectorate.Pro-tēct'ress or Pro-tēct'rix, n. p. 1052A woman who protects; a female protector.Protégé, n. p. 1052One under the care and protection of another.Protégée, n. p. 1052A female under the protection of another.Prō'te-ī-nā'ceous, a. p. 1052Pertaining to, resembling, or containing proteine.Prō'te-ine, n. p. 1052(Chem.) A substance claimed by Mulder to be obtained as a distinct substance from albumen, fibrine, or caseine, and considered by him to be the basis of animal tissue and of some substances of…Pro-tē'i-nōŭs, a. p. 1052The same as PROTEINACEOUS.Prō'te-lēz, n. p. 1052(Zoöl.) A genus of carnivorous mammals found in South Africa, and intermediate between the hyenas and the civets. They are natives of the Cape of Good Hope. Baird.Pro-tĕnd′, v. t. p. 1052To hold out; to stretch forth. [Obs.] With his protended lance he makes defense. Dryden. They, in a martial exercise employed, Heed not the monarch, or his gaudy train, But poise the spear…Pro-tēnse', n. p. 1052Extension. [Obs.] “By due degrees and long protense.” Spenser.Pro-tēn’sive, a. p. 1052Drawn out; extended. [Rare.] Time is a protensive quantity, and consequently, any part of it, however small, can not, without a contradiction, be imagined as not divisible into parts. Sir W. Hamilton.Prō′/ter-ān′/thōūs, a. p. 1052(Bot.) Having flowers appearing before the leaves;—said of certain plants. Gray.Pro-tĕr'vi-ty, n. p. 1052Peevishness; petulance. [Obs.]Pro-tĕst', v. i. p. 1052To affirm in a public or formal manner; to bear witness; to declare solemnly; to avow. Collecting an army on the borders of Normandy, he protests that his measures are pacific. Landor. 2. To make a…Pro-tĕst’, v. t. p. 1052To make a solemn declaration or affirmation of; as, to protest one’s innocence. 2. To call as a witness in affirming or denying, or to prove an affirmation. Fiercely they opposed My journey strange…Prō'test, n. p. 1052A solemn declaration of opinion, commonly against some act; especially, a formal and solemn declaration, in writing, of dissent from the proceedings of a legislative body; as, the protest of lords in…Prŏt'est-an-cy, n. p. 1052Protestantism. [Rare.]Prŏt'est-ant, a. p. 1052Making a protest. 2. Pertaining to the faith and practice of those who protest against the church of Rome; as, the Protestant religion.Prŏt'est-ant, n. p. 1052One who protests;—originally applied to those who adhered to Luther at the Reformation in 1529, and protested against, or made a solemn declaration of dissent from, a decree of the Emperor Charles V.…Prŏt'est-ănt'ĭc-al, a. p. 1052Of, pertaining to, or in the character or manner of, Protestants. [Obs.] Bacon.Prŏt'est-ant-ĭsm, n. p. 1052The state of being protestant, especially against the church of Rome; the Protestant religion.Prŏt'est-ant-ly, adv. p. 1052In conformity with the Protestants. [Obs.] Milton.Prŏt'es-tā'tion, n. p. 1052The act of making a protest or public avowal; a solemn declaration, especially of dissent. “The protestation of our faith.” Latimer. 2. (Law.) A declaration in pleading, by which the party interposes…Prŏt'es-tā'tor, n. p. 1052One who protests.