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-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.Pro-tēst'er, n. p. 1052One who protests; one who utters a solemn declaration. 2. One who protests a bill of exchange.Pro-tēst'ing-ly, adv. p. 1052By way of protesting.