Emily Dickinson Lexicon

premature, adj. [L. præmātūr-us, very early, too early < præ, before + mātūrus, ripe, timely.]

Hasty; rash; too early; shortsighted; accepted too soon; not fully informed; created without sufficient evidence.

premise (-s), n. [Fr. < L. præmissa, proposition set in front < præ-, before + mittěre, send.] (webplay: inference).

Supposition; assumption; hypothesis; theory; proposition held to be true; pre-accepted condition; basic postulate assumed to be correct which leads to a logical conclusion.

premium, n. [L. præmium, booty, profit from booty, advantage, reward < præ, before + eměre, buy, take.] (webplay: reward).

Reward; prize; endowment; compensation; payment; dividend; earning.

preparation, n. [see prepare, v.] (webplay: act, future).

Readiness; foresight; forethought; foreknowledge; planning; warning; previous adaptation.

prepare (-d, -s), v. [Fr. < L. præ, before + parāre, make ready.] (webplay: God, heaven, horses, meet thy God, music, nation, nature).

1. Fit; adapt; qualify; prime; educate; train; make ready.
2. Create; make; design; invent; produce.
3. Chart; sketch; outline; describe; [fig.] envision; teach; propose; purport; claim; write.
4. Brace oneself for the inevitable; steel the emotions for approaching death of a loved one; embalm; preserve a body; make a body ready for burial.

prerogative, n. [Fr. < L. prærogātīva, previous choice or election, foretoken, prognostic, preference, privilege, prerogative.]

Right; privilege; entitlement; authority; claim; advantage; prerequisite; condition; stipulation; essential requirement.

Presbyterian, proper adj. [Late Latin 'priest's house'.]

Priestly; pastoral; ministerial; orthodox; traditional; [fig.] conservative; formal; proper; respectable; decorous; dignified; stately.

presence, n. [OFr < L. præsentia; see present, adj.] (webplay: act, appearance, bear, before, birds, chamber, company, court, day, esteem, existence, face, facts, God, great, hand, hear, institution, know, living, men, mind, party, past, person, place, prayer, principles, set, society, son, soon, thoughts, time, towns, truths, virtue, year).

1. Company; society; association.
2. Proximity to God; ability to physically approach Deity; right to enter the court of a Supreme Being.
3. Reality; actual material; [fig.] spirit; being; real essence.
4. Proximity; nearness; closeness; state of being located physically nearby; [fig.] feeling; emotion; lingering sensation.
5. Certainty; surety; possession; tangible thing; object physically grasped; thing known for certain because it is physically near and visible.
6. Existence; reality; actual fact of being.
7. Realm; sphere; domain; place; location; [fig.] situation; circumstance; condition; environment; surroundings.
8. Influence; energy; glory; warmth and light.
9. Creature; angel; messenger; spiritual being; [fig.] songbird.
10. Ego; self; identity; posture; attitude.

present, adj. [OFr < L. præsent-um, present, immediate, prompt, being before, being at hand.] (webplay: answer, attentive, before, birds, chamber, day, earth, existence, face, graceful, know, men, society, speak, time, year).

1. Near; in close proximity; not absent; [fig.] tangible; visible; real.
2. Existing; happening; occurring; observed; perceived.
3. Available; accessible; ready; at hand.
4. There; in attendance; on the scene. (303/409)
5. Current; immediate; actual.
6. [Fig.] alive; mortal.

present (-s), n. [see present, v. and adj.] (webplay: act, bold, day, different, fear, given, God, hand, hear, know, living, past, speak, time).

1. Now; current time period.
2. Gift; endowment; bequest; inheritance; legacy; [fig.] talent; unusual skill; special ability.
3. Prize; award; reward; goal; aim.
4. Phrase. “At present”: for now; until further notice; until a later date.