Emily Dickinson Lexicon

Priscilla, proper n. [dim. of L. Prisca, 'ancient'.]

Priscilla Mullins Alden (1598-1650); daughter of William Mullins and Alice Wood; female character in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Courtship of Miles Standish; woman that married John Alden after he courted her by proxy for Miles Standish; [fig.] humankind; mortals; the Church as a Bride for the Bridegroom Redeemer.