Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PRINK, v.i. [D. pronken, to shine, to make a show, to strut; G. prangen, to shine, to make a show; prunken, id.; Dan. prunker, to make a show, to strut; Sw. prunka, to make a figure. If n is casual, these words are radically the same as Sw. prackt, Dan. D. pragt, G. pracht, pomp, show, an all coinciding in origin with Ar. بَرَقَ baraka, to shine, to adorn. See Prance and Prank.]

1. To prank; to dress for show.
2. To strut; to put on stately airs.

PRINK'ING, ppr.

Dressing for show.

PRINT, n.

1. A mark made by impression; any line, character, figure or indentation of any form, made by the pressure of one body or thing on another; as, the print of the tooth or of the nails in flesh; the print of the foot in sand or snow; the print of a wheel; the print of types on paper. Hence,
2. The impressions of types in general, as to form, size, &c.; as, a small print; a large print; a fair print.
3. That which impresses its form on any thing; as, a butter print; a wooden print.
4. The representation or figure of any thing made by impression; as, the print of the face; the print of a temple; prints of antiquities. – Dryden.
5. The state of being printed and published. Diffidence sometimes prevents a man from suffering his works to appear in print. I love a ballad in print. – Shak.
6. A single sheet printed for sale; a newspaper. The prints, about three days after, were filled with the same terms. – Addison.
7. Formal method. [Not in use.] – Locke.
8. Prints, in the plural, engravings also printed calicoes. Out of print, a phrase which signifies that, of a printed and published work, there are no copies for sale, or none for sale by the publisher.

PRINT, v.i.

1. To use or practice the art of typography, or of taking impressions of letters, figures and the like.
2. To publish a book. [Elliptical.] From the moment he prints, he must expect to hear no more of truth. – Pope.

PRINT, v.t. [W. printiaw, to print; Fr. imprimer, empreinte, Sp. imprimir; It. imprimere; from L. imprimo; in and premo, to press; It. improntare, to print, to importune, and this from prontare, to importune, (that is, to press,) from pronto, ready, bold, L. promptus, that is, pressed or pressing forward. In W. print is said by Owen to be from rhint, a groove or notch, and if this is the original word, print must be a different word from the Fr. imprimer. The Italian unites the L. premo and promo.]

1. In general, to take or form letters, characters or figures on paper, cloth or other material by impression. Thus letters are taken on paper by impressing it on types blackened with ink. Figures are printed on cloth by means of blocks or a cylinder. The rolling press is employed to take prints or impressions from copper-plates. Thus we say, to print books, to print calico, to print tunes, music, likenesses, &c.
2. To mark by pressing one thing on another. On his fiery steed betimes he rode, / That scarcely prints the turf on which he trod. – Dryden.
3. To impress any thing so as to leave its form. Perhaps some footsteps printed in the clay. – Roscommon.
4. To form by impression. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh, nor print any marks upon you. – Lev. xix.

PRINT'ED, pp.

Impressed; indented.

PRINT'ER, n.

1. One that prints books, pamphlets or papers.
2. One that stains or prints cloth with figures, as calico.
3. One that impresses letters or figures with copper-plates.

PRINT'ING, n.

The art or practice of impressing letters, characters or figures on paper, cloth or other material; the business of a printer; typography.

PRINT'ING, ppr.

Impressing letters, characters or figures on any thing; making marks or indentations.

PRINT'ING-INK, n.

Ink used by printers of books.

PRINT'ING-PA-PER, n.

Paper to be used in the printing of books, pamphlets, &c.; as distinguished from wrung-paper, press-paper, wrapping-paper, &c.

PRINT'ING-PRESS, n.

A press for the printing of books, &c.

PRINT'LESS, a.

That leaves no print or impression; as, in printless feet. – Milton.

PRI'OR, a. [L. comp. Probably the first syllable is contracted from pris, prid, or some other word, for the Latin has prisce, pristinus.]

Preceding in the order of time; former; antecedent; anterior; as, a prior discovery; prior obligation. The discovery of the continent of America by Cabot was six or seven weeks prior to the discovery of it by Columbus. The discovery of the Labrador coast by Cabot was on the 11th of June, 1499; that of the continent by Columbus, was on the 1st of August of the same year.

PRI'OR, n. [Fr. prieur; It. priore; L. prior.]

1. The superior of a convent of monks, or one next in dignity to an abbot. Priors are claustral or conventical. The conventical are the same as abbots. A claustral prior is one that governs the religious of an abbey or priory in commendam, having his jurisdiction wholly from the abbot. – Encyc.
2. In some churches, one who presides over others in the same churches. – Ayliffe.

PRI'OR-ATE, n.

Government by a prior. – Warton.

PRI'OR-ESS, n.

A female superior of a convent of nuns. – Dryden.

PRI-OR'I-TY, n.

1. The state of being antecedent in time, of preceding something else; as, priority of birth. The priority of Homer or Hesiod has been a subject of dispute.
2. Precedence in place or rank. – Shak. Priority of debts, is a superior claim to payment, or to payment before others.

PRI'OR-LY, adv.

Antecedently. [A bad word and not used.] – Geddes.

PRI'OR-SHIP, n.

The state or office of prior.

PRI'OR-Y, n.

1. A convent of which a prior is the superior; in dignity below an abbey. – Shak.
2. Priories are the churches given to priors in titulum, or to the way of title. – Ayliffe.

PRI'SAGE, n. [Fr. prise, from priser, to prize or value.]

A right belonging to the crown of England, of taking two tuns of wine from every ship importing twenty tuns more; one before and one behind the mast. This by charter of Edward I, was exchanged into a duty of two shillings for every tun imported by merchant strangers, and called butlerage, because paid to the king's butler. – Blackstone.

PRIS-CIL'LIAN-IST, n.

In church history, one of a sects, denominated from Priscillian, a Spaniard, bishop of Avila who practiced magic, maintained the errors of the Manichees, and held it to be lawful to make false oaths in the support of one's cause and interest. – Encyc.

PRISM, n. [Fr. prisme; Low L. Sp. and It. prisma; Gr. πρισμα, from πριω, to cut with a saw, to press or strain; Russ. pru.]

A solid whose bases or ends are any similar, equal and parallel plane figures, and whose sides are parallelograms. – D. Olmsted. A trihedral prism of glass is one bounded by two equal and parallel triangular ends and three plain and well polished sides which meet in three parallel lines, running from the three angles of one end to the three angles of the other end. – Newton.

PRIS-MA'TIC, or PRIS-MAT'IC-AL, a.

1. Resembling a prism; as, a prismatic form.
2. Separated or distributed by a prism; formed by a prism; as, prismatic colors.
3. Pertaining to a prism.