Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter P - Page 140

Prudent (a.) Frugal; economical; not extravagant; as, a prudent woman; prudent expenditure of money.

Prudential (a.) Proceeding from, or dictated or characterized by, prudence; prudent; discreet; sometimes, selfish or pecuniary as distinguished from higher motives or influences; as, prudential motives.

Prudential (a.) Exercising prudence; discretionary; advisory; superintending or executive; as, a prudential committee.

Prudential (n.) That which relates to or demands the exercise of, discretion or prudence; -- usually in the pl.

Prudentialist (n.) One who is governed by, or acts from, prudential motives.

Prudentiality (n.) The quality or state of being prudential.

Prudentially (adv.) In a prudential manner; prudently.

Prudently (adv.) In a prudent manner.

Pruderies (pl. ) of Prudery

Prudery (n.) The quality or state of being prudish; excessive or affected scrupulousness in speech or conduct; stiffness; coyness.

Prudhomme (n.) A trustworthy citizen; a skilled workman. See Citation under 3d Commune, 1.

Prudish (a.) Like a prude; very formal, precise, or reserved; affectedly severe in virtue; as, a prudish woman; prudish manners.

Prudishly (adv.) In a prudish manner.

Pruinate (a.) Same as Pruinose.

Pruinose (a.) Frosty; covered with fine scales, hairs, dust, bloom, or the like, so as to give the appearance of frost.

Pruinous (a.) Frosty; pruinose.

Pruned (imp. & p. p.) of Prune

Pruning (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Prune

Prune (v. t.) To lop or cut off the superfluous parts, branches, or shoots of; to clear of useless material; to shape or smooth by trimming; to trim: as, to prune trees; to prune an essay.

Prune (v. t.) To cut off or cut out, as useless parts.

Prune (v. t.) To preen; to prepare; to dress.

Prune (v. i.) To dress; to prink; -used humorously or in contempt.

Prune (n.) A plum; esp., a dried plum, used in cookery; as, French or Turkish prunes; California prunes.

Prunella (n.) Angina, or angina pectoris.

Prunella (n.) Thrush.

Prunella (n.) Alt. of Prunello

Prunello (n.) A smooth woolen stuff, generally black, used for making shoes; a kind of lasting; -- formerly used also for clergymen's gowns.

Prunelle (n.) A kind of small and very acid French plum; -- applied especially to the stoned and dried fruit.

Prunello (n.) A species of dried plum; prunelle.

Pruner (n.) One who prunes, or removes, what is superfluous.

Pruner (n.) Any one of several species of beetles whose larvae gnaw the branches of trees so as to cause them to fall, especially the American oak pruner (Asemum moestum), whose larva eats the pith of oak branches, and when mature gnaws a circular furrow on the inside nearly to the bark. When the branches fall each contains a pupa.

Pruniferous (a.) Bearing plums.

Pruning (n.) The act of trimming, or removing what is superfluous.

Pruning (n.) That which is cast off by bird in pruning her feathers; leavings.

Prunus (n.) A genus of trees with perigynous rosaceous flowers, and a single two-ovuled carpel which usually becomes a drupe in ripening.

Prurience (n.) Alt. of Pruriency

Pruriency (n.) The quality or state of being prurient.

Prurient (a.) Uneasy with desire; itching; especially, having a lascivious curiosity or propensity; lustful.

Pruriginous (a.) Tending to, or caused by, prurigo; affected by, or of the nature of, prurigo.

Prurigo (n.) A papular disease of the skin, of which intense itching is the chief symptom, the eruption scarcely differing from the healthy cuticle in color.

Pruritus (n.) Itching.

Prussian (a.) Of or pertaining to Prussia.

Prussian (n.) A native or inhabitant of Prussia.

Prussiate (n.) A salt of prussic acid; a cyanide.

Prussic (a.) designating the acid now called hydrocyanic acid, but formerly called prussic acid, because Prussian blue is derived from it or its compounds. See Hydrocyanic.

Prutenic (a.) Prussian; -- applied to certain astronomical tables published in the sixteenth century, founded on the principles of Copernicus, a Prussian.

Pry (n.) A lever; also, leverage.

Pried (imp. & p. p.) of Pry

Prying (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Pry

Pry (v. t.) To raise or move, or attempt to raise or move, with a pry or lever; to prize.

Pry (v. i.) To peep narrowly; to gaze; to inspect closely; to attempt to discover something by a scrutinizing curiosity; -- often implying reproach.

Pry (n.) Curious inspection; impertinent peeping.

Pryan (n.) See Prian.

Prying (a.) Inspecting closely or impertinently.

Pryingly (adv.) In a prying manner.

Prytaneum (n.) A public building in certain Greek cities; especially, a public hall in Athens regarded as the home of the community, in which official hospitality was extended to distinguished citizens and strangers.

Prytanes (pl. ) of Prytanis

Prytanis (n.) A member of one of the ten sections into which the Athenian senate of five hundred was divided, and to each of which belonged the presidency of the senate for about one tenth of the year.

Prytany (n.) The period during which the presidency of the senate belonged to the prytanes of the section.

Prythee (interj.) See Prithee.

Psalm (n.) A sacred song; a poetical composition for use in the praise or worship of God.

Psalm (n.) Especially, one of the hymns by David and others, collected into one book of the Old Testament, or a modern metrical version of such a hymn for public worship.

Psalm (v. t.) To extol in psalms; to sing; as, psalming his praises.

Psalmist (n.) A writer or composer of sacred songs; -- a title particularly applied to David and the other authors of the Scriptural psalms.

Psalmist (n.) A clerk, precentor, singer, or leader of music, in the church.

Psalmistry (n.) The use of psalms in devotion; psalmody.

Psalmodic (a.) Alt. of Psalmodical

Psalmodical (a.) Relating to psalmody.

Psalmodist (n.) One who sings sacred songs; a psalmist.

Psalmodize (v. i.) To practice psalmody.

Psalmody (n.) The act, practice, or art of singing psalms or sacred songs; also, psalms collectively, or a collection of psalms.

Psalmograph (n.) A writer of psalms; a psalmographer.

Psalmographer (n.) Alt. of Psalmographist

Psalmographist (n.) A writer of psalms, or sacred songs and hymns.

Psalmography (n.) The act or practice of writing psalms, or sacred songs.

Psalter (n.) The Book of Psalms; -- often applied to a book containing the Psalms separately printed.

Psalter (n.) Specifically, the Book of Psalms as printed in the Book of Common Prayer; among the Roman Catholics, the part of the Breviary which contains the Psalms arranged for each day of the week.

Psalter (n.) A rosary, consisting of a hundred and fifty beads, corresponding to the number of the psalms.

Psalterial (a.) Of or pertaining to the psalterium.

Psalteria (pl. ) of Psalterium

Psalterium (n.) The third stomach of ruminants. See Manyplies.

Psalterium (n.) The lyra of the brain.

Psalteries (pl. ) of Psaltery

Psaltery (n.) A stringed instrument of music used by the Hebrews, the form of which is not known.

Psammite (n.) A species of micaceous sandstone.

Psarolite (n.) A silicified stem of tree fern, found in abundance in the Triassic sandstone.

Psellism (n.) Indistinct pronunciation; stammering.

Psephism (n.) A proposition adopted by a majority of votes; especially, one adopted by vote of the Athenian people; a statute.

Pseudaesthesia (n.) False or imaginary feeling or sense perception such as occurs in hypochondriasis, or such as is referred to an organ that has been removed, as an amputated foot.

Pseudembryo (n.) A false embryo.

Pseudembryo (n.) An asexual form from which the true embryo is produced by budding.

Pseudepigraphic (a.) Alt. of Pseudepigraphic

Pseudepigraphic (a.) Of or pertaining to pseudepigraphy.

Pseudepigraphous (a.) Inscribed with a false name.

Pseudepigraphy (n.) The ascription of false names of authors to works.

Pseudhaemal (a.) Pertaining to the vascular system of annelids.

Pseudo- () A combining form or prefix signifying false, counterfeit, pretended, spurious; as, pseudo-apostle, a false apostle; pseudo-clergy, false or spurious clergy; pseudo-episcopacy, pseudo-form, pseudo-martyr, pseudo-philosopher. Also used adjectively.

Pseudobacteria (n. pl.) Microscopic organic particles, molecular granules, powdered inorganic substances, etc., which in form, size, and grouping resemble bacteria.

Pseudoblepsis (n.) False or depraved sight; imaginary vision of objects.

Pseudobranch (n.) Same as Pseudobranchia.

[previous page] [Index] [next page]