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PRIMA DONNA

prime or first; hence, excellency; supremacy.

St. Peter had a primacy of order, such an one as the ringleader hath in a dance, as the primipilar centurion had in the legion. Barrow.

2. The condition or office of a primate; the chief ecclesiastical station or dignity: the office or dignity of an archbishop. When he had now the primacy in his own hand.' Clarendon.

Prima Donna (prē'ma don'na). [It., first lady.] The first or chief female singer in an opera; one who takes the chief female part. Prima Facie (pri-ma fà'shi-e). [L.] At first view or appearance.-Prima facie case, in law, one which is established by sufficient evidence, and can be overthrown only by rebutting evidence adduced by the other side.-Prima facie evidence, in law, evidence which establishes a prima facie case. Primage (prim'āj), n.

In com. a charge in addition to the freight of a vessel paid by the shipper or consigner of goods to the master and sailors for loading the same, or paid to the owner or freighter. Primal (prim'al), a. [See PRIME.] 1. Primary; first in time, order, or importance; original. It hath been taught us from the primal state.' Shak.

No great school ever yet existed which had not for primal aim the representation of some natural fact as truly as possible. Ruskin.

2. In geol. applied to the 'Dawn,' the first or earliest of Professor Rogers' subdivisions of the North American Palæozoics, and equivalent, perhaps, to our lowest Cambrians.

Primality (prī-mal'i-ti), n. State of being primal. Baxter.

Primarianist (pri-ma'ri-an-ist), n. A follower of Primarius, a Donatist. Primarily (pri'ma-ri-li), adv. In a primary manner; in the first or most important place; originally; in the first intention.

In fevers, where the heart primarily suffereth, we apply medicines unto the wrist. Sir T. Browne. Primariness (pri'ma-ri-nes), n. The state of being first in time, in act, or intention. Norris. Primary (pri'ma-ri), a. [L. primarius. See PRIME.] 1. First in order of time; original; 'The church of Christ in primitive; first. its primary institution.' Bp. Pearson.

There are three fundamental notions existing in the human mind, as the primary elements of thought: 1st, that of finite self; zdly, that of finite nature; 3rdly, that of the absolute, the unconditioned, the infinite. F. D. Morell. 2. First in dignity or importance; chief; principal.

As the six primary planets revolve about him, so the secondary ones are moved about them. Bentley. 3. Elementary; preparatory, or lowest in order; as, primary schools.

Education comprehends not merely the elementary branches of what on the Continent is called primary instruction. Brougham.

4. First in intention; radical; original; as, the primary sense of a word.-Primary as sembly, in politics, an assembly in which all the citizens have a right to be present and to speak, as distinguished from representative parliaments. Primary axis, in bot. the main stalk which bears a whole cluster of flowers. Primary colours, in optics, see under COLOUR.-Primary conveyances, in law, original conveyances, consisting of feoffments, grants, gifts, leases, exchanges, partitions. Primary nerves, in bot. the veins given off laterally from the midrib of a leaf.-Primary planets. See PLANET. -Primary qualities of bodies are such as are original and inseparable from them.

These I call original or primary qualities of bodies. Locke.

-Primary quills, in ornith. the largest feathers of the wings of a bird; primaries.

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fore animals and vegetables, as well as that they were the first rocks formed, but it has been discovered that some primary formations are newer than many secondary groups. They were originally termed primitive rocks, but both appellations are now generally abandoned by modern geologists. Primary (prima-ri), n. 1. That which stands highest in rank or importance, as opposed to secondary.-2. A name given to one of the large feathers on the outermost joint of a bird's wing, and inserted upon that part which represents the hand of man. Primate (pri'måt), n. [Fr. primat; L.L. primas, primatis, from L. primus, first. See PRIME] The chief ecclesiastic in certain churches, as the Anglican; an archbishop. The Archbishop of York is entitled primate of England; the Archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England.

Primates (pri-má têz), n. pl. The name
given by Linnæus to his first order of mam-
malia, including four genera, viz. Homo,
man, Simia, the ape, monkey, &c., Lemur,
the lemurs, and Vespertilio, the bat.
Primateship (pri'mat-ship), n. The office
or dignity of primate or archbishop.
Primatial (pri-mä'shi-al), a. Pertaining to
a primate; primatical. Wright. [Rare.]
Primatical (pri-mat'ik-al), a. Pertaining
to a primate. Barrow.
Prime (prim), a. [L. primus, superl of
prior, former; same root as Skr. pra, Gr.
and L. pro, before; E. fore, first, &c.]
1. First in order of time; primitive; origi-
nal. In this sense the use of the word is
nearly superseded by primitive, though it
still occurs in the phrase, prime cost.

The most replenished sweet work of nature,
That from the prime creation e'er she framed.

Shak.

2. First in rank, degree, or dignity; as, prime minister. Agriculture, the prime favourite of the state." Brougham.-3. First in excellence, value, or importance; firstrate; capital; as, prine wheat; a prime quality.

Nor can I think, that God will so destroy Us his prime creatures dignified so high. Shak. Humility and resignation are our prime virtues. Dryden. 'That's right,' said Mr. Price. 'Never say die. All fun, ain't it?' 'Prime!' said the young gentleman. Dickens.

4. Early; blooming; being in the first stage. His starry helm unbuckled, showed him prime In manhood, where youth ended. Milton.

5. Ready; eager; hence, lecherous; lustful; lewd. As prime as goats.' Shak. -Prime conductor, in elect. the metallic conductor opposed to the glass plate or cylinder of an electrical machine. - Prime figure, in geom. a figure which cannot be divided into any other figure more simple than itself, as a triangle, a pyramid, &c. Prime meridian, in geog. that from which longitude is measured; in Britain, that of Greenwich.-Prime mover, (a) the initial force which puts a machine in motion. (b) A machine which receives and modifies force as supplied by some natural source, as a water-wheel, a steam-engine, &c.-Prime number, in arith, a number not divisible without remainder by any less number than itself except unity, such are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, &c.- Prime and ultimate ratios. See RATIO.-Prime vertical, in astron. a celestial great circle passing through the east and west points and the zenith.-Prime vertical dial, a dial projected on the plane of the prime vertical circle, or on one par allel to it; a north and south dial.-Prime vertical transit instrument, a transit instrument, the telescope of which revolves in the plane of the prime vertical, used for observing the transit of stars over this circle. Prime (prim), n. 1. The earliest stage or beginning of anything; hence, the first opening of day; the dawn; the morning: the spring of the year. 'In the very prime of the world.' Hooker. "When day arises in that sweet hour of prime. Milton. Early and late it rong, at evening and at prime. Spenser.

Hope waits upon the flowery prime. Il'aller. 2. The spring of life; youth; full health, strength, or beauty; hence, the highest or most perfect state or most flourishing condition of anything. The prime of youth.' Dryden. 'Ceres in her prime.' Milton. And will she yet debase her eyes on me That cropp'd the golden prime of this sweet prince? Shak.

-Primary rocks, in geol. rocks of a crystalline structure supposed to owe their present state to igneous agency. They were held to be older than the most ancient European group (graywacke), and no distinct fossils have as yet been discovered in them. Primary rocks were divided into two groups, the stratified and unstratified. The stratified group consisted of the rocks called gneiss, mica schist, argillaceous schist, hornblende schist, and all slaty and crystalline strata generally. The unstratified group was composed in a great measure of granite, and rocks closely allied to granite. The term primary was applied to those rocks, because it was supposed, from the absence of fossil remains, that they were formed be

Never, in its bloodiest prime, can the sight of the gigantic Coliseum, full and running over with the Justiest life, have moved one heart, as it must move all who look upon it now-a ruin. Dickens.

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4. In R. Cath. Ch. the first canonical hour, succeeding to lauds.

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From prime to vespers will I chant thy praise. 5. In fencing, the first of the chief guards. 6. In chem. primes are numbers employed, in conformity with the doctrine of definite proportions, to express the ratios in which bodies enter into combination. Primes duly arranged in a table constitute a scale of chemical equivalents. They also express the ratios of atomic weights.-7. Same as Primero. Prime of the moon, the new moon when it first appears after the change. Prime (prim), v.t. pret. & pp. primed; ppr priming. [Lit. to perform a prime or first operation with, to prepare.] 1. To put into a condition for being fired: said of a gun, mine, &c.; to supply with powder for com municating fire to a charge.-2. In painting, to cover with a ground or first colour.3. To put in a fit state to act or suffer; to make ready; especially, to instruct or prepare a person beforehand what he is to say or do; to post up; as, to prime a person with a speech; to prime a witness.

(He) filled himself bumper after bumper of claret, which he swallowed with nervous rapidity He's priming himself,' Osborne whispered to Dobbia. Thackeray.

4. To trim or prune. Beau. & Fl.-To prime a pump, to pour water down the tube with the view of saturating the sucker, so causing it to swell, and act effectually in bringing up water.

Prime (prim), v.i. pret. primed; ppr prim ing. 1. To be as at first; to be renewed. Night's bashful empress, though she often wane, As oft repeats her darkness, primes again.

Quarles 2. In the steam-engine,to carry over hot water with the steam from the boiler into the cylinder; as, the engine primes.—3. To serve for the charge of a gun. Primely (primli), adv. 1. At first; originally; primarily; in the first place. South2. In a prime manner or degree; most excellently.

Prime-minister (prim-min'is-ter). n. In Great Britain, the first minister of state; the premier.

Primeness (prim'nes), n. 1. The state of being first. 2. The quality of being prime; supreme excellence.

Primer (prim'èr), n. One who or that which primes; specifically, in gun. and blasting, a tube, cap, wafer, or other device, containing a compound which may be exploded by percussion, friction, or other means: used for firing a charge.

Primer (primêr or prim'ér). n. [Fr. primaire, elementary; L. primarius, from primus, first.] 1. A small prayer-book for church service, or an office of the Virgin Mary.

Another prayer to her is not only in the manual, but in the primer or office of the blessed Virgin.

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2. A small elementary book for religions instruction or for teaching children to read 3. In printing, a name given to two sizes of type: great-primer, the next size larger than english, and the largest size used in printing books, and long-primer, a size intermediate between smallpica and bourgeois.

Primert (prim'èr), a. First; original. The
primer English kings so truly zealous were."
Drayton.
Primero (pri-mě'ro), n.
A game at cards.

I left him at primero with the Duke of Suffolk.' Shak.

Primerole, n. [Fr. primerole, primverole. Med. L. primula veris, primrose. Comp. It. for de primavera, spring flower.] A primrose. Chaucer.

Primer-seizin (prim'êr-sẽz-in), n. In feudal law, the right of the king, when a tenant is capite died seized of a knight's fee, to receive of the heir, if of full age, one year's profits of the land if in possession, and half a year's profits if the land was in reversion expectant on an estate for life; abolished by 12 Car. II.

Prime-staff (prim'staf), n. Same as Clog

almanac.

Primetemps,t n. [Fr. prime, early, and temps, time.] Spring. Chaucer. Prime-tide, Prime-time (prim'tid, prim'tim), n. Spring.

Primeval (pri-měʼval), a. [L. primarcusS— primus, first, and ævum, age, Original; primitive; belonging to the first ages; as,

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Primigenious, Primigenous (prim-i-jeni-us, pri-mij'en-us), a. [L. primigenius, primigenus. See above.] First formed or generated; original. 'Semi-primigenous strata. Kirwan.

Primine (pri'min), n. [L. primus.] In bot. the outermost sac or covering of an ovule, the inner being termed secundine. Priming (prim'ing), n. 1. In gun. and blasting, the powder, percussion-cap, or other device used to ignite the charge.2. In painting, the first layer of paint, size, or other material laid upon a surface which is to be painted.-3. In steam-engines, the hot water carried along by the steam from the boiler into the cylinder.-Priming of the tides. See under LAG. Priming-horn (prim'ing-horn), n. A miner's or quarryman's powder-horn. Priming-iron (prim'ing-i-èrn), n. In gun. a wire used through the vent of a cannon to prick the cartridge when it is home, and for inserting after discharge to insure its not retaining any ignited particles. Priming-powder (prim'ing-pou-der), n. 1. Detonating powder.-2. The train of powder connecting a fuse with a charge. Priming-tube (prim'ing-tüb), n. In gun. a tube containing an inflammable composition, which occupies the vent of a gun whose charge is fired when the composition

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of the steam,but Cylinder of Marine Steam should water Engine. a a, Priming-valves. lodge in the pas sages, its non-elastic qualities cause it to be ejected by the compression of the piston. Priming-wire (prim'ing-wir), n. See PRIMING-IRON.

Primiparous (pri-mip'a-rus), a. [L. primus, first, and pario, to bring forth.] Bearing young for the first time.

Primipilar (pri-mip'i-lär), a. [L. primipi laris, from primipilus, the first centurion of a Roman legion] Pertaining to the first centurion or captain of the body of veterans (triarii) that formed a regular portion of a Roman legion.

St. Peter had a primacy of order, such an one as the ringleader hath in a dance, as the primipilar centurion had in the legion.

Primitiæ (pri-mi'shě-e), n. pl. [L.] 1. The first-fruits of any production of the earth; specifically, in eccles. the first year's profits of a benefice, formerly payable to the crown, but restored to the church by Queen Anne in 1703, under the name of Queen Anne's Bounty. See under BOUNTY.-2. In med. the waters discharged before the extrusion of the foetus.

Primitialt (pri-mi'shi-al), a. [See above.] Being of the first production; primitive; original. Primitive (prim'it-iv), a. [L. primitivus, earliest of its kind, from primus, first. See PRIME.] 1. Pertaining to the beginning or origin: original; first; as, primitive ages; the primitive church; the primitive fathers. Our primitive great sire. Milton.-2. Old

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fashioned; characterized by the simplicity of old times; as, a primitive style of dress. 3. In gram. applied to a word in its simplest etymological form; not derived; radical; primary; as, a primitive verb in grammar. 4. In bot. applied to specific types, in opposition to forms resulting from hybridization. Henslow.- Primitive axes of co-ordinates, that system of axes to which the points of a magnitude are first referred with reference to a second set, to which they are afterwards referred.- Primitive chord, in music, that chord, the lowest note of which is of the same literal denomination as the fundamental bass of the harmony.- Primitive circle, in the stereographic projection of the sphere, the circle on the plane of which the projection is made.-Primitive colours, in painting, red, yellow, and blue, from the mixtures whereof all other colours may be obtained. See under COLOUR.-Primitive plane, in spherical projection, the plane upon which the projections are made, generally coinciding with some principal circle of the sphere.-Primitive rocks. See under PRIMARY.-SYN. Original, first, primary, radical, pristine, ancient, antique, antiquated, old-fashioned.

Primitive (prim'it-iv), n. 1. An original or primary word; a word not derived from another: opposed to derivative.-2. An early Christian. In the days of the apostles and holy primitives.' Jer. Taylor. Primitively (prim'it-iv-li), adv. 1. Originally; at first.

Solemnities and ceremonies, primitively enjoined, were afterwards omitted, the occasion ceasing. Sir T. Browne.

2. Primarily; not derivatively.-3. According to the original rule or ancient practice; in the ancient or antique style. The purest and most primitively ordered church in the world.' South.

State of

Primitiveness (prim'it-iv-nes), n. being primitive or original; antiquity; conPrimity,t n. The state of being original; formity to antiquity. primitiveness. Bp. Pearson.

Primly (prim'li), adv. In a prim or precise manner; with primness. Primness (prim'nes), n.

The state or condition of being prim; affected formality or niceness; stiffness; preciseness. The stiff unalterable primness of his long cravat.' Gent. Mag.

Primo (pri'mo). In music, the first or leading part.

Primogenial (pri-mo-je'ni-al), a. [L. primogenius, primigenius. See PRIMIGENIAL.] First born, made, or generated; original; primary; primitive. The primogenial light." Glanville.

The first or primogenial earth, which rose out of the chaos, was not like the present earth. T. Burnet. Primogenitary (pri-mo-jen'i-ta-ri), a. Of or belonging to primogeniture, or the rights of the first-born.

They do not explicitly condemn a limited monarchy, but evidently adopt his scheme of primogeni tary right, which is perhaps almost incompatible

with it.

Hallam.

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Primogenitive (pri-mo-jen'it-iv), n. Primogeniture; right of primogeniture. "The primogenitive and due of birth. Shak. Primogenitive (pri-mo-jen'it-iv), a. Relating to primogeniture. Primogenitor (pri-mo-jen'it-or), n. [L. primus, first, and genitor, father. The first father or forefather; an ancestor.

If your primogenitors be not belied, the general smutch you have was once of a deeper black, when they came from Mauritania into Spain. Gayton. Primogeniture (pri-mo-jen'it-ür), n. [Fr. primogéniture, from L. primus, first, and genitura, a begetting, from gigno, genitum, to beget. See GENDER.] 1. The state of being born first of the same parents; seniority by birth among children.-2. The right, principle, or rule under which the eldest son of a family, in England and elsewhere, succeeds to the father's real estate in preference to, and in absolute exclusion of, the younger sons and daughters. The ancient customs of gavelkind and borough-English form exceptions to the general rule of law as to primogeniture. See GAVELKIND and BOROUGH-ENGLISH.

Primogenitureship (pri-mo-jen'it-ür-ship), n. The right or state of a first-born son. Burke.

fi, Fr. ton; ng, sing; TH, then; th, thin;

PRIMULIN

Primordial (pri-mor'di-al), a. [L. primordialis, from primordium, beginning, origin -primus, first, and ordium, commencement, from ordiri, to begin.] 1. First in order; original; primitive; existing from the beginning. The primordial state of our first parents.' Bp. Bull.

How came the sun and its atmosphere to have such materials, such motions, such a constitution, that these consequences followed from their primor dial condition? Whewell.

2. In bot. earliest formed: applied to the first true leaves given off by a young plant; also, to the first fruit produced on a raceme or spike.- Primordial utricle, in bot. the lining membrance of cells in their early state.

Primordial (pri-mor'di-al), n. A first principle or element.

The primordials of the world are not mechanical, but spermatical and vital. Dr. H. More. Primordialism (pri-mor'di-al-izm), n. Continuance of or observance of primitive ceremonies or the like. H. Spencer. Primordially (pri-mor'di-al-i), adv. Under the first order of things; at the beginning. Primordian (pri-mor'di-an), n. A kind of plum.

Primordiate (pri-mor'di-at), a. [See PRIMORDIAL.] Original; existing from the first. Boyle.

Primosity (pri-moz'i-ti), n. Primness. Lady Stanhope. [Rare.]

Primp (primp), v.t. [From prim, or perhaps a form of prink.] To deck one's self in a stiff and affected manner.

Primp (primp), v. i. To be formal or affected. [Scotch.]

Primpit (prim'pit), p. and a. Stiffly dressed; also, ridiculously stiff in demeanour; full of affectation. Skinner. [Scotch.] Primprint (prim'print), n. A name sometimes given to privet (Ligustrum vulgare). See PRIVET.

Primrose (prim'rōz), n. [O.E. primerole, Fr. primerole, from Med. L. primula veris, the first flower of spring, the primrose, from primus, first; the last syllable was changed to rose to give the word an English appearance and a sort of meaning; comp. barberry, &c.] The common name for the plants of the genus Primula, a genus of low, fibrous-rooted, herbaceous, flowery perennials, containing about eighty species, chiefly natives of the higher regions of temperate Europe and Asia, but sparingly represented in most parts of the globe. They are beautiful plants, with radical leaves and umbels of whorled racemes of white, yellow, or reddish-purple flowers; nat. order Primulaceæ. Some species grow wild in Britain, forming the most pleasing ornaments of our woods and valleys, as P. vulgaris (the common primrose), the cowslip or paigle (P. veris), the oxlip (P. elatior). The auricula (P. Auricula) is a native of the Swiss mountains.

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Wordsworth.

A primrose by a river's brim A yellow primrose was to him, And it was nothing more. Primrose (prim'rōz), a. 1. Of or belonging to a primrose; specifically, resembling a primrose in colour.

He had a buff waistcoat, with coral buttons, a light coat, lavender trousers, white jean boots and primrose kid gloves. G. A. Sala.

2. Abounding with primroses; flowery; gay. I had thought to let in some of all professions, that go the primrose way to the everlasting bonfire. Shak. Primrosed (prim'rōzd), a. Covered or adorned with primroses. Primrose-peerless (prim'rōz-per-les), n. A plant, Narcissus biflorus, or pale narcissus. Primsie (prim'si), a. Prim; demure; precise. Primsie Mallie.' Burns. [Scotch.] Prim-staff (prim'staf), n. See PRUNE-STAFF. Primula (pri'mú-la), n. A genus of plants. See PRIMROSE.

Primulaceae (pri-mü-la'sē-ē), n. pl. A nat. order of monopetalous exogenous plants, distinguished by the stamens being opposite to the lobes of the corolla, and a superior capsule with a free central placenta. It consists of herbaceous plants, natives of temperate and cold regions. Many of the Primulaces have flowers of much beauty, and some are very fragrant. Primula, Anagallis, Soldanella, Cyclamen, and Lysimachia are the gayest genera. The cowslip is slightly narcotic, but the order is of little known utility.

Primulin (prim'u-lin), n. A crystallizable substance obtained from the root of the cowslip.

w, wig; wh, whig; zh, azure.-See KEY.

PRIMUM MOBILE

Primum Mobile (pri'mum mob'i-lê). [L] First cause of motion; prime mover; specifically, in the Ptolemaic system, the tenth or outermost of the revolving spheres of the universe, which was supposed to revolve from east to west in twenty-four hours, and to carry the others along with it in its motion.

Primus (pri'mus), n. [L, first.] The first in dignity among the bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church. He is chosen by the other bishops, presides at all their meetings, and has certain other privileges, but possesses no metropolitan authority. Primwort (prim'wert), n. Any plant of the nat. order Primulaceae. Pop. Ency Primy (pri'mi), a. Blooming; early. the youth of primy nature. Shak. Prince (prins), n. [Fr., from L. princeps, principis, a prince-primus, flest, and capio, to take.] 1. One holding the first or highest rank; a sovereign; the chief and independent ruler of a nation or state. Originally the word was applied to a ruler of either

sex.

'In

Then we cried, God save your Majesty! God save your Majesty!' Then the Queen turned and said, 'God bless you all, my good people. Then we cried again, God save your Majesty! Then the Queen said again to us, 'You may well have a greater, but you shall never have a more loving Prince.

Бр. Goodman.

On

2. A sovereign who has the government of a particular state or territory, but holds of a superior to whom he owes certain services. 3. The son of a sovereign, or the issue of a royal family; as, princes of the blood. the Continent the title prince is borne by some families of eminent rank not immediately connected with any reigning house. In Britain, dukes, marquesses, and earls are entitled, in strict heraldic language, to the title of prince; but in practice the title is restricted to members of the royal family. The only case in which the title is a territorial one is that of the Prince of Wales. --4. The chief of any body of men; one who is at the head of any class, profession, &c.; one who is pre-eminent in anything; as, a merchant prince.

To use the words of the prince of learning hereupon, only in shallow and small boats they glide over the face of the Virgilian sea. Peacham.

-Prince of the senate, in anc. Rome, was the person first called in the roll of senators. He was always of consular and censorian dignity.

Prince (prins), v. i. pret. princed; ppr. princing. To play the prince; to take state: with a complementary it.

Shak.

Nature prompts them In simple and low things to prince it much Beyond the trick of others. Princeage (prins'aj), n. The body of princes. Month. Rev. [Rare.] Princedom (prins'dum), n. tion, rank, or estate of a prince.

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Prince's-metal (prin'sez-met-al), n. A mixture of copper and zinc, in which the proportion of zinc is greater than in brass: said to have been invented by Prince Rupert, and so called also Prince Rupert's Metal Prince's-pine (prin'sez-pin), n. The false winter-green (Chimaphila umbellata), an ornamental shrub with pinkish flowers, common in North America

Princess (prin'ses), n. 1. A female sovereign; a female having the rank of a prince. 'So excellent a princess as the present queen.' Swift.-2. The daughter of a sovereign, or a female member of a royal family. 3. The consort of a prince; as, the Princess of Wales.

Princess-like (prin'ses-lik), a. Like a princess; in the manner of a princess. Princessly (prin'ses-li), a. Princess-like. Byron. [Rare.]

Princess - royal (prin-ses-roi'al), n. The eldest daughter of a sovereign. Princewood (prins'wud), n. A light-veined brown West Indian wood, the produce of Cordia gerascanthoides and Hamelia ventricosa. Treas. of Bot

Princified (prins'i-fid),a. Imitating a prince; suggestive of an exalted personage; fantastically dignified.

The English girls... laughed at the princified airs which she gave herself from a very early age. Thackeray.

Principal (prin'si-pal), a. [Fr.; L princi palis, from princeps, first in time or order, the first. See PRINCE.] 1. Chief; highest in rank, character, authority, or importance; first; main; essential; most considerable; as, the principal officers of a government; the principal men of a city, town, or state; the principal arguments in a case; the principal beams of a building; the principal productions of a country. 'Wisdom is the principal thing.' Prov. iv. 7. The principal men of the army." Shak.-2. Of or pertaining to a prince; princely Spen ser-Principal axis, in conic sections, the axis which passes through the two foci; in the parabola, the diameter passing through the focus. Principal brace, in carp. one immediately under the principal rafters, or parallel to them, assisting with the principals to support the roof timbers.-Principal challenge, in law, is where the cause assigned carries with it prima facie evidence of partiality, favour, or malice.-Principal post, the corner-post of a timber-framed house.--Principal ray, that which passes perpendicularly from the spectator's eye to the perspective plane or picture. - Principal raf ters, the strong rafters used for trussing the beams in a roof. See under the noun PRINCIPAL, 6. Principal section, in crystal. a plane passing through the optical axis of a Principal subject or theme, in music, one of the chief subjects of a movement in sonata form, as opposed to a subordinate theme.-SYN. Chief, leading, main, great, capital, cardinal, essential. Principal (prin'si-pal), n. 1. A chief or head; one who takes a leading part; one primarily engaged; a chief party.

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Under thee, as head supreme, Thrones, princedoms, powers, dominions, I reduce. Milton.

Princeite (prins'it), n. A follower of Henry James Prince, formerly a clergyman of the Church of England, who founded a conventual establishment of a singular kind, called 'Agapemone,' or the abode of love. The inmates consist of persons of both sexes, and profess to submit themselves only to the law of love.

Princelike (prinslik), a. Becoming a prince; like a prince. Shak Princeliness (prins'li-nes), n. The quality of being princely. Princeling (prins'ling), n. Young.

A petty prince.

Princely (prins'li), a. 1. Pertaining to a prince; having the rank of a prince; royal; regal. His princely name. Shak His princely feet." Shak. 2. Resembling a prince; having the appearance of one high born; stately; dignified; high-minded; noble. He is as full of valour as of kindness; Princely in both. Shak.

3. Becoming a prince; royal; grand; august; munificent; magnificent; as, princely virtues; a princely gift; a princely entertainment; a princely fortune.

Ay, beauty's princely majesty is such,
Confounds the tongue and makes the senses rough.

Shak.

Princely (prins'li), adv. In a princelike manner. Shak

Prince-royal (prins-roi'al), n. The eldest son of a sovereign.

Prince's-feather (prin-sez-feтH'ér), n. An annual plant of the genus Amaranthus, the A. hypochondriacus. The larger prince'sfeather is A. speciosus.

Seconds in factions do many times, when the faction subdivideth, prove principals. Bacon.

We are not principals but auxiliaries in the war.

Swift.

2. A president or governor; one chief in authority; the head of a college or university in Scotland, and of several colleges in English universities, or other institutions.-3. In law, (a) the actor or absolute perpetrator of a crime, or an abettor. A principal in the first degree is the absolute perpetrator of the crime; a principal in the second degree is one who is present, aiding and abetting the fact to be done: distinguished from an accessory. In treason all persons concerned are principals. (b) A person who employs another to act under him or for him, the person so employed being termed agent. (c) A person for whom another becomes surety; one who is liable for a debt in the first instance.-4. In com. a capital sum lent on interest, due as a debt or used as a fund: so called in distinction to interest or profits.-5. In music, the name of a stop or row of metal pipes in an organ tuned an octave higher than the diapason, an octave lower than the fifteenth, and serving to blend the two as well as to augment the volume of sound. All the other stops are tuned from the principal.-6. A main timber in an assemblage of carpentry; especially one of those rafters which are larger than the common rafters, and which are framed at their lower ends into the tie

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7. In the fine arts, the chief circumstance in a work of art to which the rest are to be subordinate.-8. One of the turrets or pinnacles of waxwork and tapers with which the posts and centre of a hearse were for merly crowned. Oxford Glossary. —9.† An heirloom. Cowell

Principality (prin-si-pal'i-ti), n. [Fr. prin cipalité.] 1. Sovereignty; supreme power.

Nothing was given to Henry but the name of king; all other absolute power of principality he had. Spenser 2. A prince; one invested with sovereignty. Nisroch of principalities the prime.' Mil

ton.

Let her be a principality Sovereign to all the creatures on the earth. Skat. 3. The territory of a prince, or the country which gives title to a prince; as, the principality of Wales. - 4. Superiority; predominance.

If any mystery he effective of spiritual blessings, then this is much more, as having the prerogative and principality above everything else.

Jer. Tayler. 5. Royal state or condition. Jer. xiii. 18. Principally (prin'si-pal-li), adv. In the principal or chief place; chiefly; above all; as, he was anxious about many things, but principally about this.

They wholly mistake the nature of criticism who think its business is principally to find fault.

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Principia (prin-sip'i-a), n. pl. [L princi pium.] First principles; elements; the contracted title of the Philosophia Naturalis Principia Mathematica of Newton. Principial (prin-sip'i-al), a. Elementary: initial Bacon.

Principiant (prin-sip'i-ant), a. Relating to principles or beginnings. Coleridge. [Rare.] Principiate (prin-sip'i-at), v.t. [From L principium, a beginning.] To initiate.

It imports the things or effects principiated or effected by the intelligent active principle, Sir M. Hale

Principiation (prin-sip'i-a"shon), n. [From L. principium, a principle of element] Analysis into constituent or elemental parts. Bacon. A faultless principiation of language. Melville Bell

Principle (prin'si-pl), n. [Fr. principe, from L. principium, a beginning, origin, princi ple, element, from princeps, principis. See PRINCE. As to the insertion of the l comp. participle, syllable.] 1. Beginning; com mencement. 'Doubting, sad end of principle unsound.' Spenser. Hence-2. A source or origin; that from which a thing proceeds; the primary source from which anything is, becomes, or is known; element; primordial substance. Found that one first principle must be.' Dryden.

Modern philosophers suppose matter to be one simple principle, or solid extension diversified by its various shapes.

3. An original faculty or endowment of the mind.

Under this title are comprehended all those active principles whose direct and ultimate object is the communication either of enjoyment or suffering to any of our fellow-creatures. D. Stewart

4. A general truth; a law comprehending many subordinate truths; a law on which others are founded or from which others are derived; an axiom; a maxim; as, the prin ciples of morality, of law, of government, &c.

He lays down these fundamental principles those of three kinds into which he divides all gover Brougham

ments.

Our conclusion, then, respecting the whole ques tion of first principles, speculative and practical, i this, that although in their abstract form they are not innate, yet that there are innate faculties, or Laws of thought which, when put into action by e perience, necessarily give rise to them as primative judgments; and that these judgments, at first ap plied in the concrete, at length by a process of ab Expe straction, assume a perfect axiomatic form rience, accordingly, is the occasion of their proyec⋅ tion, but their real cause or origin is to be found m the native energy of the human mund. 7 D. Morril

PRINCIPLE

5. A tenet; that which is believed, whether truth or not, but which serves as a rule of action or the basis of a system; a governing law of conduct; a settled rule of action; a doctrine; as, the principles of the Stoics or of the Epicureans; hence, a right rule of conduct; uprightness; as, a man of principle.

I'll try

If yet I can subdue those stubborn principles
Of faith, of honour.
Addison.

6. Ground of conduct; a motive.

There would be but small improvements in the world were there not some common principle of action working equally with all men. Addison.

7. In chem. (a) a component part; an element; as, the constituent principles of bodies. (b) A substance, on the presence of which certain qualities, common to a number of bodies, depend. See Proximate Prineiples under PROXIMATE. A principle of human nature is a law of action in human beings; a constitutional propensity common to the human species.

There are no two words in the English language used so confusedly one for the other as the words ule and principle. You can make a rule; you cannot make a principle; you can lay down a rule: you cannot, properly speaking, lay down a principle. It is laid down for you. You can establish a rule; you cannot, properly speaking, establish a princi ple. You can only declare it. Rules are within your power, principles are not. Yet the mass of mankind use the words as if they had exactly similar meanings, and choose one or the other as may best suit the rhythm of the sentence. Heips. Principle (prin'si-pl), v. t. pret. & pp. principled; ppr. principling. 1. To establish or fix in certain principles; to impress with any tenet, good or ill: used in past participle. With goodness principled.' Milton. 2. To establish firmly in the mind of.

Let an enthusiast be principled that he or his teacher is inspired, and you in vain bring the evidence of clear reasons against his doctrine. Locke. Princock, Princoxt (prin'kok, prin'koks),

n. [Prim and cock.] A coxcomb; a conceited person; a pert young rogue. Shak. Pringlea (pringle-a), n. [From Sir John Pringle, the physician and natural philosopher.] A genus of Cruciferæ, the sole representative of which is P. antiscorbutica, a remarkable cabbage-like plant confined to Kerguelen's Island, and hence often called Kerguelen's Island cabbage. It is a powerful antiscorbutic, and is invaluable to the crews of ships touching at Kerguelen's Island.

Prink (pringk), v. i. [A slightly modified form of prank.] 1. To prank; to dress for show. Hold a good wager she was every day longer prinking in the glass than you was. Jane Collier. 2. To strut; to put on stately airs. Prink (pringk), v.t. To deck; to adorn fantastically; to dress or adjust to ostentation; as, to prink the hair. Cowper.

It is a most perilous education for a poet like Burns to print the unadorned simplicity of his ploughman's Muse with the glittering spangles and curious lacework of a highly polished literary style. Prof. Blackie.

Prinket (pringk'er), n. One who prinks; one who dresses with much care. Prinos (pri'nos), n. [Gr. prinos, the holly, which this genus much resembles.] A genus of shrubs belonging to the nat. order Aquifoliacea. The species are natives of North America, the West Indies, and the warmer parts of Asia. Some of them are evergreen, while others are deciduous, and some have bright red holly-like berries, while in others they are purple or black. The bark and berries of P. verticillatus possess, in an eminent degree, the properties of astringent and tonic medicines, along with antiseptic powers. P. glaber is used as a substitute for tea Called also Winter-berry. Print (print), v.t. [Shortened from emprint, imprint; Fr. empreinte, impression, stamp, a participial form from empreindre, to print, imprint, from L. imprimo, impressum, to press (which see).] 1. To impress; to imprint. Printing their hoofs on the earth.' Shak And print on thy soft cheek a parent's kiss.' Byron.-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 take an impression of; to form by impression; to stamp. Perhaps some footsteps printed in the clay. Roscommon. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh, nor print any marks upon you. Lev. xix. 28. 4. To fix deeply, as in the mind or memory. And hill and wood and field did print The same sweet forms in either inind. Tennyson.

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5. In specific or technical senses: (a) to form or copy by pressure, as from a stereotype plate, a form of movable types, engraved copper or steel plates, stone, &c.; as, to print books, engravings, lithographs, &c. (b) To stamp or impress with coloured figures, as cotton cloth. See CALICO-PRINTING. (c) In photog. to take a positive picture of, as from a negative, on suitably prepared paper.

Print (print), v. 1. To use or practise the art of typography, or of taking impressions of letters, figures, and the like.-2. To make books by means of the press; to publish a book.

From the moment he prints, he must expect to
Pope.

hear no more of truth.

Print (print), n. 1. A mark made by impression; any line, character, figure, or indentation, made by the pressure of one body or thing on another; hence, fig. a mark, vestige, or impression of any kind; a stamp.

Sheldon was esteemed a learned man before the wars; but he was now engaged so deep in politicks that scarce any prints of what he had been remained. Bp. Burnet.

2. Printed letters; the impressions of types in general, considered in regard to form, size, &c.; as, a small print; a large print.

The small Geneva print referred to, we appre hend, was the type used in the common copies of the Geneva translation of the Bible. Craik.

3. That which impresses its form on anything; as, a butter-print. In iron-working, a swage; a mould sunk in metal from which an impression is taken.-4. That which is produced by printing: (a) the representation or figure of anything made by impression; specifically, an engraving. 'A collection of prints of eminent persons.' I. D'Israeli. (b) A printed publication, more especially a newspaper or other periodical.

The prints, about three days after, were filled with the same terms. Addison.

(c) A printed cloth. (d) A plaster cast of a flat ornament, or a plaster ornament formed from a mould. Oxford Glossary. (e) In photog. a positive picture.-In print, (a) in a printed form; issued from the press; published. 'I love a ballad in print. Shak. (b)t In a formal method; with exactness; in a precise and perfect manner.

He must speak in print, walk in print, eat and drink in print.

Burton.

-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.

Printed-goods (print'ed-gudz), n.pl. Printed or figured calicoes.

Printer (print'èr), n. One who prints books, pamphlets, newspapers, and such like; also, one who prints cloth, or one who takes im

PRINTING-MACHINE

on paper, cloth, or other material; the business of a printer; typography. There are several distinct branches of the art, as the printing of books, &c., with movable types; typography; the printing of engraved copper or steel plates (see ENGRAVING); the taking of impressions from stone (see LITHOGRAPHY); and the impressing of a fabric with coloured designs (see CALICOPRINTING.) The most important branch of printing is what is called letterpress printing, or the method of taking impressions from letters and other characters cast or cut in relief upon separate pieces of metal, and therefore capable of indefinite combination. The impressions are taken either directly from the type surface or from stereotype plates (see STEREOTYPE), and are effected either by superficial or surface pressure, as in the hand printing-press, or by lineal or cylindrical pressure, as in the printing-machine, or by the action of a roller, as in the copperplate-press or rollerpress. The pigments or inks, of whatever colour, are always laid upon the surface of the types or stereotype plate. Wood-cuts and other engravings in relief are also printed in this manner. In copper and steel plate printing the characters are engraven in intaglio, and the inks contained within the lines of the engravings, and not upon the surface of the plate. Cotton or calico printing is from surfaces engraven either in relief or in intaglio. The art of letterpress printing, which was invented by Gutenberg at Mentz, about the year 1450, is divided into two departments-composition, or the arrangement of the types, and press-work, or the taking off impressions from the types so arranged; the workmen employed are therefore distinguished into two classes-compositors and pressmen. Printing was first introduced into England by William Caxton about 1474.-2. In photog. the act or art of obtaining a positive photographic picture from a negative, or a picture in which the lights and shades are true to nature from one in which they are reversed. Printing-frame (print'ing-fram), n. 1. In letterpress printing, a stand to support the cases containing types at which a compositor works.-2. In photog. a quadrangular shallow box in which sensitized paper is placed beneath a negative and exposed to the direct rays of light.

Printing-ink (print'ing-ingk), n. Ink used by printers of books. Its composition, generally speaking, is linseed-oil boiled to Printing-machine (print'ing-ma-shen), n. a varnish, with colouring matter added to it. A machine for taking impressions from type, electrotype, or stereotype forms, steel or copper plates, lithographic stones, &c. Printing-machines include a self-inking ap

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pressions from engraved plates, from stone, &c.; but in the latter cases this word is the second element in a compound rather than a separate word; as, calico-printer; lithographic-printer.

The

See

Printer's-devil (print'èrz-de-vil), n.
newest apprentice lad in a printing-office.
Printer's-ink (print'érz-ingk), n.
PRINTING-INK.
Printery (print'èr-i), n.

An establishment for printing cottons, &c.; also, a printingoffice. [United States.] Print-field (print'feld), n. A print-work; an establishment for printing and bleaching calicoes.

Printing (print'ing), n. 1. The art or practice of impressing letters, characters, or figures

paratus; and they are moved either by hand, steam, or other power. In most cases the impression taken from the 'forms' worked by them is effected by a cylinder or several cylinders; in others by a flat pression, like the press platen. The first self-acting printingmachine dates from a patent of W. Nicholson in 1790; the next practical attempt was made in 1804, at the expense of the late Mr. Walter of the Times, by T. Martyn. But the first working machine was constructed ten years afterwards by two ingenious Germans, Messrs. Koenig and Bauer. On this machine the Times of Nov. 29, 1814, was printed by steam, at the rate of 1100 impressions per hour. Since then successive improvements have raised the amount on that and other

PRINTING-OFFICE

journals to between 20,000 and 30,000 copies an hour. The printing-machine is now in use almost everywhere for nearly all kinds of printing whenever speed and economy are desirable. The engraving shows the wellknown double-cylinder perfecting machine, which embodies the principle of Koenig and Bauer's. The blank sheet a is caught by a series of endless tapes and held in position round the large revolving cylinder b, under which is run the form of types previously inked by the rollers ce. By means of the smaller intermediate cylinders dd the halfprinted sheet is passed to the second large cylinder e, when its other side is printed, and the perfected sheet is delivered between the two cylinders f Printing-office, Printing-house (print'ing-of-fis, print'ing-hous), n. A house or office where letterpress printing is executed. Printing-paper (printing-på-pér), n. Paper to be used in printing books, pamphlets, &c., as distinguished from writingpaper, wrapping-paper, &c.

Printing-press (print'ing-pres), n. A press for the printing of books, &c. The printingpress is a machine on which the matter to be printed from is laid on an even surface hori

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Copperplate Printing-press. printing. Since then, however, many improvements have been effected. See PRINTING-MACHINE, PRINTING.

Printing-type (print'ing-tip), n. Letterpress type of various kinds used by printers for books, newspapers, and job-work. Printing-wheel (print'ing-whel), n. A wheel with letters or figures on its periphery used in paging or numbering machines or in ticket-printing machines. Printless (print'les), a. Leaving no print or impression. Thus I set my printless feet. Milton.

Print-room (print'röm), n. An apartment containing a collection of engravings. Print-seller (print'sel-ér), n. One who sells prints or engravings.

Print-shop (print'shop), n. A shop where prints are sold.

532

Print-work (print'werk), n. An establishment where machine or block printing is carried on; a place for printing calicoes. Prion (pri'on), n. [Gr. prion, a saw.] A genus of oceanic birds, belonging to the petrel family. They are found in the southern seas. From its colour one species is called the blue petrel.

Prionidae (pri-on'i-dě), n. pl. [Gr. prion, a saw, and eidos, likeness.] A family of longicorn beetles, generally of large size. The insects of this family chiefly frequent the great forests of tropical climates in which the trees are old and large. The larvæ of Prionus cervicornis (stag-horn beetle), a South American species, are eaten by the natives. One species, P. coriarius, is found in England.

Prionodon (pri-ön'o-don), n. [Gr. prion, a saw, and odous, a tooth.] 1. A genus of carnivorous quadrupeds of the family Viverridae or civets, distinguished by their jagged, saw-like teeth. P. gracilis is a native of Java, where it is called delundung or linsang. See DELUNDUNG.-2. A sub-genus of the genus Carcharias, sharks of tropical and temperate seas.

Prior (prior), a. [L. prior, a compar. to which primus, first, is the superl. See PRIME. Preceding, especially in the order of time; earlier; previous; foregoing; antecedent; anterior; as, a prior discovery.

The accentuation of many words would be unfixed, or would oscillate between the two systems-the French habit of reserving itself for the final syllable, and the native tendency to cling to a prior portion of the word. Craik.

Prior (pri'or), adv. Previously; antecedently; as, he had never been there prior to that time.

Pricr (pri'or), n. [L. L. prior, a prior, from prior, former, superior in place or station. See above.] The superior of a priory or a monastery of lower than abbatial rank; a monk next in dignity to an abbot.-Claustral prior, one that governs the inmates of a monastery in commendam, having his jurisdiction wholly from the abbot.-Conventical prior, one not under the jurisdiction of an abbot.-Grand prior, a title given to the commandants of the priories of the military orders of St. John of Jerusalem, of Malta, and of the Templars. Priorate (pri'or-at), n. The government, dignity, or office of a prior; priorship. Prioress (pri'or-es), n. The female head in a convent of nuns, next in rank to an abbess.

Priority (pri-ori-ti), n. 1. The state of being prior or antecedent in time, or of preceding something else; as, priority of birth. 2. Precedence in place or rank. 'Right worthy your priority.' Shak.-3. In law, a precedence or preference, as when certain debts are paid in priority to others, or when certain encumbrancers of an estate are allowed priority over others, that is are allowed to satisfy their claims out of the estate first.-SYN. Antecedence, precedence, pre-eminence, preference.

Priorly (pri'or-li), adv. Antecedently. Priorship (pri'or-ship), n. The state or office of a prior; priorate. Priory (pri'o-ri), n. A religious house of which a prior or prioress is the superior; in dignity below an abbey.-Alien priory, a small religious house in some country, dependent on a large monastery in some other country. Goodrich. Pris, n. 1. Price.-2. Praise. Chaucer. Prisage (priz'aj), n. [0. Fr., prizing, rating, valuing, from priser, to estimate, or in meaning 2 rather from prise, a taking.] 1. A right which belonged to the crown, of taking two tuns of wine from every ship importing twenty tuns or 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. The right was abolished by 51 Geo. III. xv.-2. The share which belongs to the crown of merchandise taken as lawful prize at sea: usually one-tenth.

Priscacanthus (pris-ka-kan'thus), n. Same

as Pristacanthus. Priscillianist (pris-sil'yan-ist), n. Eccles. hist, one of a sect so denominated from Priscillian, a Spaniard, bishop of Avila, who was put to death for heresy in 385. His doctrine was substantially that of the Manichæans. Under various names and forms traces of the sect are found at all

PRISON

times through the medieval period, especially in the north of Spain, in Languedoc, and in Northern Italy.

Prise (priz), n. [Perhaps from Fr. prise, a grasp,a taking.] A lever. Also written Prize. Prise (priz), r.t. To raise as by means of a lever; to force up; as, to prise open the lid of a box. Also written Prize and sometimes Pry.

Priset (priz), n An enterprise; an adventure. His late luckelesse prise.' Spenser. Prise-bolt (priz bolt), n. In gun. one of the knobs of iron on the cheeks of a gun-carriage to keep the handspike from slipping when prising up the breech.

Prisert (prizer), n. One who contends for a prize; a prizer. Shak. Prism (prizm), n. [L and Gr. prisma, from prizo, to saw.] 1. In geom. a solid whose bases or ends are any similar, equal and parallel plane figures, and whose sides are parallelo

Triangular Prism.

grams. Prisms are called triangular, square, pentagonal, &c., according as the figures of their ends are triangles, squares, pentagons, &c. Specifically-2 An optical appliance consisting of a transparent medium so arranged that the surfaces which receive and transmit light form an angle with each other: usually of a triangular form with well polished sides, which meet in three parallel lines, running from the three angles of the one end to the three angles of the other. Prisms are the essential parts of the apparatus used for decomposing light, and examining the properties of its component parts, as in spectrum analysis.-Achromatic prism, a prism through which an incident beam of light is refracted into a new direction without colour. It consists of a combination of two prisms, made of two different transparent substances of unequal dispersive powers, as flint-glass and crown-glassNichol's prism, a polarizer, invented by Prof. Nichol of Glasgow, composed of two pieces of Iceland-spar cemented together by Canada balsam; the balsam totally reflects the ordinary ray of light, allowing the extraordinary ray only to be transmitted. Prismatic, Prismatical (priz-mat'ik, priz mat'ik-al), a. 1. Resembling or pertaining to a prism; as, a prismatic form.-2. Separated or distributed by a transparent prism; formed by a prism; as, prismatic spectrum. -Prismatic colours, the three primary colours, red, yellow, blue, and the secondary tints arising from their intermixtureorange, green, indigo, violet; into which a ray of light is decomposed in passing through a prism. See COLOUR, SPECTRUM.-Prismatic compass, a surveying instrument, fitted with a prism, for measuring horizontal angles by means of the magnetic meridian. -Prismatic crystals, crystals having a prismatic form.

Prismatically (priz-mat'ik-al-li), ade. In the form or manner of a prism; by means of a prism. Prismatically figured. Boyle. Prismatoidal (priz-ma-toi'dal), a. (Gr. pris ma, prismatos, a prism, and eidos, form] Having a prism-like form.

Prismenchyma (pris-men'ki-ma), n. [Gr. prisma, a prism, and enchyma, an infusion.] In bot. tissue composed of prismatical cells. Prismoid (priz'moid), n. [Gr. prisma, a prism, and eidos, form.] A body that ap proaches to the form of a prism. Prismoidal (priz-moi'dal), a. Having the form of a prismoid.

Prismy (priz'mi), a. Pertaining to or like a prism; prismatic.

Prison (pri'zon or pri'zn), n. [Fr. prison; It prigione; from L. prehensio, prehensionis, contr. prensio, prensionis, a capture, apprehending, from prehendo, to seize, whence prehensile, apprehend, comprehend, &c.] A place of confinement, or involuntary restraint; especially, a public building for the confinement or safe custody of criminals and others committed by process of law; a jail. The tyrant Æolus. With power imperial curbs the struggling winds, And sounding tempests in dark prisons binds Dryden. Used adjectivally.

He that has his chains knocked off, and the prism doors set open to him, is presently at liberty, Locke Prison (pri'zon), v.t. To shut up in a prison to confine; to restrain from liberty; to im prison. A lily prisoned in gaol of snow." Shak. His true respect will prison false desire. Shak.

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