`Am¢rica®n _
`Hentage D1<:t1onary
`of the English Language
`
`FOURTH EDITION
`
`HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
`
`, Boston New York
`
`1
`
`TS 1010
`
`
`
`Words are included in this Dictionary on the basis of their usage.
`Words that are known to have current trademark registrations are
`shown with an initial capital and are also identified as trademarks. No
`investigation has been made of common-law trademark rights in any
`word, because such investigation is impracticable. The inclusion of any
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`ISBN-13: 978-0-618-70172-8
`ISBN-10: 0-618-70172-9
`ISBN-13: 978-0-618-70173-5 (hardcover with CD-ROM)
`ISBN-10: 0-618-70173-7 (hardcover with CD-ROM)
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`Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
`
`The American Heritage dictionary of the English language.—4th ed.
`p.
`cm.
`ISBN 0-395-82517-2 (hardcover) — ISBN 0-618-08230-1
`(hardcover with CD ROM)
`1. English language—Dictionaries
`PE1628 .A623 2000
`423—dc21
`
`00-025369
`
`Manufactured in the United States of America
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`3
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`Price | primal therapy
`
`the price of: spent the day pricing dresses. —idiom: price out of the
`market To eliminate the demand for (goods or services) by setting prices
`too high. [Middle English pris, from Old French, from Latin pretiurn. See
`per-5 in Appendix 1.] —price'a-ble adj. —-pric'er n.
`Price (pris), (Mary) Leontyne Born 1927. American operatic so-
`prano who performed with the New York Metropolitan Opera (1961-
`1985), earning greatest praise for her roles in Verdi’s operas.
`price-cut-ting (pris’l<C1t’ing) n. Reduction of retail prices to a level
`low enough to eliminate competition. —price'-cut’ter n.
`price-earn-ings ratio (pris'ur/ningz) n. The ratio of the market
`price of a common stock to its earnings per share.
`price fix-ing also price-fix-ing (pris’fik’sing) n. 1. The setting of
`commodity prices artificially by a government. 2. The result of an un-
`lawful agreement between manufacturers or dealers to set and maintain
`specified prices on typically competing products.
`price index n. A number relating prices of a group of commodities
`to their prices during an arbitrarily chosen base period.
`price-less (pris'lis)
`adj. 1. Of inestimable worth; invaluable. 2.
`Highly amusing, absurd, or odd: a priceless remark. —price'less-ly adv.
`price point n. The retail price of a product, usually when viewed as
`one of a series of possible competitive prices: expected to release the soft-
`ware below the $50 price point.
`price support n. Maintenance of prices, as of a raw material or com-
`modity, at a certain level usually through public subsidy or government
`intervention.
`price tag n. 1. A label attached to a piece of merchandise indicating
`its price. 2. The cost of something.
`price war n. A period of intense competition among businesses in
`which each competitor tries to cut retail prices below those of the others.
`pric-ey also pric-y (pri’se) adj. -i-er, -i-est Informal Expensive: a
`pricey restaurant. —pric’ey-ness n. —pric'i-ly adv.
`prick (prik) n. 1a. The act of piercing or pricking. b. The sensation
`of being pierced or pricked. 2a. A persistent or sharply painful feeling
`of sorrow or remorse. b. A small, sharp, local pain, such as that made by
`a needle or bee sting. 3. A small mark or puncture made by a pointed
`object. 4. A pointed object, such as an ice pick, goad, or thorn. 5. A
`hare’s track or footprint. 6. Vulgar Slang A penis. 7. Vulgar Slang A
`person regarded as highly unpleasant, especially a male.
`‘2~ v. pricked,
`prick-ing, pricks —-tr. 1. To puncture lightly. 2. To affect with a
`mental or emotional pang, as of remorse: His conscience began to prick
`him. 3. To impel as if with a spur; urge on. 4. To mark or delineate on
`a surface by means of small punctures: prick a pattern on a board. 5. To
`pierce the quick of (a horse’s hoof) while shoeing. 6. To transplant (seed-
`lings, for example) before final planting. 7. To cause to stand erect or
`point upward: The dogs pricked their ears.
`-—intr. 1. To pierce or punc-
`ture something or cause a pricking feeling. 2. To feel a pang or twinge
`from or as if from being pricked. 3a. To spur a horse on. b. To ride at
`a gallop. 4. To stand erect; point upward: The dog’s ears pricked at the
`noise. —phrasal verb: prick off Nautical To measure with dividers
`on a chart. —idiom: prick up (one's) ears To listen with attentive
`interest. [Middle English, from Old English prica, punctL1re.]
`prick-er (priklar) n. 1. One, such as a pricking tool, that pierces or
`pricks. 2. A prickle or thorn.
`prick-et (prildit) n. 1a. A small point or spike for holding a candle
`upright. b. A candlestick having such a spike. Z. A buck in its second
`year, before the antlers branch. [Middle English priket, diminutive of
`prik, prick, prick. See PR1CK.]
`prick-Ie (prikbl) n. 1. A small sharp point, spine, or thorn. 2. A
`tingling or pricking sensation. '2' v. -led, -ling, -les —-tr. 1. To prick as
`if with a thorn. 2. To cause a tingling or pricking sensation in. —intr.
`1. To feel a tingling or pricking sensation. 2. To rise or stand up like
`prickles. [Middle English prikel, from Old English pricel.]
`prick-Iy (prik’lé) adj. -li-er, -li-est 1. Having prickles. 2. Prickling
`or tingling or smarting: a prickly sensation in my foot. 3a. Causing trou-
`ble or vexation; thorny: a prickly situation.
`i‘). Bristling or irritable: “In
`consequence, he became relmrbative, prickly, spiteful” (Robert Craft).
`—prick’|i-ness n.
`-
`prickly ash n. 1. Any of numerous cosmopolitan, deciduous or ev-
`ergreen shrubs or trees of the genus Zanthoxylum, having aromatic bark
`and alternate, mostly pinnate leaves. 2. See Hercules’ club (sense 1).
`prickly heat n. See heat rash.
`prickly juniper Y1. See cade.
`prickly pear n. 1. Any of various cacti of the genus Opuntia, having
`bristly, flattened or cylindrical joints, showy, usually yellow flowers, and
`ovoid, often prickly fruit. 2. The often edible fruit of such a cactus.
`prickly poppy n. Any of various plants of the genus Argemone,
`chiefly of tropical America, having large yellow, lavender, or white flow-
`ers and prickly leaves, stems, and pods.
`prick-y (prildé) adj. -i-er, -i-est Prickly.
`pric-y (pri’sé) adj. Variant of pricey.
`pride (prid) n. 1. A sense of one’s own proper dignity or value; self-
`respect. 2. Pleasure or satisfaction taken in an achievement, possession,
`or association: parental pride. 3. Arrogant or disdainful conduct or treat-
`ment; haughtiness. 4a. A cause or source of pleasure or satisfaction; the
`best of a group or class: These soldiers were their country’s pride. b. The
`most successful or thriving condition; prime: the pride of youth. 5. An
`excessively high opinion of oneself; conceit. 6. Mettle or spirit in horses.
`7. A company of lions. See synonyms at flock‘. 8. A flamboyant or im-
`pressive group: a pride of acrobats. it tr.v. prid-ed, prid-ing, prides
`To indulge (oneself) in a feeling of pleasure or satisfaction: Ipride myself
`on this beautiful garden. [Middle English, from Old English pryde, from
`prud, proud. See PROUD.]
`
`Pride (prid), Thomas Died 1658. English Parliamentarian
`regiment to Parliament and expelled Presbyterian and Royalist
`who opposed the condemnation of Charles I (1648). He was
`of Charles’s death warrant.
`:
`pride-ful (pridlfal) adj. 1. Arrogant; disdainful. 2. Highly
`elated. —.-—p'ride’fu|-Iy adv. —pride'ful-ness n.
`'
`v
`pride of place n. The highest or most important position;
`tal vase enjoyed pride of place on the grand piano.
`pried‘ (prid)
`v. Past tense and past participle of pry‘.
`pried’. (prid)
`v. Past tense and past participle of pry’.
`prie~clieu (pré-dyoe’) n., pl. -dieus or -dieux (-dyoezf) LA
`desklike kneeling bench with space above for a book or the elbo
`use by a person at prayer. 2. An armless, upholstered chair w
`straight back and a low seat. [French prie-Dieu : prier, to pray(
`French, from Latin precari; see PRAY) + Dieu, God (from Old Fr
`‘
`ADIEU).]
`.
`pri-er also pry-er (pritar) n. One who pries, especially a perm;
`is unduly interested in the affairs of others.
`'
`pries‘ (priz)
`v. Third person singular present tense of pry
`Plural of pry‘.
`priesi (priz)
`Plural of pry’.
`priest (prest) n. 1. In many Christian churches, a member?
`second grade of clergy ranking below a bishop but above a deaca
`having authority to administer the sacraments. 2. A person havij
`authority to perform and administer religious rites. 4° tr.1/. prios
`priest-ing, priests To ordain or admit to the priesthood. [ivfiddjt
`lish preost, from Old English preust, perhaps from Vulgar Latin *5]
`(from Late Latin presbyter; see PRESBYTER) or from West Germanig
`vost (from Latin praepositus, superintendent; see PROV0sT).]
`priest-ess (pré'stis) n. A woman who presides over religion;
`especially in pagan religions.
`1
`priest-hood (prést’ho“od’) n. 1. The character, office, or vu
`of a priest. 2. The clergy.
`-
`Priest-ley (prestI1é),J(ohn) B(oynton) 1894-1984. British
`of more than 100 novels, most notably The Good Companions (1927
`merous dramas, and critical works on literature and social issues.
`Priestley. Joseph 1733-1804. British chemist noted for work
`isolation of gases and his discovery of oxygen (1774).
`priest-Iy (prést’lé) adj. -Ii-er, -Ii-est 1. Of or relating to a p‘
`the priesthood. 2. Characteristic of or suitable for a priest. —pri
`ness Tl.
`
`v. Third person singular present tense of pry. .
`
`prig (prig) n. 1. A person who demonstrates an exaggerated co:
`ity or propriety, especially in an irritatingly arrogant or smug mar
`Chiefly British A petty thief or pickpocket. 3. Archaic A conceited
`a fop. ~:~ tr.1/. prigged, prig-ging, prigs Chiefly British To stea
`fer. [Origin unknown.] —prig/ger-y n. ——prig’gish adj. -
`gish-ly adv. —prig’gish-ness n.
`Fri-go-gine (pri-g6’zhsn, —go—zhén’), Ilya 1917-2003. B
`born Belgian chemist. He won a 1977 Nobel Prize for his contri
`to nonequilibrium thermodynamics.
`Pri-Io-sec (prillo-sék’) A trademark used for the drug omep
`prim‘ (prim) adj. prim-mer, prim-mest 1a. Precise or pl
`the point of affectation; excessively decorous. b. Strait-laced;p1-u
`Neat and trim: a prim hedgerow.
`~:~ v. primmed, prim-ming,
`—tr. 1. To fix (the face or mouth) in a prim expression. 2. "_l
`prim, as in dress or appearance. —intr. To assume a prim exp
`[Possibly from obsolete prim, formal or demure person, perha
`Old French prin, first, delicate. See PRIME] -—prim'ly adv. —
`ness Tl.
`
`prim‘ (prim) n. A privet. [Short for obsolete primprint, of u
`origin.]
`pri-ma ballerina (pre/ma) n. The leading woman dancer i1
`company. [Italian : prima, feminine of prime, first + ballerina, ba
`pri-ma-cy (pri’ma-sé) n., pl. -cies 1. The state of being first
`most. 2. Ecclesiastical The office, rank, or province of primate.
`English primacie, from Old French, from Medieval Latin primat
`of church primate, from Latin primas, prirnat-, of first rank.
`MATE.]
`pri-ma donna (pré’me, prim’a) n. 1. The leading woma
`in an opera company. 2. A temperamental, conceited person.
`prima, feminine of prirno, first + donna, lady.]
`pri-ma fa-cie (pri’me fa/she ~sha, —shé-E) adv. At first sigi
`closer inspection: They had, prima facie, a legitimate complain
`1. True, authentic, or adequate at first sight; ostensible: prima ft
`ibility. 2. Evident without proof or reasoning; obvious: a prime
`olation of the treaty. [Middle English, manifestly, from Latin prir
`prima, feminine ablative of primus, first + facié, ablative of facil
`face]
`prima facie case 11. Law A case in which the evidence prt
`sufficient for a judgment to be made unless the evidence is oor
`prima facie evidence n. Law Evidence that would, if u
`ed, establish a fact or raise a presumption of a fact.
`pri-mal (pri'mol) adj. 1. Being first in time; original; prir
`Of first importance; primary. [Medieval Latin prirnalis, from '
`mus, first. See per‘ in Appendix 1.] —pri0ma|’i-ty (—mal/i—tz
`primal therapy n. Psychology A method of therapy thougl
`emotional problems by encouraging patients to relive traumat
`ences and to express feelings through screaming and other
`physical acts of aggression. Also called primal scream therapy. -
`therapist n.
`
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