PBE a 



from the Latin pragmaticus, from T^aty- 

 (Mtrixx, and this from rjay^ua, some- 

 thing performed from x^ao-tru, to do: 

 hence pragmatic meddling. 



PKAIRIE. A French word, signifying 

 meadow, and used throughout America as 

 a general name for those remarkable 

 natural meadows, or plains, which cha- 

 racterise the valley of the Missisippi, and 

 a great part of Texas, and are very com- 

 mon in other localities. Prairies are 

 divided into three classes: (1.) The 

 heathy or bushy, which are covered with 

 brush -wood, and abound with springs ; 

 (2.) The dry or rolling, which are desti- 

 tute of water, and of all vegetation ex- 

 cept grass; and (3.) The alluvial or wet 

 prairies. 



PRAM.DUI. praam. 1. A description of 

 flat-bottomed boat or lighter, used in 

 Holland for conveying goods to, or from, 



a ship. 2. A similar boat, mounting 



several cannon ; used in covering the dis- 

 embarkation of troops. 



PHASE. A leek -green (pratine) trans- 

 lucent variety of rhombohedral quartz : 

 the prasem of Werner and the quartz 

 prase of Brongniart. Sp. gr. 2'5. 



PRA'SINE, from tr^airov, a leek. A term 

 applied to designate the grass- green 

 colour of the purest kind. 



PRA'TIQUE (French). Intercourse : com- 

 munication between a ship and the port 

 in which she arrives. Hence a license 

 or permission to hold intercourse and 

 trade with the inhabitants of a place 

 after having performed quarantine, or 

 upon a certificate that the ship did not 

 come from an infected place. The term 

 is used chiefly in the South of Europe, 

 where vessels coming from countries 

 infected with contagious diseases are 

 subjected to quarantine. 



PRAX'EANS. A sect of heretics, that 

 sprung up in Asia in the 2nd century, 

 founded by Praxeas, a heresiarch. 



PREB'END, from prcebeo, to allow. The 

 stipend or maintenance granted out of 

 the estate of a cathedral or collegiate 

 church. It is simple when restricted to 

 the revenue only, and dignitary when 

 Jurisdiction is annexed. 



PREB'ENDARY. The ecclesiastic who 

 enjoys a prebend. He differs from a 

 canon in this : he receives his prebend in 

 consideration of his officiating in the 

 church ; the canon merely in consequence 

 of being received into the cathedral. 

 PRECE'DENT, from pree, .before, and cedo 



to go. 1. Going before in time. 2. In 



law, a judicial decision which serves as a 

 rule for future determinations of the same 

 kind. 



PRTCEN'TOR, from free, before, and 

 eanto, to sing. 1. The leader of the choir 

 ta a cathedral. 2. The leader of the 



PRE 



:ongregation in the psalmody of Scottish 

 :hurches. 



PRE'CEPT, from pree, before, and tapio, 

 ;o take. 1. A commandment to be taken 



is an authoritative rule of action. 2. 



In law, a command or mandate in writing. 

 PRECES'SION, from preecedo,to go before. 

 A term in astronomy, to denote that slow 

 and imperceptible motion by which the 

 equinoxes change their places, receding 

 westwards; or contrary to the rest of the 

 signs, and which causes the sun's equi- 

 noctial place to precede the usual calcu- 

 ation. The annual amount is about 

 50i", that is, if the celestial equator cuts 

 the ecliptic in a particular point on any 

 day of this year, it will, on the same day 

 of next year, cut in a point 50i" west of 

 the point of its former intersection; and 

 the sun will come to the equinox 20' 23" 

 before he has completed his revolution of 

 the heavens. Hence it appears that the 

 equinoctial points will make an entire 

 revolution in about 26,000 years. 



PREDESTINA'TION. A term used in theo- 

 logy, to signify the preordination of men 

 by the Supreme Deity to everlasting hap- 

 piness or misery! One who believes in 

 this doctrine is a predestinarian. 



PRE'DIAL, Lat. preedium, farm. Belong- 

 ing to a farm: thus predial slaves, in op- 

 position to domestic. 



PRE'DICABLE. In logic, a term which 

 can be affirmatively predicated of several 

 others. 



PRBDIC'AMENT, Lat. preedicamentttm, from 

 preedico, to affirm. In logic, a category. 



PREDICATE. In logic, something affirmed 

 or denied of the subject : preedico, to affirm. 



PRE-EMP'TION, pree and emption. The 

 right of purchasing before others. Thus 

 the kings of England had formerly the 

 right of pre-emption, or of buying pro- 

 visions for their households in preference 

 to all others. 



PRE'FIX, pree and fix. A letter or syl- 

 lable put to the beginning of a word, to 

 affect its meaning. A prefix is united to 

 a word, as inseparable, and therefore 

 differs from a preposition. 



PRECIP'ITANT, \ In chemistry, when to 



PRECIP'ITATE, >a solution of some 



PRECIPITA'TIOX. J salt, as alum, another 

 solution, as of potash, is added, which 

 causes a decomposition of the salt, and the 

 base falls (is precipitated) to the bottom of 

 the vessel in a (usually) pulverulent form, 

 the phenomenon is usually termed preci- 

 pitation; the substance which sinks is 

 called the precipitate, and the substance ( 

 by means of which the precipitation is 

 effected, is denominated the precipitant. 

 See DECOMPOSITION. The following tables 

 contain a useful and simple scheme of 

 precipitants of the metals, and of the 

 acids in salu, originally constructed by 

 J. J. Griffin. 



