PRO 



593 



PR O 



PfcpfAi'pioM, from {, before, and 

 y rf$i*> the orifice of the stomach. The 

 pit of the stomach. 



PROCELLA'RIA. A genus of birds : the 

 Petrels. Order, Palmipedes ; family, Longi- 

 pennes. Of all the Palmipedes, these 

 remain most distant from land ; and 

 when a tempest intervenes, they are 

 forced to seek shelter on reefs and ships, 

 from which circumstance they derive the 

 name of storm-birds : that of Petrel (Little 

 Peter) has been given them on account of 

 their habit of walking on the water, 

 which they effect by aid of their wings. 

 They chiefly inhabit the Antarctic Seas; 

 the Giant Petre.1 only is found in the South 

 Seas. It is the largest of all the species, 

 surpassing the goose in size, whereas the 

 common species is scarcely larger than a 

 lark. 



PRO'CESS. 1. Inlaw,ihe whole course of 

 proceedings in a cause, real or personal, 

 civil or criminal, from the original writ 

 to the end of the suit. Original process is 

 the means taken to compel the defendant 

 to appear in court. Mesne process is that 

 which issues, pending the suit, upon some 

 collateral or interlocutory matter. 2. In 

 anatomy, a production of any part, as the 

 projecting part of a bone. 



PROCE'S VER'BAL. In French law, an 

 authentic minute of an official act, or 

 statement of facts. 



PRO'CHRONISM, from s-ga, before, and 

 %G>iot> time. An error in chronology, 

 when events are dated anterior to the 

 time at which they happened. 



PRO CONFES'SO, in law, is applied to a 

 defendant in Chancery, who appears and 

 is afterwards yi contempt for not answer- 

 ing; wherefore the matter contained in 

 the bill shall be taken pro confesso (as 

 though it had been confessed). 



PROCON'SUI,. Originally, an officer in- 

 vested with the consular command with- 

 out the office. 



PHOCRUS'TES. In mythology, a famous 

 robber of Ancient Greece, who tortured 

 his victims by placing them on an iron 

 bed, and stretching or mutilating them to 

 suit its dimensions. Hence the expres- 

 sion " The bed of Procrustes." 



PROC'TOR, \ fromprorwro, to care for. 



PROCURA'TOR, } 1. One employed to ma- 

 nage the affairs of another; and, appro- 

 priately, a person employed to manage 



another's cause in a court of law. 2. 



A magistrate of a university. 3. One 



who undertakes the care of any legal pro- 

 ceeding for another. 



PBOCUM'BE.NT, Lat. procumbent. Trailing 

 and a little bent upwards : applied to 

 Ftems of plants when lying upon the 

 ground without sending out roots. 



l'fcoccRA'Tio?<, from procuro. 1. In te- 

 iit*>atlical affairs, a sum of money paid 



to the bishop or archdeacon by incum- 

 bents on account of visitations, called also 



proxy. 2. In law, the instrument by 



which a person is empowered to transact 

 the affairs of another. 



PROCURATOR, ) The first of these terms 



PROC'TOR. } is used commonly in the 

 general sense of manager, and the other 

 in a Ic^al sense. Kee PROCTOR. 



PRO'CYON. 1. In astronomy, the Dog- 

 star: xoo, before, and xvuv, a dog. Pro- 

 cyon is a star of the second magnitude, in 



the constellation Canis Minor. 2. In 



zoology, the Racoon, a. genus of plantigrade 

 animals. The P. lotor of North America 

 is about the size of a badger, is easily 

 tamed, and eats nothing it has not pre- 

 viously dipped in water. 



PRODU'CINO. In geometry, the continu- 

 ing of a right line to any required length. 



PRO'DUCT, Lat. productus, from produco. 

 In arithmetic and algebra, the quantity 

 arising from the multiplication of two or 

 more factors together. 



PHO'DIOY. A surprising though natural 

 event : distinguished from miracle, which 

 is something out of the course of nature. 



PROEMPTO'SIS, from <rgo, before, and 

 XIXTU, to fall. The lunar equation, or 

 addition of a day, necessary to prevent 

 the new moon from happening a day too 

 soon according to the civil calculation. 



PRO'FILE, Fr. profit, from pro and fil. 

 1. Primarily, an outline or contour: hence, 

 in sculpture and painting, a head or por- 

 trait represented in aside view. 2. The 



perpendicular section of a building ; also 

 the contour of any member, as a cornice. 



PROF'IT (Fr.), from Lat. prqficio, to ad- 

 vance. Gain made by the sale of produce 

 or manufacture, after deducting the 

 value of the labour, materials, and all 

 expenses, together with the interest of the 

 capital employed (whether land, ma 

 chinery, buildings, instruments, or mo- 

 ney). Net profit is the gain made by 

 selling goods at a price beyond all costs 

 and charges. 



PROGNO'SIS, from jrgo, before, and yt- 

 vuirxu, to know. The foretelling the 

 event of diseases from their symptoms. 



PRO'GRAMME, } from -r^o, before, and 



PRO'GRAM, } y$a$u, to write. A de- 

 tailed advertisement, or account, of some 

 public entertainment, previously issued. 



PRO'GRESS. The state journeys of royal 

 personages. 



PROGRESSION. A series of numbers, in 

 arithmetic, proceeding according to a cer- 

 tain order, termed arithmetical, geometri- 

 cal, or harmonical. 



PROHIBITION. In lair, a writ to forbid 

 any court from proceeding with a cause 

 then depending, on suggestion that the 

 pause of it does not properly belong t 

 that court. 



