PR1 



nil 



are all divisible by 5, and those ending 

 in by 10 also 



PRIME of the moon, is the new moon, 

 when she first appears, which is about 

 three days after the change. 



PRIME vertical is that vertical circle 

 which passes through the poles of" the 

 meridian, or the east and west points of 

 the horizon ; whence dials projected on 

 the plane of this circle are called prime 

 vertical, or north and south dials. 



PRIMING, or Prime of a Gun, is the 

 gunpo \vder put into the pan or touch- 

 hole of a piece, to give it fire thereby. 

 And this is the last thing- done in charg- 

 ing. For pieces of ordnance they have a 

 pointed iron rod, to pierce the cartridge 

 through the touch-hole, called primer or 

 priming-iron. 



PRIMING, among painters, signifies the 

 laying on of the first colour. 



PRIMITIVE, the first fruits gathered of 

 the earth, whereof the ancients made pre- 

 sents to the gods. In our law, the pri- 

 mitiae are one year's profits, after avoid- 

 ance of every spiritual living, as rated in 

 the King's books. 



PRIMITIVE, in grammar, is a root or 

 original word in a language, in contra- 

 distinction to derivative. Thus, God is a 

 primitive, godly derivative, and god-like a 

 compound. 



PRIMULA, in botany, primrose, a ge- 

 nus of the Pentandria Monogynia class and 

 order. Natural order of Precise. Lysi- 

 machi?e, Jussieu. Essential character : 

 involucre of an umbellet ; corolla tube cy- 

 lindrical with a spreading mouth. There 

 are twenty species. 



PRIMUM mobile, in the Ptolemaic 

 astronomy, the ninth or highest sphere of 

 the heavens, whose centre is that of the 

 universe. 



PRINCE, in polity, a person invested 

 with the supreme command of a state, in- 

 dependent of any other. Prince also de- 

 notes a person who is sovereign in his own 

 territories, yet holds of some other as his 

 superior ; such are the princes of Germa- 

 ny, who, though absolute in their respec- 

 tive principalities, are bound to the Em- 

 peror in certain services. Prince also 

 denotes the issue of princes, or those of 

 the royal family. In France, they are 

 called princes of the blood. In England, 

 the King's children are called sons and 

 and daughters of England : the eldest 

 son is created Prince of Wales. The ca- 

 dets are created Dukes or Earls, as the 

 King pleases. And the title of all the 

 children is royal highness: all subjects 

 arc to kneel when admitted to kiss their 



hand, and at table, out of the King's pre- 

 sence, they are served on the knee. It is 

 high treason to violate the eldest daugh- 

 ter unmarried. 



The Prince of Wales is born Duke of 

 Cornwall, and immediately entitled to all 

 the revenues belonging thereto. He is 

 afterwards created Prince of Wales, by 

 investiture with a cap, coronet, gold 

 verge, and ring, and he holds it by patent. 

 The title and principality were first given 

 by Edward I. to his eldest son. While 

 Normandy remained to England, he was 

 styled Duke of Normandy ; but since the 

 union his title is Magnse Britannix Prin- 

 ceps. He is reputed, in law, the same 

 person with the King ; to imagine his 

 death, or violate his wife, is high treason. 

 PRINCIPAL, the chief and most ne- 

 cessary part of a thing. In commerce, 

 principal is the capital of a sum due or 

 lent, so called in opposition to interest. 

 It also denotes the first fund put by part- 

 ners into a common stock, by which it is 

 distinguished from the calls or accessions 

 afterwards required. 



PRINCIPAL point, in perspective, is a 

 point in the perspective plane, upon 

 which a line drawn from the eye perpen- 

 dicular to the plane falls. It is in the in- 

 tersection of the horizontal and vertical 

 plane, and called the point of sight, and 

 point of the eye. See PERSPECTIVE. 



PRINCIPAL, ray, in perspective, that 

 which passes perpendicularly from the 

 spectator's eye to the perspective plane. 

 See PERSPECTIVE. 



PRINOS, in botany, -winter-berry, a ge- 

 nus of the Hexandria Monogynia class and 

 order. Natural order of Dumosx. 

 Rhamni, Jussieu. Essential character : 

 calyx six-cleft; corolla one-petalled, 

 wheel-shaped ; berry six-seeded. There 

 are seven species. 



PRINTERS, marks of. See PRINT- 

 ING. 



PRINTING, the art of making an im- 

 pression upon one body by pressing it 

 with another. This art, in some way or 

 other, has been known in all ages. It 

 has been done upon wax, upon plaster, 

 upon iron, by the ancients ; their seals, 

 their rings, their money, prove it. It has 

 been done with wooden blocks upon cot- 

 ton and silk by the Indians. Printing, 

 therefore, in this limited sense, was com- 

 mon to all nations. This art is now divid- 

 ed into four distinct branches : 1. Com- 

 mon, or letter-press printing. 2. Rolling- 

 press printing. 3. Calico-printing. 4. 

 Stereotype-printing. 

 Printing by letter-press is the most cu- 



