pragmatize 
+ -i--.] To make real or material ; attribute a 
practical objective existence to (some product 
of imagination or fancy). 
The merest shadowy fancy or broken-down metaphor, 
when once It galni a sense of reality, may begin to be 
spoken of as an actual event. . . . One of the miraculous 
passages In the life of Mohammed himself Is traced plau- 
sibly by Sprenger to such a vragmatued metaphor. 
E. B. Tyler, Prim. Culture, I. 407. 
pragmatizer (prag'ma-ti-zer), . [< )>r<i<iniii- 
tize + -!.] One who pragmatizes, or attributes 
objective existence to what is subjective, ima- 
ginary, or fanciful. 
The praymatutr Is a stupid creature; nothing Is too 
beautiful or too sacred to be made dull and vulgar by his 
touch. E. B. Tyior, Prim. Culture, I. 308. 
prahme, . See pram 1 . 
prahu (pra'ho), n. Same AS proa. 
We . . . decided to alter our course for Malacca, where 
we arrived at half-past nine ; the Doctor at once went on 
shore In a native prahu. 
laay Braaey, Voyage of Sunbeam, II. xxiv. 
praierf, . An early modern English spelling 
of prayer^. 
Prairial (pra'ri-al), n. [F., < prairie, a mea- 
dow: see prairie.] The ninth month in the 
French revolutionary calendar. In the year 
1794 it began May 20th and ended June 18th. 
prairie (pra'ri), . [< F. prairie = Pr.pradaria 
= Sp. pradera, praderia = Pg. praderia = It. 
prateria, a meadow, < ML. prataria, meadow- 
land, prop. fern, of pratarius, adj., < L. pra- 
tum, a meadow. Cf. prayere, prat/ell.] A mea- 
dow; level grassy land: a word frequently 
used by Hennepin and other French writers in 
describing the country adjacent to the Missis- 
sippi river, and now in common use, designating 
the level or slightly undulating treeless areas 
which cover a large part of Illinois, Wiscon- 
sin, Iowa, Minnesota, and other States further 
south. The prairies are never by the Inhabitants of the 
prairie regions called plains, as are the treeless regions 
further west They are characterized by a highly fertile 
soil, often of great thickness, and they often occur where 
the rainfall Is even considerably larger than on parts of 
the adjacent forest-covered regions. The cause of the ab- 
sence of trees upon them cannot, therefore, be deficiency 
of moisture ; In all probability it is the physical character 
of the soil, and especially Its extreme fineness, which ren- 
ders It more suitable for the growth of the grasses than 
for that of arboreal vegetation. In the extreme north- 
western region of the United States, especially in Mon- 
tana, certain level treeless areas surrounded by the moun- 
tains are now by some called prairiei : some of these had 
been previously denominated holes. Further south in the 
Rocky Mountains they are known as ]irkx, or sometimes 
as basin*. See Aofel, 6, and plaint. 
The prairie alluded to was one of those small natural 
meadows, or pastures, that are to be found in Michigan, 
and may have contained four or five thousand acres of 
open land. Cooper, Oak Openings, i. 
These are the gardens of the Desert, these 
The unshorn fields, boundless and beautiful, 
KMT which the speech of ngland has no name. 
The Prairie*. Bryant, The Prairies. 
In general, however, the term prairie is used to desig- 
nate tracts of land nearly or quite destitute of forests, or 
over which the trees are, as a general rule, limited to the 
" bluff s " the more or less precipitous slopes which sep- 
arate the upland, or prairie proper, from the river bottom. 
J. b. Whitney, Encyc. Brit., XXIII. 811. 
Prairie State, the State of Illinois. Trembling or 
shaking prairie. See under tremble. 
prairie-alligator ( pra'ri-al *i-ga-tor), n. An in- 
sect of the familv Phasmidx; one of the walk- 
ing-sticks, usually the thick-thighed walking- 
stick, IHapheromera femorata. [Local, U. 8.J 
prairie-apple (pra'ri-ap'l), . Same as prairie- 
turnip. 
prairie-bean (pra'ri-ben), n. See beani, 2. 
prairie-bird (pra'ri-berd), n. Same as prairie- 
hen. 
prairie-bitters (pra'ri-bit'erz), n. pi. See 
bitters. 
prairie-brant (pra'ri-brant), n. Same as har- 
lequin brant (which see, under harlequin). 
prairie-burdock (pra'ri-ber'dok), n. See bur- 
dock. 
prairie-chicken (pra'ri-chik'en), n. Same as 
irrairie-htn.- prairie-chicken of the Northwest. 
the sharp-tailed grouse, pintail, or sprlgtail, Pedioxeta 
ptuuianettta calumuianiu. See cut under Pedioxetet. 
prairie-clover (pnt'ri-klo'ver), n. See Peta- 
loatemon. 
prairie-cocktail (pra'ri -kok'tal), . A raw 
egg, peppered and salted, and drunk in vinegar 
or spirits. Also called prairie-oyster. [Western 
U. S.] 
prairied (pra'rid), a. [< prairie + -.</-. | 
Abounding in prairies ; skirted by prairies. 
And he whose grave Is holy by our calm 
And prairied Sangamon 
Fn<m his gaunt hand shall drop the martyr's palm, 
Tu greet thee will. ' \\Y1I done!" 
r. freedom In Brazil. 
4668 
prairie-dock (pra'ri-dok), n. Same as prairie 
burdock (which see, under burdock). 
prairie-dog (pra'ri-dog), n. A seiuromorphic 
rodent quadruped of the family Nciuridjf, sub- 
family SptrmOfMNlUB, and genus Cynomys, of 
which there are two species, C. ludovicianux 
and C. columbianns, the former living east and 
the latter west of the Rockv Mountains: so 
called from their habitat and from their cry, 
which is like the barking of a dog. These animals 
are generally but Irregularly distributed In the prairie 
Prairie-dogs (Cynemys tin 
regions of the Western States and Territories, from the 
British nearly to the Mexican boundary of the United 
States ; they are gregarious, and many thousands together 
populate some places called prairie-doff towns or villages, 
where they dig deep burrows, the entrance of each of which 
is surmounted by a mound of earth thrown up In making 
the excavation. (See second cut under oirl.) Some of the 
larger towns include many hundred acres. Prairie-dogs 
are about a foot long, of very stout, squat, paunchy form, 
with low ears, a very short tail, and long strong fore claws ; 
they are of a uniform reddish-gray or fawn color, paler un- 
derneath. They subsist entirely on vegetable food. Also 
called prairie-mannot and iristonwixh. 
prairie-falcon (pra'ri-fa ; 'kn), n. Bee falcon. 
prairie-fly (pra'ri-fli) ; n. One of various spe- 
cies of flies of the family Tabanidse which attack 
cattle. [Western U. 8.] 
prairie-fox (pra'ri-foks), . The kit, or swift 
fox, Vulpes relax, inhabiting the prairies of 
North America. See cut under kit. 
prairie-goose (pra'ri-gSs), . Same as ffutch- 
inif's yooxe (which see, under goose). [Texas.] 
prairie-grass (pra'ri-gras), . 1. Any grass 
growing on prairies. 2. Specifically, in Aus- 
tralia, the grass Bromutt (Ceratochloa) unioloi- 
iles, once failed there Californian prairie-grass, 
though not found in California. See rescue- 
grass. 
prairie-hawk (pra'ri-hak), n. The American 
sparrow-hawk, ralcosparverivg, which abounds 
on the prairies as elsewhere in North America, 
and has the habit of hovering on wing like the 
European kestrel or windhover. 
The prairie-hawk that, poised on high, 
Flaps his broad wings, yet moves not 
Bryant, The Prairies. 
prairie-hen (pra'ri-hen), H. () The pinnated 
grouse, Cupidonia or Tympanuchus cupido, a 
gallinaceous bird of North America belonging 
to the family Tetraonida; or (b) the sharp-tailed 
grouse, Pedicecetcs phattianellus columbianuy. 
See cuts under Cupidonia and Pedicecetes. The 
range of these two different birds, though somewhat 
overlapping, especially of late years, Is complementary. 
The true prairie-hen or pinnated grouse belongs proper- 
ly to the fertile prairies of the United States, especially 
Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, the eastern half of Minnesota, 
South Dakota (especially eastward), middle and eastern 
Kansas and Nebraska, Arkansas, and eastern Texas a 
variety (pallidicincta) occurring In western Texas. It also 
still lingers in some localities in the Middle States and 
New England ; but with the settlement of the country 
it has followed the railroads, as these have been pushed 
westward and northwestward, to the Rocky Mountains 
and far up the Missouri river. The sharp-tailed grouse, 
the prairie-hen or -chicken of the Northwest, locally called 
whitebeUy, Is a bird of more arid regions, resembling the 
sage-grouse in this respect, and its eastward range has con- 
tracted with the extension of the pinnated grouse west- 
ward. It is found in suitable country of the central pla- 
teau to the Sierra N'evadas of California and the Cascade 
ranges of Oregon and Washington, and northward in much 
of British America, where It occurs In its typical form. 
PeditxcdM phariaitellii*. as distinguished from the United 
States variety called mlumbianut. 
prairie-marmot (pra'ri-miir'mot), n. Theprai- 
rie-dog. 
prairie-mole (pra'ri-mol), n. The silvery shrew- 
m4e, Scalops aquaticus argentatus, a variety of 
the common mole of the United States occurring 
on the prairies. 
prairie-oyster (pra'ri-ois'ter), n. Same t&prai- 
i'u -t-in-]; fail . 
prairie-pigeon (pra'ri-pii'on), n. 1. The 
American golden plover, Charadrius dominicus. 
Also called praine-plorer and ]>rairie-8nipe. 
2. Bartram'w sandpiper. Hurtraiuia lin></ir<iilii. 
This bird abounds on the fertile alluvial prairies from 
Indiana and Illlnoli to the Dakota*, but not on the arid 
plains further west. 
prairie-plover (pra'ri-pluv'er), w. Same as 
/iniirii -}'!'!' mi. 1. 
praise 
prairie-plOW (pra'ri-plou), w. A large plow 
with wheels in front, a broad sharp share, and 
a long mold-board, used for paring the sod and 
for turning a broad, shallow furrow. 
prairie-rattler (pra'ri-rat'ler), . A prairie- 
rattlesnake. 
prairie-rattlesnake (pra'ri-rat'1-snak), . One 
of several different rattlesnakes inhabiting th<> 
prairies, as the massasauga, KitttmtrugeateuatuH, 
and especially Crotalus conflnentus, the most 
common and widely distributed rattler in th<> 
West. 
prairie-rose (pra'ri-roz), n. A wild rose, Koxa 
i hi/era, of the interior United States, the only 
American climbing rose. The flowers are large, In 
flat corymbs, and of a deep rose-color when flrst expanded. 
This Is the original of the queen-of-the-prairie, Baltimore- 
belle, and other double roses. Also called Michiijan me. 
See cut under rote. 
prairie-schooner (pra'ri-sko'ner), n. The 
white-tilted wagon used by emigrants in freight- 
ing on the prairies and great plains before the 
construction of transcontinental railroads. 
[Slang, U. 8.] 
prairie-snipe (pra'ri-snip), n. Same taprairie- 
pigeon, 1. 
prairie-squirrel (pra'ri-skwur'el), n. A sper- 
mophile or ground-squirrel of North America : 
a sciuromorphic rodent quadruped of the sub- 
family Spermophilinte and genus Spertnophilun, 
numerous species of which inhabit the prairies 
of western North America. These animals are com- 
monly known as gophert, from their burrowing in the 
ground, but they have little resemblance to the myomor- 
phlc rodents of the family Geomyida to which the name 
gopher properly applies. They vary much in size, color, 
and general appearance, some having the stout form, 
short tail, and low ears of the prairie-dog, as S. richardma; 
others have longer tail and ears, a slenderer form, and are 
very prettily spotted or striped, or both, as < triaecem- 
lineatuf; in some the tall is so long and bushy that they 
resemble true arboreal squirrels, as S. .fraiMini. Some 
are numerous enough In cultivated regions to threaten 
agriculture seriously. They form a characteristic feature 
of the mammalian fauna in the whole prairie region. See 
cut under Spennophtiiu. 
prairie-turnip (pra'ri-ter'nip), n. The tuber- 
bearing plant I'soralea csculrnta. 
prairie-warbler (pra'ri-war'bler), n. A small 
insectivorous migratory bird of the eastern 
parts of the United States, Detulruica discolor, 
I'ralrie-warbler ( /Vnrfurc.r rfi 'scalar). 
belonging to the family Sylricolidsp or Mniotil- 
tidx. It Is 4} inches long, olive-yellow above and bright- 
yellow below varied with black spots, with a patch of 
brick-red spots on the middle of the back and white 
blotches on the lateral tail-feathers. It does not occur In 
the prairie regions proper of the West 
prairie-wolf (pra'ri-wulf), n. A small wolf, 
(.'ants latrans, characteristic of the prairie re- 
gions of western North America. See cut un- 
der coyote. 
praisablet (pra'za-bl), a. [< ME. praysable, 
preisablf; (praise + -able."] Praiseworthy. 
Which bene so chiualrous in your doing. 
And which for to do is preitable thyng. 
Rom. qf Partrnav (E. F.. T. S.), 1. 1911. 
prai8ablyt(pra'za-bli),cfr. In a prai sable man- 
ner; praiseworthily ; admirably. 
Then doth our tung natllrallie and prauablie vtti r In r 
meanlng, when she bouroweth no conterfeitness of other 
tunges. Aschain, The Scholemaster, p. S. 
praise (praz), r. t. ; prct. ami pp. prnim-d, ppr. 
praising. K ME. praisen, praysen, preisen, 
/iri'i/si'ii, < OF.jmiixier, proisier, prisirr, r.priser 
= Pg. ]ire:ar = It. pn-ijinrc, prr::arc. value, 
prize, < LL. pretiare, value, pri/.e: KIT /'/<'-. 
of which praise is a doublet.] 1. To express 
approbation or admiration of ; laud; appluiul; 
eulogize; commend. 
Whan the Cltezlns herde Oaweln thus speke, thei hym 
contended and preyied moche, and selde he myght not 
faile to be a worthy man ; and thrl hym loved hertely 
a-bove alle thynge, and preinfd thegrete gentlleneMe that 
thfl hym foiiiiden. Merlin (RE. T. S.)y II. 202. 
