prefrontal 
prefrontal (pre-fron'tal). n. and n. [Also prse- 
frtmtiil ; < \j. i>ra-, before, + fron(t-)*, forehead: 
see frontal.] I. a. Of or pertaining to the fore 
part of the forehead, or to the part of the skull 
in which is the bone called the prefrontal. 
TT, M. A bone of the anterior region of the 
xkull of sundry vertebrates, being a lateral eth- 
moidal or ante-orbital ossification, most dis- 
tinct in vertebrates below birds. 
prefulgency (pre-ful'jen-si), n. [< 'preful- 
gen(t) (= OF. prifulgeiit, < L. prxfulgen(t-)s, 
ppr. of priefulgere, "shine greatly, < prte, before, 
+ fulgere, flash, gleam: see fulgent) + -cy.} 
Superior brightness or effulgency; surpassing 
glory. [Rare.] 
If ... by the prefulijency of his excellent worth and 
merit . . . St. Peter liad the trpwTem or first place. 
Barrour, On the Pope's Supremacy. 
pregaget (pre-gaj'), v. t. [< pre- + gage*.] To 
preengage ; pledge beforehand. 
The members of the Conucell of Trent, both Bishops 
and Abbots, were by oath pregaged to the Pope to defend 
and maintain his authority against all the world. 
Fuller, Ch. Hist., IX. i. 42. 
pregeminal (pre-jem'i-nal), a. [< L. prx, be- 
fore, + gentium, twin, 4- -al.} Pertaining to 
the anterior pair of the corpora quadrigemina 
of the brain. 
pregenlcnlate, prsegenicnlate (pre-je-nik'u- 
lat), a. Pertaining to the pregeniculum. 
pregeniculatum, praegeniculatum (pre-jo-nik- 
u-la'tum), n. ; pi. pregeniculata, preegeniculata 
(-t&). [NL.] Same as pregeniculum. 
pregeniculum (pre-je-nik'u-lum), n. ; pi. pre- 
genieula (-IS). [NL., < L. pree, before, + geni- 
culum, dim. of genii, a knee.] The external 
corpus geniculatum (which see, under corpus). 
pregenital (pre-jen'i-tal), . [< L. prse, before, 
+ genitalis, belonging to generation: see geni- 
tal.] In eiitom., situated before the external 
opening of the oviduct, sting, or male intro- 
mittent organ Pregenital segment, the eighth 
primary abdominal ring, or the one immediately before 
the genital opening ; in the perfect Insect it may be partly 
or entirely hidden under other rings. 
preglacial (pre-gla'shial), a. [ < pre- + glacial.} 
In ffeol., prior to the glacial or boulder-drift 
period. 
preglenoid (pre-gle'noid), a. and n. [< pre- + 
glenoid.} I. . Situated in advance or in front 
of the glenoid fossa of either the scapula or the 
temporal bone: as, & preglenoid process. 
EC. n. A preglenoid! formation In some ani- 
mals, as badgers, both pre- and postglcnoid processes of 
the temporal bone are so highly developed that the lower 
jaw Is locked in its socket, and cannot be disarticulated 
even in the dry skull. 
preglenoidal (pre-gle-noi'dal), a. [< preglenoid 
+ -al.} Same as preglenoid. 
pregnable (preg'na-bl), a. [With unorig. g (as 
also in impregnable), < OF. (and F.) prenable, 
that may be taken, < prendre, < L. prendere, 
seize, take: see prender, preliend.} 1. Capable 
of being taken or won by force ; expugnable. 
Then y* marshall caused y towne to be auewed, to see 
If it were pregnable or not. 
Bcrneri, tr. of Frolssart's Chron., II. 61. 
2. Capable of being moved, impressed, or con- 
vinced. [Rare.] 
pregnance (preg'nans), w. [= It. pregnama ; as 
prtgnan(t) 4- -ce.} Same as pregnancy. 
pregnancy (preg'nan-si), w. [As pregnance 
(see -cy).] 1. The state of being pregnant; 
the state of a female who has conceived or is 
with child; gestation; fetation. 2. Fruitful- 
ness; fertility; fecundity; productiveness. 
Famous for the judgment of Paris, and pregnancy in 
fountains, from whence descend four rivers. 
Sandy*, Travalles, p. 17. 
3. Fullness, as of important contents; signifi- 
cance ; suggestiveness. 
The Diversions of the fallen Angels, with the particular 
Account of their Place of Habitation, are described with 
great pregnancy of Thought. Additon, Spectator, No. S00. 
4t. Readiness of wit ; shrewdness. 
Pregnancy Is made a tapster, and hath his quick wit 
wasted In giving reckonings. Shalt.. 2 Hen. IV., L 2. 192. 
/,./-/'. Do yon think I am a dunce? 
Lac. Not a dunce, captain ; but yon might give me 
leave to misdoubt that pregnancy In a soldier which Is 
proper and hereditary to a courtier. 
Beau, and Fl., Honest Man's Fortune, II. 2. 
He wants but three of fourscore, yet of a wonderful 
vigour and pregnancy. I'enn, Travels In Holland, etc. 
St. A promisingyouth; a quick-witted person. 
Thl was the fashion in his reign, to select yearly one or 
moe of the most promising pregnanda oat of both uni- 
versities, and to breed them beyond the seas on the king's 
exhibitions unto them. FvUcr, Ch. Hist, VL 840. 
Extra-uterine pregnancy, gestation taking place In the 
abdomen outside the uterus. - Fallopian pregnancy. 
1688 
See fallopian.- Plea of pregnancy. In criminal law, a 
plea to take advantage of the rule that, when a pregnant 
woman is capitally convicted, the execution of her sen- 
tence must be delayed until after the birth of the child. 
Tubal pregnancy. Name as Fallopian pregnancy. 
pregnant (preg'nant), a. and . [In def. 8, ME. 
preignant, < OF. preignant, pregnant, pregnant, 
pithy, ready, capable, etc.; F. pregnant = It. 
pregnante, pregnant, < L. pnegnan(t-)s, with 
child, pregnant, full, in form ppr. of a verb 
"prtegnare, < prsc, before, + 'gnare, bear, pp. 
gnatus, natus, born: see iiatafl-. In some Shak- 
sperian uses pregnant has been referred to OF. 
prenant, ppr. of prendre, take (cf. pregnable, < 
OF. prenable) ; but all uses seem to be deriva- 
ble from pregnant as above.] I. a. 1. Being 
with young ; big with child ; gravid : us, & preg- 
nant woman. 
My womb, 
Pregnant by thee, and now excessive grown. 
MOton, P. L., II. 779. 
2. Impregnated; filled; big: generally folio wed 
by trith. 
These in their dark nativity the deep 
Shall yield us, pregnant with infernal flame. 
MOton, P. L., vi. 483. 
Such the bard's prophetic words, 
Pregnant irilh celestial fire. 
Cowper, Boadicea. 
Her eyes were pregnant uilh some tale 
Of love and fear. 
William Mnrrii, Earthly Paradise, L 422. 
3. Heavily laden ; freighted. 
The elves present, to quench his thirst, 
A pure seed-pearle of infant dew, 
Brought and besweetened in a blew 
And pregnant violet. Herrick, Oberon's Feast. 
Whom the wing'd harpy, swift Podarge, bore, 
By zephyr pregnant on the breezy shore. 
Pope, Iliad, xvi. 186. 
4. Full of meaning; giving food for thought ; 
suggestive; significant; destined to develop 
important thought. 
I fear no such thing of you, I have had such pregnant 
Proofs of your Ingenuity, and noble Inclinations to Vir- 
tue and Honour. UouxU, Letters, I. iii. 2. 
History yet points to the pregnant though brief text of 
Tacitus. Story, Discourse, Aug. 81, 1826. 
He left home the next morning in that watchful state of 
mind which turns the most ordinary course of things into 
pregnant coincidences. 
Ueorgt Eliut, Mill on the Floss, v. 5. 
5. Full of promise; of unusual capacity, abil- 
ity, orwit; shrewd; witty; ingenious; expert. 
The nature of our people, 
Our city's institutions, and the terms 
For common justice, you're as pregnant In 
As art and practice hath enriched any 
That we remember. Shot., M. for M., I. 1. 12. 
The famous Ptolemy . . . culled out a selectnumberof 
his pregnante*. young Nobles ... to go to Greece, Italy, 
Carthage, and other Regions ... to observe the Govern- 
ment. Hamll, Forreine Travel!, p. 7i 
I went to Eton. . . . The school-master assur'd me there 
had not been for 20 yeares a more pregnant youth in that 
place than my grandson. Ecelyn, Diary, April 23, 1680. 
No one can read Goethe's recollections of his boyhood 
without feeling how, for example, the pageant* of the em- 
pire which he witnessed at Frankfort helped to call out 
his pregnant sense of organic continuity. 
B. Botangvft, Mind, XIII. 363. 
6. Characterized by readiness of wit; keen; 
apt; clever. 
How pregnant sometimes his replies are! a happiness 
that often madness hits on. Shale., Hamlet, II. _'. 212. 
If thou dost, [learned reader,] thy capacity Is more preg- 
nant then mine. Coryat, Crudities, I. 257. 
7t. Ready; disposed; prompt; susceptible. 
(Hun. Now, good sir, what are yon? 
Rdg. A most poor man, made tame to fortune's blows ; 
Who, by the art of known and feeling sorrows, 
Am pregnant to good pity. Shalt., Lear, IT. 6. 227. 
8t. Convincing; easily seen; clear; evident; 
probable in the highest degree. 
This was hym a preignant argument, 
That she was forth out of the world agon. 
Chawxr, Trollns, Iv. 1179. 
Were 't not that we stand up against them all, 
Twere pregnant they should square between themselves. 
Shalt., A. and C., It 1. 46. 
9. In logic, requiring an explanation; exponible. 
Negative pregnant, In lair. See negative . n. Preg- 
nant construction, in //../., a construction In which 
more Is Implied than is said, as In "the beasts trembled 
forth (that Is. came forth trembling) from their dens." 
Pregnant negative, a negative proposition affected by a 
reduplicative, exceptive, or other expression requiring 
special treatment in logic : thus, "no man, qua man, ever 
sleeps " Is a pregnant negative. 
II. n. One who is pregnant, or with child. 
iHtnglmon. 
pregnantly (preg'nant-li), adv. In a pregnant 
maniH-r. 
pregnantness (iin-^'naMt-nes), . Same as 
/ntili.illiri/. liililllf. \~2't. 
prehension 
pregravatet (pre'gra-vat), r. t. [< L. pretgra- 
riitnn, pp. of prxgravare, oppress with weight, 
<prx, before, + gravare. load, burden, < gratis, 
heavy: see grave 3 .} To weigh heavily upon ; 
bear down ; depress. 
The clog that the body brings with it cannot but pre- 
grarate and trouble the soul in all her performances. 
Bp. Hall, Invisible World, ii. 1. 
pregravitatet (pre-grav'i-tat), r. i. [< ore- + 
graritate.} To descend by gravity; sink. 
Water does gravitate In water as well aa out of it, though 
indeed it does not prjrgraeitale, because it Is counter- 
ballanced by an equal weight of collateral water, which 
keeps it from descending. Boyle, Free Inquiry, i 8. 
pregUStation (pre-gus-ta'shon), n. [< OF. pre- 
gustation = It. prcgnstazione, < L. as if *prte- 
gustu tio(n-), < prsegitstare, pp. prxijusta tus, taste 
beforehand, < prte, before, 4- gusttire, taste : see 
gust?.} The aot of tasting beforehand; fore- 
taste; anticipation. 
In the actual exercise of prayer, by which she so often 
anticipated heaven by preyuslation. 
Dr. Walker, Cnaracterof Lady Warwick, p. 117. (Lathatn.t 
prehalluz (pre-hal'uks), H. ; pi. prehallucfs (-u- 
sez). [NL. prxhallui, < L. prx, before, + NIJ. 
liiilliu; q. v.J A kind of cartilaginous spur or 
calfur on the inner side of the foot of some 
batrachians, next to the hallux, commonly seg- 
mented in several pieces. It Is Inconstant In occur- 
rence, and when present varies much In size, shape, and 
number of pieces. Its homology is not clear : It has been 
variously considered as a tarsal element, as a sixth digit, 
and as a supernumerary element of the foot. 
That the prehallux takes on certain of the essential re- 
lationships of a digit is beyond dispute. That It really 
represents one is another question. 
J'roe. Zool. Soe. London, 1888, p. 150. 
prehalter (pre-hal'ter), .; pl.prchalteres (-ez). 
[< L. prse, before, + Tialter, q. v.] A small mem- 
branous scale behind the base of each wing and 
before the halter of dipterous insects; a pre- 
balancer. Also called tegula. 
pre-hemiplegic(pre-hem-'i-plej'ik), a. [<pre- + 
lieiniplegia + -it:} Occurring previous to a hem- 
iplegic attack Pre-hemlpleglc chorea, choreic 
movements occurring previous to cerebral hemorrhage. 
prehendt (pre-hend'), t'. (. [< h. prehendere, 
contr. prendere, lay hold of, grasp, seize, take ; 
prob. orig. "prtelienderc, < prs, before, + -hen- 
dere (\/ lied) = Gr. jonAJir iv (>/*<!), seize, =s E. 
get: see geft. Hence ult. apprehend, compre- 
hend, deprehend, reprehend, etc., prender, pre- 
hensile, prehension , etc., i>ri;ei, prison, etc.] To 
seize; take; apprehend. 
They were greatly blamed that prehended hym and co- 
mitted hym. 
Political Poemt, etc. (ed. Furnlvall), Pref., p. xv. 
Is not that rebel Oliver, that traitor to my year, 
Prehended yet? 
Middletun (and another), Mayor of Queenborougb, T. 1. 
prehensible (pre-hen'si-bl), a. [= F. prehen- 
sible, < L. prehensus, pp. of prehendere, prett- 
derc, lay hold of, seize: seeprehend.} Capable 
of being prehended, seized, or laid hold of. 
prehensile (pre-hen'sil), a. [= F. prehensile, 
< L. prehciistix, pp. of prehendere, lay hold of, 
seize: see;>rfccnrf.] Seizing or grasping; tak- 
-^ 
Prebemilc-Uiled Porcupine (CluUtmyi 
ing and holding; adapted for prehension; es- 
pecially, fitted for grasping or holding by fold- 
ing, wrapping, or curving around the object 
prehended: as, the pnlifiixili- tail of a monkey 
or an opossum. Also pn-licnxori/. See cut 
above, and cuts at Ccbinte, mai-mote, musk-cavy, 
opossum, and xpiili r-nnnikey. 
In the Hlppocaniiiidw the caudal fin disappears, ami tin- 
tall becomes a prehemilr organ, by the aid of which the 
species lead a sedentary life, 
E. D. Cope, Origin of the Fittest, p. 828. 
prehension (pre-hen'shon), n. [= F. prehen- 
."inn. < L. I'ril' n."in(n-), prensio(n-), a seiz- 
