preternaturality 
preternaturality (pre-ter-nat-u-ral'i-ti), n. 
[< preternatural + -ity.] Preternaturalness. 
[Rare.] 
There Is such in intricate mixture of naturallty and pre- 
4714 
pretty 
2. The pretorian guard. 
I took stryf agelni the provost of the pretorie for comune 
irntit. Chauetr, Boethlus, I. prose 4. 
t, ntnlnralitti in age. 
J. Smith. Portrait of old Age, p. 138. (Latham.) Mm/m L _.. x . f . ,, _ 
preternaturally (pre-ter-nat'u-ral-i), adv. In gen. of affectio(n-), frame of uiiud, state of feel- 
a preternatural manner; inY'miinner beyond ing, affection: see affection.] _The value put 
or aside from the common order of nature. 
preternaturalness (pre-ter-nat'u-ral-nes), n. 
The state or character of being preternatural ; 
front of the lower part of the leg: as, a pre- 
tihitil muscle. 
pretiosityt, '< An obsolete spelling of preciosity, profit, 
pretioust, . An obsolete spelling of precious, prettify (prit'i-fi), P. t.; pret. and pp. pretlijinl, 
pretium affectionis (pre'shi-um a-fek-shi-6'- ppr. prettifi/iiir/. [< pretty + -fy.] To make 
nis). l\j.: pretium, price (see price); affectionis, pretty; embellish; especially, to make pretty 
in a petty, finical way, as by the excessive or 
fanciful use of ornament. 
Sightly without being prettified. W. H. Kouetti. 
He | M illrt ] would not stoop to alter fact* and "prettify 
upon a thing by the fancy of the owner, or by 
the regard in w'hich he holds it, as distinguish- 
ed from market or salable value. 
a 8tate"or manner different from the common pretonic (pre-ton'ik), a. [< L. pree, before, + 
order of nature. Gr. rowf, accent: see tonic.] Preceding the prettily (prit'i-li), adv. 
preternotorious(pre'ter-no-t6'ri-us),a. [<pre- accent. Amer. Jour. Philol, V. 499. ' 
tfr- + notorious.] Very notorious. [Rare.] pretor, praetor (pre'tor), n. [= P. preteur = 
Pr. Hp. Pg. pretor = It. pretore, < L. prietor, a 
leader, chief, head, president, governor, gen- 
eral, commander, pretor; orig. 'prteitor, one 
who goes before, < prxire, go before, lead the 
types " for all the critics in France. 
Nineteenth Century, XXIV. 481. 
[< ME. pratily, praty- 
This professed cheating rogue was my master, and I con- 
test myself a more preUrnotoriou* rogue than himself, in 
so li Miti keeping his vlllunous counsel. 
FMrher (and another). Fair Maid of the Inn, iv. 2. 
preternuptial (pre-ter-nup'shal), a. [<nreter- 
+ nuptial.] Beyond what is permitted by the 
nuptial or marriage tie; hence, euphemisti- 
cally, adulterous. 
Nay, poor woman, she by and by, we flnd, takes up with 
preternuptial persona. Carlyle, Misc., IV. 97. (Dame.) 
preterperfect (pre-ter-per'fekt), a. and H. [< 
preter- + perfect.] In gram., past-perfect ; per- 
fect. 
The same natural aversion to loquacity has of late made 
a considerable alteration in our language, by closing in 
one syllable the termination of our preter-per/eet tense, 
as drown'd, walk'd, for drowned, walked. 
Addiion, Spectator. 
way, < pree, before, + ire, go.] 1. In Rom. 
hint., a title which originally designated the 
consuls as the leaders of the armies of the 
state. Later (from about 367 B. c.) one and from about 
242 B. c. two pretore were appointed as colleagues to the 
consuls, and specifically as judicial officers, one of whom 
(prietor urtamu) tried causes between Roman citizens, and 
the other (prietor pereyrinut) causes between strangers, 
or between strangers and citizens. After the discharge of 
his Judicial functions a pretor had often the administra- 
tion of a province, with the title of propretor, or some- 
times proconsul. When the dominions of Rome were 
extended beyond Italy, the number of pretorships was 
increased, and finally, under the empire, became eighteen. 
lycli; '{pretty + -ly 2 .] It. In a cunning man- 
ner; cunningly; cleverly. 
A bok hym is browt 
Saylyd on a brede of tre, 
That men callyt an abece, 
Pratylyeh I-wrout. 
Political Poemt, etc. (ed. Furnlvall), p. 244. 
2f. Excellently; well. 
The profit of reading Is singular. In that It serveth for 
a preparative unto sermons ; It helpeth prettily towards 
the nourishment of faith which sermons have once engen- 
dered. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, v. 22. 
3. In a pretty or pleasing manner; with neat- 
ness and taste ; pleasingly ; gracefully. 
Still she entreats, and prettily entreat*, 
Kor to a pretty ear she tunes her tale. 
Shak., Venus and Adonis, 1. 73. 
And here, below it, is the cipher too you spoke of ; and 
'tis prettily contrived. Cotton, In Walton's Angler, II. 238. 
orevenniore. The prator urbamu was the first in rank, prettiness (prit'i-nes), n. [Formerly al 
1 ;(!.... II. *!.., ;..,.. v vr .. - 4 T^, 
preter-pluperfect (pre y ter-plo'per-fekt),fl. and 
n. [< It. prater, beyond, + plus, more, + per- pretoria, . 
feetuK, perfect.] In grant., 
pluperfect. 
preterplurality (pre'ter-pl<j>-ral'i-ti), n. [< pre- 
ter- + plurality. ] Extraordinary number. 
It Is not easily credible what may be said of the pre- 
trriiliiralUie* of taylors in London. 
N. Ward, Simple Cobler, p. 31 
and was specifically the Pretor. 
Hence 2. A magistrate; a mayor. Dryden. 
Plural of pretorium. 
past-pluperfect; pretorial, prsetorial (pre-to'ri-al), a. [=OF. 
pretorial = Sp. Pg. pretorial, < L. pnetorius, 
pertaining to a pretor (< prietor, a pretor, a 
leader: see^retor), + -al.] S&measpretoriaH. 
Pretorial COUrtt, in the colony of Maryland, a court 
erected for the trial of capital crimes, and consisting of the 
lord proprietor, or his lieutenant-general, and the council. 
pretervection (pre-ter- 
terreetlo(n-), a riding - 
vehi, pp. prseterrectits. 
< prater, beyond, past, + rehere, carry, bear, 
pass, relii, drive, ride: see vehicle.'] The act of 
carrying past or beyond. 
The preteneMon of the body to some place. Potter. 
pretext (pre-teks'), v. t. [< L. pnetejcere, weave 
in front, fringe, edge, border, place before, al- 
lege as an excuse, pretend, < prte, before, + 
texere, weave : see text.] 1. To frame; devise. 
Knox. 2. To cloak; conceal. 
Ambition's pride 
(Too oft pretexed with our country s good). 
T. Edwardt, Sonnets, i. 
3. To pretend ; allege. 
Leste their rasshnes (as thel pretez It) shuld continue 
the enlmles of the gospell. Joye, Expos, of Daniel xii. 
pretext (pre'tekstor(formerlyonly)pre-tekst'), 
n. [< F. pretexte = 8p. Pg. pretexto = It. pretes- 
to, < L. pratcxtum, an ornament, etc., wrought 
in front, a pretense, neut. of pnrtertus, pp. of 
prsetfjrere, weave before, fringe or border, al- 
lege : see prefer. ] That which is assumed as a 
rial rank, also of or belonging to the pretorium 
or imperial body-guard, < L. preetor, a pretor, 
preetoriitm, the imperial body-guard: see pre- 
tor, pretorium.'] I. a. 1. Of or pertaining to a 
pretor; exercised by a pretor; judicial: as, pre- 
torian authority ; also, of or pertaining to a 
pretorium. 2. Of or belonging to the body- 
guard of a Roman emperor. Pretorian gate, that 
one of the four gates in a Roman camp which was nearest 
the enemy, or directly In front of the general's tent. See 
plan under camp- (at reference-letter o). Pretorian 
guard, one of a l>ody of troops originally formed by the 
emperor Augustus to protect his person and his power, 
and maintained by successive Roman emperors down to 
Constantino : so called as practically continuing the or- 
ganization and functions of the pnrtoria cohort, or select 
troops which attended the person of the pretor or the gen- 
eral of the republic. These troops were under a spe- 
cial organization, and had special privileges of rnk and 
pay, raising them alwve theordinary soldiery. They soon 
acquired a dangerous power, and for a considerable time 
raised and deposed emperors at their pleasure. Preto- 
rian pact. Seepage. Pretorian testament. Seetenta- 
ment. 
H. n. A soldier of the pretorian guard. 
cloak or means of concealment; spmethingun- pretorianism(pre-t6'ri-an-izm),)i. [(pretorian 
der cover of which a true purpose is hidden; an + -ism.] Venal military di 
ostensible reason, motive, or occasion; a pre- 
tense. 
I know It ; 
And my pretext to strike at him admits 
A Rood construction. Shak., Cor..v. 6. 20. 
It either assumes the pretext of some virtue, or openly 
despises Infamy. Bacon, Fable of Dlonyslus. 
In almost all the little commonwealths of antiquity, 
liberty was used as a pretext for measures directed against 
everything which makes liberty valuable. 
Macaiday, History. 
= 8yn. Preteiaion, etc. Hee prelenue. 
pretextt (pre-teksf), r. t. [< pretext, n.] To 
use as a pretext, or cloak or covering; assume 
as a means of concealment. 
Such these are, who, under the abomination of luxury- 
nicety termed kindness Import the pretexted gloss of 
beauty's name. ' - ' Honour Triumphant, ill. 
pretexta, n. See prtetexta. 
preterture (pre-teks'tur), . [< pretext + -tire.] 
A means of concealment ; cloak ; disguise ; pre- 
text. 
Now we have studied both texture of words and pre- 
textures of manners to shroud dishonesty. 
Bet. T. Adaini, Works, II. 416. 
prethoughtful (pre-that'ful), a. [< pn- + 
ilimii/hniil.] Forethoughtful; prudent; consid- 
erate. 
PreOtovght/ul of erery chance. Sulirer. 
pretibial (pre-tili'i-al), a. [< L. pra, before, 
+ tibia, tibia: see fibial.] Situated upon the 
military despotism. 
Slavery, prelorianvnn, corruption of morals, and aver- 
sion to matrimony, decay of civic as also of military virtue. 
Pop. Sci. Mo., July, 1878, p. 268. 
pretorium (pre-to'ri-um), n. ; pi. pretoria (-S). 
[L. prsetorium (> Or. irpatrupiov), a general's 
tent, a council of war, the official residence of 
a governor, a palace, the imperial body-guard, 
the pretorian guard, < preetor, a general, gov- 
ernor, pretor: see pretor. Cf. pretory.] 1. 
That part of a Roman camp in winch the gen- 
eral's tent stood. See plan 
nesse; < pretty + -ness.] 1. Pleasantness; 
agreeableness. 
Thought and affliction, passion, hell itself, 
She turns to favour and to prettinem. 
Ska*., Hamlet, Iv. :,. 189. 
He was all life, all prettineme, far from morose, sullen, 
or childish in any thing he said or did. 
Kvelyn, Diary, Jan. 27, 1658. 
2. The state or quality of being pretty, or pleas- 
ing to the esthetic sense; especially, the effect 
of beauty in its slighter, more delicate, and more 
evanescent forms; the charm of grace, harmo- 
ny, delicacy, or neatness, as presented to the 
sight or the hearing; diminutive or dainty beau- 
ty: as, the prettiness of a picture or a tune ; the 
prettiness of a gesture, a dimple, or a lisp. 
Majesty and statelineas, as In the lion, the horse, the 
eagle, and cock ; . . . grave awfulness, as in your best 
bred mastiffs ; or elegancy and preUinest, as in your lesser 
dogs and most sorts of birds, all which are several modes 
of beauty. Dr. II. More, Antidote against Atheism, II. 9. 
There [the squirrel] whisks his brush, 
And perks his ears, and stamps, and cries aloud, 
With nil the prettinefs of feigned alarm. 
Cowptr, Task, vi. S19. 
There is much small art which has beauty, or at least 
that lower form of it which we call prettinem; yet the best 
art is both true and beautiful. 
P. 0. llamerton, Thoughts about Art, xvili. 
3. Neatness and taste bestowed on small ob- 
jects; hence, often, petty elegance; affected 
niceness; nnicalness; foppishness. 
A style . . . without sententious pretension or anti- 
thetical prettinem. Jeffrey. 
4. That which is pretty ; a pretty thing or per- 
son : generally in a depreciative sense, as sug- 
gesting pettiness. 
A great affecter of wlta and such preNtteua; and his 
company Is costly to him, for he seldom ha's It but In- 
uited. Bp. faerie., Mlcro-cosmographle, A Weake Man. 
Suburban villas, Belgrave terraces, and other such pretti- 
nettet. 
Uaicthorne, Passages from Eng. Note Books, II. 306. 
The painter . . . was forced by the fervour of his pa- 
trons, and his own desire for money, to perpetuate pious 
prettinemet long after he had ceased to feel them. 
J. A. Symondi, Italy and Greece, p. 76. 
The official residence of a provincial governor 
among the ancient Romans; a hall of justice; 
a palace. 
The soldiers led him away Into the hall, called Prxto. 
num. Mark xv. 10. 
pretorship (pre'tor-ship), n. [< pre tor + -ship.] 
The office or dignity of a pretor. 
pretortnret (pre-tor'tur), r. t. [< prc- + tor- 
ture.] To torture beforehand. 
Remarkable was their cruelty In pretorturiny of many 
whom afterwards they put to death. 
Fuller, Ch. Hist., VIII. II. 27. (Dana.) 
pretoryt, " [ME., also /;/(//>, < OV.prchirie, 
fin linn , F. iiritotre, pretorian guard, = Sp. 
Pg. It. pn-tin-in, < I,, /ii.-i Inrium. pretorium: see 
pretnriiim.] 1. Same as )irclorium, 2. 
Pilate up ros, and forth he gede 
I lut of the pretory. 
Curtor Mundi. (UaUivell.) 
j,prati, clever, cunning, pretty, elegant, < AS. 
prxttig, also, with loss of r,JMNM, / li<i. crafty, 
wily, astute (glossed by L. riilliitux. axliitiix. ;- 
gax,gnarus, rersipellis), = Icel. prett ugr, tricky, 
deceitful; associated with the noun, ME. )>ru<, 
< A&.prtet, prxtt, craft, art, wile (glossed by L. 
iisln. urs), =Icel.;>rcr,a trick QirHtn, v., trick), 
= Norw.prctta, a trick (pri'tla. v., trick); cf. W. 
pniilli, an act, deed, Corn.j-f, an act, deed, 
<-iinnin<r trick: prob. < ML. pnirlirnx, skilled, 
(mining (glossed by prritus), < Or. ir/mKTmof, 
skilled, versed in affairs: seepractle. The noun, 
AS. i/rift, may be duo to the adj., or, like the 
W. and Corn, words, it may be < ML. prarlini, 
prcictice: see ;./ -m / . For the sense of 'cun- 
ning.' or 'sharp practice.' <!'. jtrartifi- in like as- 
sociation. For the development of pn-tlyhmn 
'cunning' or 'skilled' to cunning' or 'tricky' 
and thence to ' neut, fine, small, and beautiful,' 
