prickant 
(6) Sparring mi ; traveling ; errant. 
Whit knight U that, squire? uk him If he keep 
The passage bound by love of lady (air, 
Beau, and Fl, Knight of Burning resile, 11. 5. 
prick-eared (prik'eril). <i. Having pointed ears. 
(This epithet was commonly applied by the English Cava- 
liers to the Puritans, because, their hair being cut close all 
around, their ears stood out prominently.) 
Pish for thee. Iceland dog ! thon prick-ear'd cur of Ice- 
land ! Shak., Hen. V., Ii. 1. 44. 
pricked (prikt). /<. n. 1. In ceram., ornamented 
with small indentations made by the end of a 
slender rod, or, for economy of time, with a sort 
of comb of from three to six teeth. The depres- 
sions, arranged In lines, zigzags, etc., and alternating with 
continuous lines drawn by a point, form often the sole dec- 
oration of simple pottery. 
2. Saiin- as pique. 
pricker (prttr), . [< ME. jn-iker, preker; < 
prick + -e'i.] 1. That which pricks; a sharp- 
pointed instrument; a prickle. Specifically (a) 
A saddlers' implement, usually a bifurcated tool for mark- 
Ing equidistant holes for stitching, (b) A needle used 
by draftsmen for marking points or measurements on 
drawing-paper, also for pricking through Important points 
of a drawing, in order to locate such points on an under- 
laid sheet. (.) A slender iron rod. usually provided with 
a cross-handle at the top, used to sound the depths of 
bogs, or ID searching for timber embedded in soft muck. 
('/> A spur or climbing-Iron, either strapped to the boot or 
to the wrist, or grasped in the hand, for aid in climbing 
trees, telegraph-poles, flagstatfs, etc. 
He had iron prickers to the hands and feet to aid in 
climbing lofty trees. Annals of Phil, and Penn., II. 20. 
(.) A small tool, resembling in form and use a fld or mar- 
llnesplke, with a wooden handle, used by sail-makers. (/) 
A piercing implement used in a machine for manufac- 
turing card-foundations, (n) A priming-needle of pointed 
copper wire, used In blasting. It is inserted In the charge 
of powder centrally with reference to the drilled hole, and 
the tamping is packed around it On its withdrawal a 
hole is left, into which flue powder is poured, and a fuse la 
then connected with the top of the hole. (A) In gun., a 
sharp wire introduced through the touch-hole of a gun to 
pierce the cartridge, thus opening a communication be- 
tween the powder in the cartridge and the priming-powder 
when the gun Is primed, (t) An implement for extracting 
primers from spent central-fire cartridges for small-arms, 
when the cases are to be reloaded, (j) A long Iron rod 
with a sharp point, a kind of pointed crowbar, used in 
some of the English coal-mines for bringing down the 
coal from overhead, and for some other purposes. 
2. One who pricks. Specifically (a) A light horse- 
man. 
Send preken to the price toune, and plaunte there my 
Bot if thay prof i c me the pece be procene of tyme. 
Marie Arthure (E. E. T. S.), 1. 366. 
This sort of spur (consisting of only one point, but of an 
enormous length and thickness] was wont by a body of 
light horsemen in the reign of Henry VIII., thence called 
prickeri. Anheeolugia, VIII. 113. 
Northumbrian prickeri, wild and rude. 
Scott, Marmlon, v. 17. 
(b) One who tested whether women were witches by stick 
Ing pins Into them ; a witch-Under. Imp. 
Diet. 
3. In ii-h/li.. the basking-shark. 
pricket (prik'et), w. [< ME. 
prikrt, prykct; < ]>rick + -et.] 1. 
A sharp iron point upon which 
a caudle may be stuck ; hence, a 
candlestick, either separate or 
one of several connected toge- 
ther. \\soprick. 
Item, ij yrilcrltit* of silver. 
I nmil. of Sir John Fattolft Uondt, Pas- 
(ton Letters, I. 470. 
Hence 2. A wax taper. 
To carry to the chaundrie all the re- 
maine of ... torches, . . . pricketU, 
wholly and intlrely. 
Quoted in /ia(wZ(wpV(E.E.T.S.), II. 108. **"" 
IliJ. d. for II. prykettnul wax lianiyng to the same obett 
(funeral service). EMjliih Gildt (E. E. T. S.\ p. S20. 
3. A buck in his second year: probably so 
called from big horns. See gpike. 
I wont to raunge araydde the mazie thlckette, . . . 
And joyed oft to chace the trembling Pricket. 
Speiuer, Shep. Cal., December. 
I said the deer was not a baud credo ; 'twas a pricket 
Shot., L. L. L., Iv. 2. 22. 
4. The wall-pepper or biting stonecrop, $e- 
dum acre. [Kng.J- Pricket's sister, the female of 
the fallow-dwr In Its second year. W. W. Oreener. The 
Gun, p. 508. 
pricking (prik'ing), n. [Verbal n. of prick, v.] 
1. The act of piercing with a sharp point ; a 
stinging or tingling sensation. 
By the pridriifj of my thumbs, 
Something wicked this way cornea. 
Shak., Macbeth, iv. 1. 44. 
Specifically, In farriery : (a) The act of driving a nail Into 
a horse's foot with the result of causing lameneas. (b) The 
making of an Incision at the root of a horse's tall to cause 
him to carp- It higher. See met I , r. (. 
2f. Musical notation. 
4720 
Even In 1597 that learned theorist and composer, Thomas 
Morley. speaking of the notation found In ancient written 
music, said : " That order of pricking Is gone out of vse 
now, so that wee vse the. hlacke voides as they vsed their 
black fulles, and the blacke fulles u they vsed the redde 
fulles." York Ptayt, p. 524. 
St. The prick or mark left by the foot of an 
animal, as a hare or deer ; also, the act of track- 
ing an animal by such marks. 
Those (hounds) which cannot discerne the footings or 
prickingt of the hare, yet will they runne speedily when 
they see her. 
Toptcll, Four-footed Beast* (1(307), p. 151 (IlaUiicett.) 
4. The condition of becoming sour, as wine. 
Howell. 5. pi. The slips of evergreens with 
which the churches are decorated from Christ- 
mas eve to the eve of Candlemas day. Balli- 
well. [Prov. Eng.] -Pricking for sheriffs, the 
ceremony of selecting one of three persons for each county 
in England and Wales to serve as sheriff for the ensuing 
year. The ceremony Is so called from the circumstance 
that the appointment is made by marking the name with 
the prick of a point See the quotation. 
The Lord Lieutenant prepares a list of persons qualified 
to serve, and returns three names, which are read out in 
the Court of Queen's Bench upon the morrow of All Souls' 
Day, when the excuses of such as do not wish to serve are 
heard, and, if deemed sufficient, the objector Is discharged. 
The list is then sent to the Sovereign, who, without look- 
ing at it, strikes a liodkin amongst the names, and he 
whose name is pierced is elected. This is called priding 
for gheri/g. A. Foiiblanqite, Jr., How we are Governed, Ix. 
Pricking up, in building, the first coating of plaster upon 
the lath. 
prick-shaft 
prickled (prik'ld), a. [<. prickle + -ciP.] Fur- 
nished with prickles. 
The prickled perch in every hollow creek 
Hard by the bank and sandy shore is fed. 
J. Denny* (Arber's Eng. Garner, I. 188). 
prickle-fish (prik'1-fish), . Same as prickle- 
liiifl;. 
prickle-layer (prik'l-la'er), . The lowest stra- 
tum of the epidermis; the stratum spinosum, 
next below the stratum granulosum. It is form- 
ed of prickle-cells, the lowest layer being pris- 
matic, and resting on the corium. 
prickle-yellow (prik'l-yel'6), u. See prickly 
iji llnificiHHl, under yelloicicood. 
prickliness (prik'li-nes), u. The state of being 
prickly, or having many prickles. 
pricklouse (prik'lous),.; pLeriflfc2foa(-Ht). [< 
prick, r., -t- obj. louse.'] A tailor: so called in 
contempt. Also prick-tlit-lonse. 
A taylonr and his wife quarrelling, the woman In con- 
tempt called her husband prickloute. Sir K. L'E&range. 
prick-lugged (prik'lugd), . Haviugereet ears ; 
prick-eared. Hallivjell. 
prickly (prik'li), a. [< prirkle + -yl.] 1. Full of 
^S^^^^SS^SSSS^SSK 8bai> p I'T,* r p , rickle8; aruied with prickle " : 
as, a pnckly shrub. 
The common, over-grown with fern, and rough 
With prickly gone. Cotfper, Task, L 627. 
2. Pricking or stinging; noting the sensation 
ofbeingprickedorstung Prickly catt. Seeorti, 
8. Prlcltly comfrey. See comfrey.- Prickly glass- 
wort. See ulastrwort and kelpicort. Prickly heat, let- 
tuce, licorice, etc. See the nouns. 
prickly-ash (prik'H-ash' ), . A shrub or small 
tree, Xanthoryltim Animcanuni, with ash-like 
leaves,and branches armed with strong prickles. 
Its bark Is an active stimulant, used in a tluld extract us 
a diaphoretic in chronic rheumatism, and popularly as a 
masticatory to cure toothache. Hence called toothache. 
Pricket. 
t Fran Viollel- 
le Duc'i " [Met. 
ilu M. l.ilicr (r.in 
- 
. 
pricking-note (prik'iug-not), . A document 
delivered by a snipper of goods authorizing the 
receiving of them on board: so called from a 
practice of pricking holes in the paper corre- 
sponding with the number of packages counted 
into the ship. 
pricking-wheel (prik'ing-hwel), n. A tool used 
by saddlers to travel over the leather and mark 
the number of stitches to the inch ; a stitch- 
wheel. 
prickle (prik'l), . [< ME. prikel, prikil (part- 
ly with loss of terminal s), < AS. pricelc, pricle, 
pricel, also priccls (=D. prikkel = MLG. prekel, 
LG. prickel, prikkel, prekkel = G. prickel), a 
sharp point, tprica, pricu, a point: see^ndfc.] 
1. A little prick; a small sharp point; in bot., 
a small sharp-pointed conical process growing 
from the bark only, as in the rose and black- 
beiry, and thus distinguished from the spine or 
thorn, which is usually a modified branch or 
leaf growing from the wood of the plant. 
The sweetest Rose hath his prickcll. 
Lyly, Euphues, Anat of Wit, p. S3. 
The leaf was darkish, and had prickla on it. 
MOton, Comus, 1. 631. 
2. A sharp-pointed process or projection, as 
from the skin of an animal; a spine. 3. The 
sensation of being pricked or stung. [Colloq.] 
All IP' me thet wnzn't sore an' Bendin' prieUet thru me 
Was jist the leg I parted with In llckln' Montezumy. 
/.""',, Blglow Papers, 2d sen, 1. 
4. A kind of basket : still used in some trades. 
See the second quotation. 
Well done, my pretty ones, rain roses still, 
I i.til the last be iln.pt : then hence, and fill 
Your fragrant pricklet for a second shower. 
/.'. Jonton, Pau's Anniversary. 
The pivkle is a brown willow basket In which walnuts 
are imported Into this country from the Continent; they 
are about thirty inches deep, and in bulk rather larger 
than a gallon measure. 
ilaiili'ir, London Labour and London Poor, I. 27. 
5. A sieve of filberts, containing about half of 
a hundredweight. Ximmonds. 
prickle (prik'l), r. : pret. and pp. trickled, ppr. 
[= LG. prirkeln, prikkeln, protein 
, 
G. prickeln, prick : see prickle, n., prick.] I. 
Irons. 1. To prick or puncture slightly; pierce 
with fine sharp points. 2. To cause a pricking 
sensation in: said of the skin. 
I ... 
Felt a horror orer me creep, 
Prickle my skin and catch my breath. 
Tennyion, Maud, xiv. 4. 
3. To cover with pricks or points ; dot. 
Evening shadowed ; the violet deepened and priekled It- 
self with Stan. Harper i Mag., LXXVI. 753. 
IJ. intrant. To be prickly. 
The fragrant Eglantine did spred 
His jiritkliuij aruies, entrayld with rose* red. 
*! liter, . Q., n. V. 29. 
prickleback (prik'1-bak), n. The stickleback. 
\\Mtitricklf-1tKli mill I'l'ii-l.h/hack. 
prickle-cell(prik'l-si'l>. . One of theronmli il 
or polyhedral cells, marked on their surface 
with niimcniuH ridges, furrows, or minute 
spiiifH, which form the stratum spiuosum of 
the epidermis. 
tree, as is also the species T. C/ara-/Yfrrt*/i (also called 
]rriclcly-<uh), which grows further south, and probably has 
similar properties. 
pricklyback (prik'li-bak), . 1. Same as 
pricluebaejc. 2. The edible crab, Callinectes 
lianlfitus, when the new shell is only partially 
hardened; a shedder. [Long Island.] 
prickly-broom (prik'li-brom'), u. The furze, 
L'tex KttroptFiis. 
prickly-cedar (prik'li-se'diir), . A juniper of 
southern Europe, JtMiiperva Ojcyceilrus. 
prickly-grass (prik'li-grfts), . Any grass of 
the old genus EcltiuocMou, now referred to Pa- 
tiicitiu. 
prickly-pear dmk'li-par'), ". 1. The fruit of 
cacti of the genus O[>unli(i, a pear-shaped or 
ovoid berry, in many cases juicy and edible, 
armed with prickles or nearly smooth. 2. Any 
plant of this genus, primarily (t. rult/uris (or 
0. Kafinesquii, which is not always distin- 
guished from it). See Opuntui. These are native 
In barren ground on the eastern coast of the I'nlted 
states, the tatter also In the upper Mississippi valley, the 
most northern siiecles. With other members of the ge- 
nus, they bear edible berries or pears. .Some species sup- 
port the cochineal-insect. (See cochineal, ) Various spe- 
cies are available as uninflammable hedge-plants. 0. 
Tuna, O. ridyarif, 0. Ficut- Indira, and others are cul- 
tivated and more or less naturalized around the Mediter- 
ranean, etc., and their fruit ii largely gathered for the 
market. Also called Indian ty. 
prickly-pole (prik'li-pdl'), H. A West Indian 
palm, Saetris 1'lttmeriatui : so called from its 
slender trunks, which are ringed with long 
black prickles at intervals of half an inch. 
The stems grow In tufts, and are sometimes 40 feet high. 
The wood is said to be elastic, and suitable for bows and 
rammers. 
prickly-spined (prik'li-spind), . Acauthop- 
terygious, as a fish or its fins. 
prickly-withe (prik'li-with'), . A cactaceous 
plant, Cercuo triaitf/ularis, found in Mexico and 
Jamaica. It has climbing and rooting branches, 
which are three-cornered and armed with 
prickles. 
prickmadamt, An old name of three species 
of stouecrop Sedum acre, S. album, and S. re- 
flefum. 
prick-me-dainty, prick-ma-dainty i pi ik'm, -. 
jpi-ik'niit-ilnn'ti), a. and . I. n. OMMtattoM 
by finical language or manners; finical: ovcr- 
pivrise. [Scotch.] 
" N'ane of your dell's play-books for nu," Mid she : " it 's 
an 111 warld since nlc prick-my dainl<i dulnun euine In 
faslilon." Scvtt, St. I:. .nan \V,1I, jil. 
II. ". A finical, affected person. [Scotch.] 
prick-post ()prik'i>6st), w. In iirrh., same as 
ifi'r i >/-l>ltst, 
prick-punch (prik'punch), n. Same as center- 
/I n in II . 
prick-shaftt (ipi'ik'sliaft i. . An arrow used in 
shooting at n prick or target. 
