prioress 
Yon shrouded figure, as I guess, 
IJy her proud mien and flowing dress, 
Is Tyuemuuth's haughty Prioreu. 
Scott, \l ii-ini. ..i, ii. 19. 
pripristic (pri-o-ris'tik), . [< prior + -istie.] 
Of or belonging to the Prior Analytics of Aris- 
totle. See postcrioristic. 
priority (pri-or'i-ti), n. [< F. pnorite = Sp. 
yrioridad = Pg.prioridade = It. priorita, < ML. 
priorita(t-)s, < L. prior, former: see^rtor, a.] 
1. The state of being prior or antecedent, or 
of preceding something else: as, priority of 
birth: opposed to posteriority. 
As there is order and priority in matter, so is there in 
time. Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. 345. 
2. Precedence in place or rank ; the having of 
certain rights before another. 
Follow Cominiua ; we must follow you ; 
Right worthy you priority. Shale., Cor , i. 1. 251. 
After his [ Austin's! decease there should bo equalitie of 
honour betwixt London and Yorke, without all distinction 
otprioritie. Foxe, Martyrs, p. ISO, an. 1070. 
It was our Saviour's will that these, our four fishermen, 
should have apriority of nomination. 
/. Walton, Complete Angler, p. 48. 
Under these the scholars and pupils had their places or 
formes, with titles and priority according to their prod 
ciency. Evelyn, Diary, Oct. ft, 1641. 
3. In law, a precedence or preference, as when 
one debt is paid in priority to others, or when 
an execution is said to lose its priority by the 
neglect of the party to enforce it. 4. Apri- 
ority. = Syn. Priority, Antecedence, Precedence, Preemi- 
nence, Predominance, Preference, Superiority, Supremacy. 
Priority is the state or fact of coming flrst In order of 
time; what little use it has beyond this meaning Is only 
a figurative extension. Antecedence Is strictly priority, 
without any proper figurative use. Precedence may mean 
priority, but generally means the right to go or come 
tlrst, the privilege of going before another : as, the ques- 
tion of precedence among sovereigns or ambassadors 
makes great trouble, because the dignity of the nations 
represented is supposed to be at stake. Preeminence 
is, figuratively, height by nature al>ove all others, gen- 
erally in some one respect : as, the prenninence of Hhak- 
spere as a dramatist. I*redominance is superior and 
dominating power or influence : as, the predominance of a 
certain faction ; figuratively, the predominance of light or 
shade or a particular color in a certain picture. Preference 
is the putting forward of a person or thing by choice, on the 
ground of worthiness, or on account of the taste, fancy, or 
arbitrary will of the one preferring : as, to give the prefer- 
ence to Milton over Dante. Superiority may refer to na- 
ture or to given or achieved position over others ; It differs 
from supremacy as the comparative differs from the su- 
perlative degree : as, the superiority of the appearance of 
certain troops ; the superiority of the dairy-products of a 
certain region; superiority to one's circumstances; su- 
premacy on the land and supremacy on the sea do not al- 
ways go together. See previous. 
priorly (pri'or-li), adv. [< prior, a., + -i.i/'-'.] 
Antecedently. 
Whether priorly to that sera It had ever been Inhabited, 
or lain till then in its chaotic state, is a question which it 
would be rash U> decide. Qeddes, tr. of Bible, I., Pref. 
priorship (pri'or-ship), n. [< prior, n., + -ship.'] 
The office of prior; a priorate. 
The archbishop, prouoked the more by that, deposed him 
from the priorship. Foxe, Martyrs, p. 214, an. 11UO. 
priory (pri'or-i), n. ; pi. priories (-iz). [< ME. 
priorie, < OF. priorie, prioree, prieuree (= It. 
prioria), f., a priory (cf. ML. prioria, the office 
of a prior, a priory), a later form for OF. priorc, 
prieure, < ML. /irioratiiti, the office of a prior, < 
prior, a prior: see prior, n., and cf. priorate."] 
A religious house next in dignity below an ab- 
bey, and often, but not necessarily, dependent 
upon an abbey. Its superior is called a prior 
or prioress. 
Our abbeys and our priorie* shall pay 
This expedition's charge. 
Shale., K. John, i. 1. 48. 
Alien priory, a cell or small religious house dependent 
upon a large monastery in another country. 
And [the parliament] showed no reluctance to confiscate 
the property of the alien priories which Henry had restored 
In the previous year. Stubbs, Const. Hist, of Eng., 306. 
pripri (pre'pre), n. [S. Amer.] In French 
Guiana, a marshy belt occurring immediately 
behind the mangrove or submerged belt of the 
coast. It can easily be drained and made into 
good meadow-land. 
prist, - A Middle English form of pricf. Chaucer. 
prisage (pri'zaj), n. [< OF. primge, prizing, 
rating, valuing, < priser, estimate; in def. 2, 
rather < OF. prise, a taking: see prize*.] If. 
A prizing; rating; valuing. Cotgrare. 2. In 
early Eng. and French law, a seizure or asserted 
right of seizure by way of exaction or requisi- 
tion for the use of the crown. More specifically 
(a) A right which once belonged to the English crown, of 
taking two tuns of wine from every ship importing twenty 
tuns or more. This by charter of Kdwiu-d I. was commuted 
into a duty of two shillings for every tun imported by 
merchant strangers, and called buUeraye, because paid to 
4735 
the king's butler. (6) The share of merchandise taken as 
lawful prize at sea which belongs to the crown usually 
one tenth. 
prisalt (pri'zal), n. [Alsoprizall; by abbr. from 
reprisal.] A taking; a capture. 
They complain of two ships taken on the coast of Portu- 
gal. . . . They of Zeland did send unto I loll' 1 to let them 
know of these prwals. 
Sir P. Sidney, quoted In Motley's Hist. Netherlands, 
[III. 174, uote. 
priscan (pris'kan), a. [< L. priscus, primitive, 
+ -an.] Primitive. [Rare.] 
We seem to hear In the songs and dances of the savage 
Indians the echoes of our own pritcan history. 
SmiUaonian Report, 1881, p. 600. 
Priscian (prish'ian), n. [So called from Pris- 
citin (LL. Priscianus), a Latin grammarian 
(about A. D. 500).] A grammarian. Compart 
the phrase to break Priscian's head, under break: 
But thus It Is when petty Priman* 
Will needs step up to be censorians. 
Marston, Satires, iv. 104. 
PriscillianismCpri-sil'yan-izm), n. [< Priscil- 
lidn-ist H- -(>/.] The doctrines of the Priscil- 
lianists. 
Priscillianist (pri-sil'yan-ist), n. [< Priscil- 
lian OtfriSOilla (see den.) + -ist.] 1. One of 
a sect, followers of Priseillian, a Spanish here- 
tic of the fourth centurv. The sect, which origi- 
nated In Spain, held various (inostic and Manichean doc- 
trines. The Priscfllianists considered it allowable to con- 
ceal their tenets by dissimulation ; they were accused of 
gross immorality, and were severely persecuted by the 
emperor Maxlmus. 
2. A name given to the Montanists (see .1/n- 
tanist), from their alleged prophetess Priscilla. 
prise 1 !, . and c. An obsolete form of prize 1 . 
prise't, a. [ME., also prijse, pris, < OF. yira, 
taken, received, accepted, etc. (used in various 
adj. senses), pp. of premlre, take, receive, ac- 
cept : see prise', prize 1 , n. and r.] Choice ; ex- 
cellent; noble. 
I bid that ye buske, and no bode make ; 
Pas into Payone there print knightes dwcllis, 
Doughty of dole, derfe men in Armys. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2MS. 
So dide wele thoo prise km elites In her companyc. and 
also the knyghtes of the rounde table, that ne ought not 
to be for-yeten. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), il. 2'20. 
I huue a pris prcsant, to plese with thl her*. 
WOUam of I'alcme (E. E. T. S.), 1. 411. 
prise-t, '. and n. 
prise 3 , ii. and r. 
A variant of prize". 
See prizr&. 
priseheadt, . [ME. prishede; < prixri, <i., + 
-head.] Excellence; worthiness. 
The prinheile of Parys was praisit so mekyll, 
With ferly of his fall-ties, A- his frc buernes. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2907. 
prisert, An obsolete form otprizer. 
prism (prizru), n. [= Y.prismc = Sp. Pg. It. 
prisma = I). G. Sw. Dan. prisma, < Lii.pnsma, 
a prism (in geom.), < Gr. x/iia/ia, a prism (in 
genm.), lit. something sawed (as a block of 
wood), also sawdust, (. xpiciv, ir/ii^ctv, saw.] 1. 
In geom., a solid whose bases or ends 
are any similar, equal, and parallel 
plane polygons, and whose sides ai-o 
parallelograms. Prisms are triangular, 
square, pentagonal, etc., according as the fig- 
ures of their ends are triangles, squares, pen- 
tagons, etc. 
When the mirror is entirely inlaid with large 
pieces of Marble, some of which are found 
to rise above the others, or to be detached 
from them, they are forced down again with 
a quadrangular wooden prism. 
\7 
Specifically 2. An optical instrument con- 
sisting of a transparent medium so arranged 
that the surfaces which 
receive and transmit 
light form au angle with 
each other.- usually of a 
triangular form with well- 
polished sides, which 
meet in three parallel 
lines, and made of glass, 
rock-salt, or quartz, or a 
liquid, as carbon disul- 
phid, contained in a pris- 
matic receptacle formed 
of plates of glass. A ray 
of light falling upon one of 
the sides of a prism is refracted 
(see refraction) or bent from 
Us original direction at an an- 
gle depending upon its own 
wave-length, the angle of inci- 
dence, the angle of the prism, 
and the material of which the 
prism is made. This angle of 
deviation, as it is called, has a 
definite minimum (minimum deviation) value when the 
angle of incidence is equal to the angle of emergence. 
I 
Glass Prism upon Adjustable 
Staml. 
prismatic 
The angle of deviation increases as the wave-length of 
the light-ray diminishes ; consequently, if a pencil of white 
light falls upon the prism, the different rays are separated 
or dispersed, and a spectrum is the result. (See *prc- 
triim.) Prisms are hence used in s)>ectrum analysis to 
decompose light, so that the rays of which It Is made up 
may be examined. 
The beams that thro' the Oriel shine 
Make pritmt In every can-en glass. 
Trim/moil, Day-Dream, The sleeping Palace. 
3. In crystal., a form consisting of planes, usu- 
ally four, six, eight, or twelve, which are par- 
allel to the vertical axis. If the planes Intersect the 
lateral axes at the assumed unit distances for the given 
species. It is called a unit prism ; otherwise it may lie de- 
scribed, according to the position of the planes, as a mac- 
roprixm, brachyprism. ortJuiprism, or dinoprism. In the 
triclinic system the form includes two planes only, and 
it is hence called a hemiprinn. In the tetragonal system 
the unit prism is sometimes called a protopritm, or prism 
of the first order, and the diametral prism, whose planes 
are parallel to a lateral axis, a deutrropriam, or prism of 
the second order ; these names are also used In au analo- 
gous manner in the hexagonal system. 
4. In canals, a part of the water-space in a 
straight section of a canal, considered as a par- 
allelepiped. 5. In wearing, same &spattern-box 
CO- Achromatic prism, a prism through which an In- 
cident beam of light Is refracted into a new direction with- 
out color. It consists of a combination of two prisms, made 
of two different transparent substances of unequal dis- 
persive powers, as flint-glass and crown glass. Amici's 
prism, in microscopy, a form of illuminator consisting of a 
prism having one plane and two lenticular surfaces, so that 
it serves at once to concentrate the rays and to reflect them 
obliquely upon the object. It Is supported upon an adjust- 
able stand. Bisulphid prism. See bisulplM. Diam- 
etral prism. See diametral planer, under diametral. 
Diatom prism, a prism used as an attachment to a mi- 
croscope to give the oblique illumination favorable for 
observing very flue lines or markings, as those on the shells 
of diatoms. Double -Image Prism, in trpticit, a prism of 
Iceland spar which yields two images of like intensity, but 
polarized in planes at right angles to caeh other. Equi- 
lateral prism, a prism having equal sides, used as an at- 
tachment to a microscope to illuminate the object. It 
acts on the principle of total reflection. Erecting prism, 
a prism placed between (he two lenses of the eyepiece, 
and serving to erect the inverted image of a compound 
microscope. Natchet's prism, (a) 
In microscopy, an erecting prism. 
(6) A form of illuminator consist ing of p- 
a prism with two convex surfaces, by 
which the light is brought to u focus 
upon the object. - Nlcol prism, or 
tucol, a prism of Iceland spar (calctte), 
used when polarized light is required : 
named from its inventor, William 
Nicol, of Edinburgh, who first dc- 
scril>ed it In 182s. The common form is 
constructed from an oblong cleavage 
piece, flrst by grinding two new faces 
at the ends (as pji') inclined about 08 
to the vertical edges, and then cement- 
ing the halves together by Canada bal- 
sam in the line A ft. The ordinary my 
now suffers total reflection at c, and is 
absorbed by the blackened sides at .--, 
while the extraordinary ray, polarized 
with vibrations parallel to the shorter 
diagonal of the cross-section, emerges 
at - - Modified forms of the prism, ac- 
complishing the same end, have been 
devised in recent years (often called 
nifol* also), which are much shorter, 
and hence have the advantages of giv- 
ing a larger fleld In the microscope 
and less loss of light by absorption, 
together with an important saving of 
the material : one of these Is the Razu- 
movsky prism. Prism battery, a 
Leclanehc battery In which a pair of 
compressed prisms, containing all the 
materials commonly used in the po- 
rous cup, is employed in place of the 
latter. Reversing prism, a small 
obtuse-angled isosceles prism (;' in the 
cut) of flint-glass, placet! between the 
eye-lens of a positive eyepiece e and the eye. with its longest 
side parallel to the optical axis of the eyepiece. It inverts 
the image viewed through 
the eyepiece, and when It 
is made to rotate around 
the optical axis the image 
also appears to turn, so that 
any line in It can be made 
vertical or horizontal at 
pleasure. This enables the 
observer to avoid, or to 
eliminate, certain errors of 
measurement which depend upon the apparent position of 
the object. Right-angle prism, a prism attached to a 
microscope-stand to throw fight upon an object. It is so 
made that it can rotate on a horizontal or vertical axis, so 
as to throw light as required. Wenham prism, in a bi- 
nocular microscope, a quadrilateral prism used to reflect 
part of the light-rays from the object up the second tube 
to its eyepiece. 
prismatic (priz-mat'ik), a. [= F. prisma tiqur = 
Sp. prismatico = Pg. It. prismatico, < Gr. irpia- 
ua(r-), a prism : see prism.] 1. Of or pertain- 
ing to a prism ; having the form of a prism. 
False eloquence, like the prismatic glass, 
Its gaudy colours spreads on every place. 
Pope, Essay on Criticism, 1. 311. 
2. Separated or distributed by, or as if by, a 
transparent prism ; formed by a prism ; varied 

Vertical and Trans- 
verse Sections of a 
Nli i I'll t:i. 
//'.direction of ter- 
minal f. i of prism ; 
AB, direction of sur- 
face by which the 
parts .'ire cemented 
together ; bcf , path 
of ordinary ray ; 
iff/. path of ex- 
traordinary ray ; W, 
direction of vibration 
pliine in shorter dia- 
gonal of transverse 
section i//' being 
longer diagoual. cf. 
above). 
Reversing Prism. 
The prism can be rotated on the 
optical axis t/. 
