!'ji' 111. iti Compass. 
a, floating card beginning 
at the N- point and numbered 
entirely around the circle, 
3fo . , vertical sight-vane 
with central vertical wire ft; 
t, prism. On applying the 
eye at f. and causing; the 
wire d to bisect any object, 
the division on the card Co- 
inciding with the wire and 
prismatic 
in color: as, a prixinntir spectrum; prixmntir. 
colors. 
He talks of light and the prismatic hues. 
Coirper, Charity, L 391. 
Prismatic Cleavage, cleavage parallel to the planes of a 
prism. Prismatic colors, the colors kilo which ordinary 
white light is decomposed by a 
prism, from the red to the violet. 
See color and spectrum. Pris- 
matic Compass, a rompass held 
in the handwhfn used, and so 
arranged that by means of a 
prism the graduations can 
be read off at the saini- time 
that the object sighted Is seen 
through the sight-vane. It is 
used for taking bearings in 
sketching ground for military 
purposes, and for filling in the 
Interior details of rough sur- 
veys. Prismatic crystal, a 
crystal having a prismatic form. 
Prismatic planes, In crys- 
tal., planes parallel to the ver- 
tical axis of the crystal. Pris- 
matic powder. See powder. 
prismatical (priz-mat'i- 
kal), a. [< prismatic + 
-al.] Same as prismatic. 
. J ^ __ , iin Unit; with the wire and 
priSmatlCally (pnz-mat - reflected to the eye willshow 
i-kal-i), adv. In the form %%,$** b"" e ^"'"^a 
or manner of a prism ; by seined. 
means of a prism. 
What addition or decrement . . . befalls the body of 
the glass by being prismaticatty figured? 
Boyle, Works, I. 556. 
prismatoid (priz'ma-toid), . [< Gr. 7r/'<r/z(7-), 
a prism, + eldof, form.] A solid having two 
parallel polygonal bases con- 
nected by triangular faces. If A 
and C :u v the areas of the bases of a pris- 
matoid, and B that of the section half- 
way between them, then, h being the 
altitude, August's formula for the solid 
contents is A h (A + 4B I ( ') 
prismatoidal ( priz-ma-toi 'dal ), 
a. In the form of or connected 
with a prismatoid. 
prismenchymat (jriz - meng ' ki- 
ma), w. [< Gr. Tr/nafja, a prism, + NL. (par)en- 
clii/ma.] In hot., cellular tissue in which the 
cells are of a prismatic form. 
prismoid (priz'moid), . [< Gr. ir/iia/ia, prism, 
4- cliof, form.] A body that approaches to the 
form of a prism ; a prismatoid. 
prismoidal (priz-moi'dal), a. [< prismoid + 
-/.] 1. Having or relating to the form of a 
prisraoid. 2. In cutout., noting long bodies 
when they have more than four faces: &s,]>rix- 
moiilal joints of the antenna;. Kirby Pris- 
moldal formula, a formula based on the consideration 
of a solid as composed of prismoids. 
prism-train (prizm'trau), ii. A scrips of prisms 
used with the spectroscope to give increased 
dispersion. See spectroscope. 
Instruments [ spectroscopes | in which the prian train Is 
replaced by a diffraction-grating are still more powerful. 
C. A. Youny, The Sun, p. 191. 
prismy (priz'mi), n. [t prism + -#'.] Pertain- 
ing to or like a prism; prismatic in color. 
The mighty ministers 
rnfurled their prifinif wings. 
Shelley, Demon of the World. 
'I In- /iri'iii. hues In thin spray showers. 
\\ Iniii. r, Tent on the Beach. 
prison (priz'n), . [< ME. prison, prisoun, 
prisun, pryxon, prysoun, pnjsun, preson, late 
AS. prisun, < OF. prison, prisoun, prisun, a 
prison, a prisoner, F. prison, a prison, imprison- 
ment, = Pr. preiso = Sp. prision = Pg. prisSo 
= It. prigione, a prison (ML. reflex prisio(n-), 
captivity, prison), < L. preimio(n-), a taking, 
seizing, arresting, contr. olprelieiisio(n-) (found 
only in the sense of a machine for raising or 
screwing up anything, a jackscrew), < preiien- 
dere, prendcre, take, seize : see prehend, and el. 
prehension (a doublet of prison) and prise 1 , 
etc.] 1. A place of confinement or involun- 
tary restraint; especially, a public building 
for the confinement or safe custody of criminals 
and others committed by process of law ; a jail. 
The jailor . . . thrust them Into the inner pristm, ami 
made their feet fast In the stocks. Acts xvi. _'<. 
Each heart would quit Its prison In the breast, 
And flow in free communion with the rest 
Cooper, Charity, 1. 610. 
2f. A prisoner. 
Ml lord the king was ther iranjt In kene stoure, 
A jour sone also, and are prisons bothe. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 4215. 
"Consumnmtum est," quod Cryst, and comsed forto swowe 
I'itousllche and pale as a prisoun that deyeth. 
Pirn Ploumait (B), xvlil. 59. 
Fleet Prisoa Seejb**. Keeper of the Queen's pris- 
on. Be* HUHiAal of the Kiny'i Bench, under marshal. 
4736 
Limits of a prison, prison bounds, Jail liberties (which 
see, under jail]. Prison-breach or -breaking, In low, a 
breaking and going out of prison by one lawfully coniiiifl 
therein. (Bishop.) Breaking Into a prison to set a pris- 
oner at large is commonly called rescue. Prison rustic 
ashler. See ashler, 3. - Rules of a prison. See rule. 
State prison, (a) A jail for political offenders only. (6) 
A public prison or penitentiary. IU. 8.) To break 
prison. See to break jail, under break. To go out Of 
prison by baston. See boston, S. 
prison (priz'n), r. /. [< MK. pri*MM; < pri*- 
on, n.] To shut up in a prison ; restrain from 
liberty; imprison, literally or figuratively. 
Sir William Crlspyn with the duke was led, 
Togidder prisoned. Rob. of Brunne, p. 101. 
Her tears began to turn then- tide, 
Being prison'd lu her eye like pearls in glass. 
Shak., Venus and Adonis, L 980. 
He groped ; I arrested his wandering hand, and prisoned 
it in both mine. Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, xxxvii. 
prison-bars (priz'n-barz), n. pi. 1. The bare 
or grates of a prison ; hence, whatever confines 
or restrains. 
Even through the body's prison-bars, 
His soul possessed the sun and stars: 
D. G. Rossetti, Dante at Verona. 
2. Same as prisoners' base (which see, under 
prisoner). 
prison-base (priz'n-bas), n. Same as prisoners' 
base (which see, under prisoner). 
prisoner (priz'ner), n. [< ME. prisoner, pris- 
uner, prysoner, < AF. prixuner, OF. prisonier, F. 
prisonnter (= Sp. prisionero = Pg. prisioiteiro), 
a prisoner, < prison, prison: see prison.] If. 
One who keeps a prison ; a jailer. 
He bad [Joseph] hen sperd fast dun. 
And holden herde in prisun. 
An litel stund, quhile he was ther. 
So gan him luuen the primmer. 
Genesis and Exodus (E. E. T. S.), 1. 204-i 
2. One who is confined in a prison by legal ar- 
rest or warrant. 
She leteth passe prisoneres and payeth for hem ofte, 
And gyueth the gailers golde. 
Piers Ploirman (B), ill. 136. 
The High Priest and the Elders with their eloquent 
Tertullus were forced to return as they came, and leave 
St. Paul under the name of a Prisoner, but enjoying the 
conveniencies of liberty. StiUin/jJleet, Sermons, II. i. 
3. A person under arrest or in custody of the 
law, whether in prison or not : as, a prisoner at 
the bar of a court. 
The jury, passing on the prisoner's life. 
Shak., M. forlL, Ii. 1. 19. 
4. A captive ; one taken by an enemy in war. 
He yielded on my word; 
And, as my prisoner, I restore his sword. 
Dryden, Indian Emperor, iii. 4. 
5. One who or that which is deprived of liberty 
or kept in restraint. 
Most souls, 'tis true, but peep out once an age, 
Dull, sullen prisoners in the body's cage. 
Pope, To the Memory of an 1'nfortnnate Lady. 
If the person sent to relieve his confederate [in prison- 
ers' base] be touched by an antagonist before he reaches 
him, he also becomes a prisoner, and stands in equal need 
of deliverance. Strutt, Sports and Pastimes, p. 145. 
Prisoners' bars. Same as prisoners' base. Prisoners' 
base, a children's game in which one player strives to 
touch the others as they run from one goal or base to an- 
other : when one "player la thus touched, he too stands 
between the bases and tries to touch the rest, and so on 
till all are caught. There are many other ways of playing 
the game. Also called prisoners' ban, prison-base, and 
prison-bare. Prisoner'8-bolt, in her., same as shacklr- 
oolt. State prisoner, one confined for a political of- 
fense. = 8yn. Prisoner, Captive. See captioe. 
prison-fever (priz'n-fe'vdr), ii. Typhus fever 
(which see, under/f rer 1 ). Also called jail-fev<~r. 
prison-house (priz'n-hous), n. A house in which 
prisoners are kept ; a jail ; a place of confine- 
ment. 
I am forbid 
To tell the secrets of my prisfin-hinue. 
Shalr., Hamlet, L r,. 14. 
That I may fetch thce 
From forth this loathsome prison-house. 
SlOton, 8. A., 1. (tti. 
prisonment (priz'u-ment), H. [<.prison + -mi-iit.] 
Confinement in a prison ; imprisonment. 
Item, the preeminent of John Porter of Blykelyng. 
Potion Letters,!. 18. 
Pritchardia 
He was styled the grand pristaie, or great commissioner, 
and was universally known amongst the Tartar tribes by 
this title. De Qvincey, Flight of a Tartar Tribe. 
I have In my possession the original report of a Russian 
police pristav. written upon a printed form. 
Ueorye Kennan, The Century, XXXVII. 893. 
Pristidae (pris'ti-de), n. pi. [NL., < Pristis + 
-itltx.] A family of selachians orplagiostomous 
fishes, typified by the genus Pristis, naving the 
snout enormously prolonged into a flattened 
beak, armed with a row of saw-like teeth on 
each side ; the saw-fishes, (a) In Cray's system the 
7Ytttd included the Pratiuphoriilx. (b) In Utinther's 
system, a family of Batoidei, UKdodtng only the saw-fishes 
proper. They chiefly inhabit tropical seas. See cuts un- 
der Pristis and saw-Jish. 
pristinatet (pris'ti-nat), a. [< pristine + -/jte 1 .] 
Original; pristine. 
But as it [health] hath recovered the pristinate strength, 
which thing only In all the fight it coveted, shall It Incon- 
tinent be astonished? Kir T. More, Utopia (trans.), ii. 7. 
I thynke, yea and doubt not, but your line shalbe again 
restored to the pristinate estate and degree. 
Hall, Rich. IH.,1. 13. (HaUimll.) 
Beside the only name of Christ, and external! contempt 
of their prittinate idolatrye, he taught them nothing at all. 
Holinshed, Chron., I., B. 3, col. 2, b. (Sant.) 
pristine (pris'tin), a. [Formerly pristin; < OF. 
pristin = Sp. prtstino = Pg. It. printiiio,< L. prin- 
tinus, early, original, primitive, also just past 
(of yesterday); akin topriscus, former, ancient, 
antique, and" to prior, former: see ]>rior, prime .] 
Of or belonging to a primitive or early state or 
period; original; primitive: as, pristine inno- 
cence ; the pristine manners of a people. 
Find her disease, 
And purge it to a sound and pristine health. 
Shak., Macbeth, v. 3. 52. 
Adam's self, If now he liv'd anew. 
Could scant vnwinde the knotty snarled t-lew 
of double doubts and questions intricate 
That Schools dispute about tMs pristin state. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas s Weeks, II., Eden. 
After all their labour, (they] at last return to their pris- 
tine ignorance. Goldsmith, Citizen of the World, xxxvli. 
= Syn. Primitive, etc. See primary. 
Pristiophoridae (pris"ti-o-for'i-de), . pi. [NL., 
< Pristiopnorus + -irfa>.] A family of plagiosto- 
mous fishes, typified by the genus Prlttiopkona. 
They are anarthrous sharks, having the snout much pro- 
duced and armed with lateral saw-like teeth. They thus 
resemble the true saw-fishes, but have lateral branchial 
apertures like other sharks, and do not attain such size. 
The species are confined to tropical Pacific waters. 
Pristiophoruslpris-ti-of'o-rus), n. [NL., <Gr. 
Tpi'oTv/r, a suw,+ tytptiv = fi. bear 1 .] The typical 
Priilwphfrrm i imitus. 
genus of Prittiopkoridm, including such forms 
as /'. cirratus. Miiller and Hrnlc, 1837. 
Pristis (pris'tis), H. [NL., < Gr. Trpiorif, a large 
fish of the whale kind, formerly supposed to be 
a saw-fish, < npietv, saw.] The only genus of 
I'ristidfe, having the form elongate, with the 
TIs prisonment enough to be a maid ; 
But to be inew'd up too, that case Is hard. 
Middletnn, More Dissemblers besides Women, IL S. 
prison-ship (priz'n-ship), H. A ship fitted up 
for receiving and detaining prisoners. 
They saw themselves melting away like slaves In a 
prison-ship. Prescott, Ferd. and Isa., Ii. 14. 
prison-van (priz'n-van), ii. A close carriage 
for conveying prisoners. 
pristav (pris tav), n. [< Kuss. printafi.] In 
Russia, an overseer, police official, commis- 
sioner, commissary, or inspector. 
Sword of Pristis JffftKattu. 
snout prolonged into a toothed sword. The Euro- 
pean saw-ttsh Is known as P. antiqunrum. The common 
American species is /'. pectinatus, whose weapon (figured 
above) Is about three feet long. See also cut under AOK- 
fith. 
pritch (jirich), . [An assibilated form of 
prick, n.] 1. Any sharp-pointed instrument. 
Htillitrell. 2f. Pique; offense taken. 
The least word uttered awry, the least conceit taken, or 
pritch, ... Is enough to make units, and they will lie re- 
venged. D. /layers, Naaman the Syrian, p. 270. 
pritch (prich), r. t. [An assibilated form of 
jn-ii-k, r.] To pierce or make holes in. I/tilli- 
/;(//. [Prov. ting.] 
Pritchardia (pri-<-liiir'di-ji). . [NL.(8etnM 
and Wemlland, 1S6L'). nan'ii-.l nl'ti-r \V. T. I'rilrli- 
uril. Hritixh roMsiil in Fiji.] A genus of palms 
of t IK- trilii- r,,;-//y </;(,-(. rciniirkaltlc among palms 
for its persistent corolla-tube, from which the 
lobes fall away. It Is characterized by the valvate 
