prochronism 
fore, + xpovtt time), + -imu.] An error in 
chronology consisting in antedating some! h i UK; 
i In- dating of an event before the time when it 
happened, or the representing of something as 
existing before it really did. 
The prochrnnitnu In these (Towneley) Mysteries are very 
remarkable. Arclurologia, XXVII. 262. (Dana.) 
"Puffed with wonderful skill " he [Lord Macaulayl In- 
troduce* with the half apology "to use the mcxlern 
phrase": and that though he had put the verb, and with- 
out pmfhrununii . Into the mouth of Osbome, the book- 
seller knocked down by Dr. Johnson. 
F. Hall, Mod. Eng., p. 130. 
procidence (pros'i-dens), n. [= F. procidence = 
Sp. Pg. /iniciilfiicia = It. procidenza, < L. proci- 
i/intiii, a falling down or forward, < proci- 
deu(t-)s, ppr. of procidere, fall forward or pros- 
trate: see procident.] A falling down ; in pa- 
tlml., a prolapsus. 
procident (pros'i-dent), a. [< L. prociden(t-)s, 
ppr. of procidere, fall forward or prostrate, < 
pro, forward, + cadere, fall : see cadent.] Fall- 
ing or fallen ; iu patliol., affected by prolapsus. 
procidentia (pros-i-den'shi-a), n. [L.: see 
iirocidence.] In patlwl., a falling downward or 
forward; prolapsus Procidentia Iridis, prolapse 
of the Iris.- Procidentia rectL the descent of the upper 
part of the rectum, In Its whole thickness, or all Its coats, 
through the anus. Procidentia uteri, complete prolap- 
sus of the uterus, with Inversion of the vagina, and extru- 
sion of the uterus through the vulva, 
prociduous (pro-sid'u-us), . [< L. prociduus. 
fallen down, prostrate, < procidere, fall forward 
or prostrate: see procidence. Cf. deciduous.] 
Falling from its proper place. Imp. Diet. 
procinct (pro-singkr), [= 8p. It.procinto, < 
L. procinctit's, preparation or readiness for bat- 
tle, < prodnctus, pp. of procingere, gird up, pre- 
pare, equip, (.pro, before, + cingere, gird, encir- 
cle : see ctncture.] Preparation or readiness, 
especially for battle In procinct or procincts IL. 
in pndnctu], at hand ; ready : a Latinism. 
He stood in procinctt, ready with oil in his lamp, watch- 
Ing till his Lord should call. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), II. 141. 
War he perceived, war in procinct. Milton, P. I. , vl. 19. 
proclaim (pro-klam'), t'. t. [< ME. prodaymen, 
< OF.proclamer, F. prodamer = Sp. Pg. proda- 
mar = It. proclamare, < L. proclamare, call out. 
< pro, before, + clamare, call, cry: see claim 1 .] 
1. To make known by public announcement; 
promulgate; announce; publish. 
The pardon that the legat hadde graunted and pro- 
davmed thourgh all crlstindom. 
Merlin (E. E. T. 8.), iii. 577. 
He hath sent roe to ... proclaim liberty to the cap- 
tives. l*i. Ixi. 1. 
The countenance proclaim! the heart and Inclinations. 
Sir T. Brotcne, Christ. Mor., ii. 9. 
The schoolhouse porch, the heavenward pointing spire, 
Proclaim, in letters every eye can read, 
Knowledge and Faith, the new world's simple creed. 
Holmes, A Family Record. 
2. To make announcement concerning; pub- 
lish; advertise, as by herald or crier: said of 
persons. 
I heard myself proclaim'd; 
And by the happy hollow of a tree 
Escaped the hunt. Shot., Lear, II. 3. 1. 
You should have us'd us nobly, 
And for our doing well, as well proclaim'd us. 
To the world's eye have shew'd and sainted us. 
Fletcher, Loyal Subject, IL 1. 
3. To apply prohibition to by a proclamation. 
Proclaimed district, any county or other district in 
Ireland In which the provisions of the Peace Preservation 
Acts are for the time being In force by virtue of official 
proclamation. = Byn. 1. Declare, Publuh, Announce, Pro- 
claim, etc. (see announce), blaze abroad, trumpet, blazon. 
proclaim (pro-klam'), w. [= Sp. Pg. It. pro- 
dama, proclaim; from the verb.] A calling or 
crying out ; proclamation. [Kare.] 
Hymns of festival. . . . 
Voices of toft proclaim, and silver stir 
Of string* In hollow shells. Keat*, Hyperion, L 
proclaimant (pro-kla'mant), . [< proclaim + 
-ant.] A proclaimer. 
I was (pared the pain of being the first pmriaimanl of 
her flight E. Bronte, Wutherlng Height*, \ii. 
proclaimer (pro-kla'mer), . One who pro- 
claims or publishes; 01 
makes publicly known. 
tithes; one who announces or 
proclamation (prok-la-ma'shon), ii. [< F. i>i-<>- 
clamation = Sp. proclumacion = Pg. proclama- 
ffio = It. proclamazioite, < LL. proclamatim ' n- >. 
a calling or crying out, < L. proclamare, pp. 
proclamatus, cry out: se proclaim.] 1. The 
act of proclaiming, or making publicly known : 
publication ; official or general notice given to 
the public. 
King Asa made a proclamation throughout all Jmlah. 
1 Kl xv. 22. 
1748 
2. That which is put forth by way of public no- 
tice ; an official public announcement or decla- 
ration; a published ordinance. 
The Prince and his Lordship of Rochester passed many 
hours of this day composing Prodamalioiu and Addresses 
to the Country, to the Scots, ... to the People of Lon- 
don and England. Thackeray, Henry Esmond, 111. 11. 
The deacon began to say to the minister, of a Sunday, 
"I suppose It 's about time for the Thanksgiving proda- 
,,:,,tiu,, ' H. B. Stmcc, Oldtown, p. 837. 
3. Open declaration; manifestation; putting 
in evidence, whether favorably or unfavorably. 
Upon that day that the gentleman doth In-Kin to honrde 
vp money, from thence forth he putteth his fame [reputa- 
tion] in proclamation. 
Qveoara, letters (tr. by Hellowes, 1577), p. 153. 
You love my sou ; Invention is ashamed, 
Against the proclamation of thy passion, 
To say thou dost not. fthak., Alfs Well, L 8. 180. 
4. In law : (a) A writ once issued to warn a de- 
fendant in outlawry, or one failing to appear 
in chancery. (6) In modern public law, usu- 
ally, if not always, an executive act in writing 
and duly authenticated, promulgating a com- 
mand or prohibition which the executive has 
discretionary power to issue, or a notification 
of the executive intent in reference to the exe- 
cution of the laws. In early English history positive 
laws were to some extent made by proclamation, which 
were usually allowed the force of statutes. The opinion of 
some that a proclamation usually ceased to operate on a de- 
miseof the crown does not seem to be welt founded. Case 
of proclamations, a noted case iu English constitution- 
al history, decided in 1610(2 How. St. Tr.,723, and 12 Coke 
74X upon questions submitted by the lord chancellor ana 
others, wherein it was held "that the king by his procla- 
mation cannot create any offense which was not an offense 
before"; "that the king hath no prerogative but that 
which the law of the land allows him " ; and that, " if the 
offense be not punishable In the star-chamber, the prohi- 
bition of it by proclamation cannot make it punishable 
there." Emancipation proclamation. See emanci- 
pation. Fine with proclamations. See fine*. Proc- 
lamation Act, an English statute of 1539(31 Hen. VIII., 
c. 8X enacting that proclamations made by the king and 
council which did not prejudice estates, offices, liberties, 
etc., should be obeyed as if made by act of Parliament, 
and providing for the prosecution and punishment of 
those who refused to observe such proclamations. Proc- 
lamation Of a fine, at common laic, the public notice 
repeatedly to be given of a flue of lands. Proclamation 
of neutrality. See neutrality. 
proclamator (prok'la-iua-tpr), H. [= F. pro- 
clamateur = Pg. proclamaaor = It. proclama- 
tore, < L. proclttmator, a crier, < proclamatus, 
pp. of proda mure, cry out: see proclaim.] In 
Eng. lair, an officer of the Court of Common 
Pleas. 
procline (pro-Miii'), r. '.; pret. and pp.prodincd, 
ppr. procliniiig. [< Ij.prodinare, lean forward, 
< pro, forward, + dinare, lean: see dint.] To 
lean forward. 
Inclining dials . . . were further distinguished a* ... 
proclining when leaning forwards. Encyc. Brit., VII. 156. 
proclitic (pro-klit'ik), a. and n. [= F. procli- 
tique, < NL. procliticus, < Gr. vpo*A&ea>, lean for- 
ward, < irp6, forward, + tfjvetv, lean, bend : see 
dine. Cf. enclitic.] I. a. In fir. gram., depen- 
dent in accent upon the following word: noting 
certain monosyllabic words so closely attached 
to the word following as to have no accent. 
H. . In Gr. gram., a monosyllabic word 
which leans upon or is so closely attached to a 
following word as to have no independent ac- 
cent. The proclitics are certain forms of the article, 
certain prepositions and conjunctions, and the negative 
oil. Compare atonic. 
proclivet (pro-k)iv'), . [< OF. proclif, m., 
proclive, 1., = Sp. It. proclive, < L. prodirix, 
jtroelivus, sloping downward, < pro, forward, 
+ clivus, a declivity or slope: see clicus, cit- 
rous.] Inclined; prone; disposed; proclivous. 
A woman is fralle, and jirnrlirr unto nil evils. 
Lntimrr, 1st Sermon bet. Edw. VI. 
The world knows a foolish fellow somewhat prndut and 
hasty. B. Joiaon, Case Is Altered, 1. 2. 
proclive (pro-Miv'), r.; pret. and pp. proclircd, 
ppr. prodiriiig. [< prodin; n.] I. trans. To 
incline ; make prone or disposed. 
That guilt procKcca us to any Impiety. 
Her. T. Adam*. Works, III. tea 
II. intrant. To lx> prone. IMlitrell. 
proclivity (pro-klivM-ti), n. [< Y.prodirilt- 
= Sp. pTVClMdodm It. jn-odirita, < L. procliri- 
la(l-)s, a declivity, a propensity, < jirodinix, 
sloping, disposed to : see proclive.] 1. Inclina- 
tion; propensity; prononess; tendency. 
And still retaln'd a naturalprorftciti/ to ruin. 
Fletcher, Purple Island, I. 
Mr. Adams' proclivity to grumble appears early. 
T. Parker, Historic Americans, John Adams, I. 
When we pas* from vegetal organisms to unconscious 
animal organisms, we see a like connexion between pro 
ml advantage. //. Spencer, Data of Ethics. I Si 
proconsul 
2. Keadiness ; facility of learning. 
He had such a dexterous proefirtfy that his teachers were 
fain to restrain his forwardness. .Vr //. W ottan. 
" Ventilate " and "proclivity," after having been half -for- 
gotten, have come again Into brisk circulation ; and a com- 
parison of the literature of the seventeenth, eighteenth, 
and nineteenth centuries will show multitudes of words 
common to the first and last of these periods, but which 
were little used in the second. 
G. P. Marth, Lects. on Eng. Lang., xll., note. 
Syn. 1. Bent, bias, predisposition, aptitude, turn (for). 
proclivous ( pro-Mi' vus), a. [< L. prodirix, jim- 
i-lii'ii/i, sloping downward: see prodire.] In- 
clined; slanting or inclined forward and up- 
ward or downward : as, prodiroiis teeth. 
proclivousness (pro-Mi vus-nes), n. Inclina- 
tion downward ; propensity. Jlailey,n27. 
Procne (prok'ne). 11. Same as Prague. 
Procnias (prok'ni-as), n. [ML. (Dliger, 1811), 
< L. Procne, Proguc, < Gr. n/xi/a'?, iu myth., 
(laughter of Pandion, transformed into a swal- 
low. Cf. Prognt.] A notable genus of tanagers, 
Procniat terta. 
tvpe of the subfamily Proeniatina. P. tersa, 
the only species, inhabits the Neotropical re- 
gion. Also called Tersa and Tersina. 
Procniatinae (prok'ni-a-ti'ne), n. pt. [NL. (P. 
L. Sclater), < Procnias (Prociiiat-) + -iiue.] 
A subfamily of oscine passerine birds of the 
family Tanagridfe, representing an aberrant 
form with a short fissirostral bill, notched up- 
per mandible, long wings, and moderate ernar- 
ginate tail, typified by the genus Procnias: for- 
merly referred to the Cotingidee. 
procoelia 1 (pro-fse'li-ft), .; pi. procalix (-e). 
[NL. (Wilder), < Gr. 7rp6, before, + KO//IO, a hol- 
low: see ctelia.] A prosencephalic ventricle; 
either lateral ventricle of the brain. 
Procoalia 2 (pro-se'li-ii), . pi. [NL... < Or. vpo, 
before, + koi/oc, hollow.] A suborder of Cro- 
codilia; crocodiles with prococlous vertebrae, as 
distinguished from .-tnipJiico'lia. All the living 
crocodiles, alligators, and gavlals, and extinct ones down 
to the Chalk, are Prowriio. Also called EvcrocodUia. 
procoelian (pro-se'li-an), n. and 11. [As pro- 
cal-ous, proc&fia 1 , + ^i.] I. a. 1. Hollowed 
or cupped in front, as the centrum or body of a 
vertebra: correlated with amphicceliaii, opistho- 
ccelian, and Jieteroeo-lian. 2. Having procoelian 
vertebrae, as a crocodile ; belonging to the 
J'rocalia. 3. Hollowed by a ventricle, as the 
prosencephalon ; of or pertaining to the pro- 
cocliae of the brain. 
II. . A member of the suborder Proca-lia. 
procoelous (pro-se'lus), a. [< Gr. irpA, before, 
-|- Koi/oc, hollow (et. procalia*).] Sameas;)ro- 
inliiiii. Huxley, Lay Sermons, p. 224. 
pro confesso (pro kon-fes'6). [L. : pro, for, in 
place of; confesso, abl. sing. neut. of row/> >*-. 
pp. of confiteri, confess: see confess.] In Mir, 
in-Ill as confessed or admitted. For example, If * 
defendant In chancery' did not file an answer, the matter 
contained In the bill wa* taken pro cm\fem> that is, a* 
though It had been confessed. 
proconsul (pro-kon'sul), . [= F. Sp. Pg. />r<- 
i-nnsnl = It. pi-oconsole, < L. proconsul, a procon- 
sul, orig. as two words, pro consule, one who 
acts iu place of a consul : pro, for, in place of ; 
consule, abl. of consul, a consul : see conxtil.] In 
ancient Rome, an officer who diwbanMO the 
duties and hud, outside of Koine itself, nmst 
of the authority of a consul, without holding 
the office of consul. The proconsuls were utmost In- 
variably persons who had IKHMI consuls so that the pro- 
lon-ulHhip was a continuation, in a mixlltled form, of the 
consulship. They were appninteil in conduct ;i :u In or 
