pruritus 
characterized by Hitnple itching without struc- 
tural chauge. 
If there be a pruritus, or itch of talking, let it be In 
matters of religion. Jtr. Taylor, Works (oil. 1835), I. 740. 
Pruritus hiemalis, a form of pruritus In which the skin 
is dry and harsh, with smarting and burning sensations. 
It occurs chiefly in winter, and affects especially the Inner 
sides of the thighs, the popliteal spaces, and the calves. 
prusiano (pro-si-ii'no), n. [Sp. : see Prussian.] 
The western nonpareil, Passerina rersicolor, a 
beautiful finch of southwestern parts of the 
United States and Mexico, related to the nonpa- 
reil, lazuli-tinch, and indigo-bird, of a Prussian- 
blue color varied with purplish tints. 
Prussian (pmsh'an), . and n. [< F. Prussien 
= Sp. Prusiano "= Pg. It. Prussiano, < ML. 
* Pritssiamts, < ML. Prussia, Prusia, Pmcia, 
Prutia, Borussia, Bntgsia, etc., G. Preussen, etc., 
Prussia. Cf. pruce, spruce.] I. a. Of or per- 
taining to Prussia (a) a former duchy near the 
southeastern angle of the Baltic, which, after 
its union with the Mark of Brandenburg, formed 
the nucleus of the Prussian monarchy; or, (fc) 
a kingdom of northern Germany, now the chief 
state in the reconstituted German empire. 
Native Prussian blue. Same as blue ocher (which see, 
under ocher). Prussian asparagus. See anparagiu. 
Prussian binding, a kind of twilled binding having a 
silk face and a cotton back. Prussian blue, brown, 
carp, green, etc. See the nouns. 
II. . 1. A native or an inhabitant of Prussia. 
2. A language belonging to the Lettish di- 
vision of the Slavo-Lettic branch of the Aryan 
family, and usually called Old Prussian, it was 
spoken in the region between the lower Vistula and the 
Nlemen ; it became extinct in the sixteenth or seven- 
teenth century, being replaced largely by German. 
Prussianize (prush/an-Is), v. t. ; pret. and pp. 
Pnugianieed, ppr. Prussianizing. [< Prussian 
+ -ire.] To render Prussian in character, in- 
stitutions, laws, etc. 
The first step taken by the Emperor Pan! after his ac- 
cession to the throne wns to inarcn his little rnmxianized 
army from Uatchina to St. Petersburg. 
WtHmituttr Kev., OXXVIII. 580. 
prussiate (prii8'i-!it),M. [<.pruss(ic) + -i-ate.] A 
common name for the feiTOcyauides and ferri- 
eyanides: thus, potassium ferrocyanide is com- 
monly called yellow prussiate of potash, potas- 
sium 'ferricyanide red prussiate of potash, etc. 
Prussiate cake, in the manufacture of Prussian blue, 
the solid cake produced by calcining potassium carbonate, 
iron-borings, -tilings, or -clippings, and animnlmatter.such 
as dried blood, horn, leather-clippings, etc. This cake, when 
broken up, is leached, and the liquor concentrated to crys- 
tallization. The crystals are purified by re-crystallization. 
prussic (prus'ik), <t. [< Pnus-ian (with ref. to 
Prussian blue) + -ic.] In diem., related to Prus- 
sian blue, which was the first cyanogen com- 
pound isolated. Prussic acid, the common name of 
hydrocyanic acitl. See hydrocyanic. 
prussine (prus'iu), H. [<. pn<ss-ic + -JHC 2 .] Cy- 
anogen. 
prut 1 !, A Middle English form of proud. 
prut a (prut), inter}. [ME. prut, ptrot, ptriipt, 
also trut, < OF. trut, an exclamation of con- 
tempt or indignation. Cf. trut, tut."] An ex- 
clamation of contempt or indignation. 
And setteth hym ryst at the lefte, 
And seyth prut for thy cursyng prest. 
MS. Harl. 1701, 1. 20. (HaltimU.) 
Prutenic (prij-ten'ik), a. [< ML. Prutenns, Pru- 
tinus, Prujcenus, etc., a Prussian: see Prussian.'] 
Prussian : noting certain planetary tables by 
Erasmus Reinhold in 1551, and so called by the 
author in allusion to the liberality of his pa- 
tron, Albert, Duke of Prussia. They were the 
first application of the Copernican system. 
I trust anon, by the help of an infallible guide, to per- 
fect such Prutenic tables as shall mend the astronomy of 
our wide expositors. Mtfton, Divorce, i. 1. (Dames.) 
pruttent. r. i. [< prut*, obs. form of proud.] To 
be proud ; hold up the head in pride or disdain. 
Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
pry 1 (pri), r. ; pret. and pp. pried, ppr. prying. 
[X ME. pryeii, prien, peep, peer; supposed to 
be a transposed form otpiren, peer: see peer 1 . 
Transposition of this kind (of r in second sylla- 
ble before a vowel to the first syllable before 
the first vowel) is peculiar; transposition as 
in brid to bird is in the other direction.] I. 
in trans. To look closely or with scrutinizing 
curiosity ; hence, to search curiously or imper- 
tinently into any matter; peer; peep. 
So ferde another clerk with astromye ; 
He walked in the feeldes, for toprye 
Upon the stevres, what ther sholde bifalle, 
Til he was in a marie put yfalle ; 
He saugh nat that Chaucer, Miller's Tale, 1. 272. 
eye of eyes, 
Whypry'sf thou through my window? leave thy peeping. 
Shale., Lucrece, 1. 1089. 
4811 
Woe to the vassal who durst pry 
Into Lord Marnilon's privacy ! 
Scott, Marmion, ill. ir.. 
II. trans. To observe; note. 
Pandarus, that gan ful faste prye 
That al was wel. Chaucer, Troilus, 11. 1710. 
pry 1 (pri), n.; pi. pries (priz). [<j>ryl, r.] 1. 
A peeping glance ; peering ; curious or narrow 
inspection. [Rare.] 
From the sun and from the show'r 
Haste we to yon boxen bow'r, 
Secluded from the teasing pry 
(if Argus' curiosity. C. Smart, A Noon-piece. 
They seldom meet the eye 
i if the little loves that fly 
Bound about with eager pry. 
Keati, To 
2. One who pries; a prier; an inquisitive, in- 
trusive person (with allusion to Paul Pry, a 
fictitious name which, in its turn, was evi- 
dently suggested by this sense of the word). 
We in our silence could hear and smile at the busy 
cackle of the " I'rys " outside the door. 
Uarper'i Mag., LXXV11I. 82. 
pry 2 (pri), M.; pi. pries (pnz). [Appar. for prize 3 , 
taken erroneously as a plural: see prize*.] A 
large lever employed to raise or move heavy 
substances; a prize. 
A dozen strong wooden poles served us as pries over 
many a lake and river bar of sand, gravel, and mud. 
Science, III. 226. 
pry' 2 (P")> '' ' ! pret. and pp. pried, ppr. prying. 
[' pry%, n.] To raise or move by means of a 
pry ; prize ; bring into a desired position or con- 
dition by means of a pry : as, to pry a box open. 
pryan (pri'an), . [Corn, pryan, prian, clayey 
ground.] Clay. [Cornwall, Eng.] 
pryany (pri'an-i), . [< pryau + -y 1 .] Con- 
taining pryan, or mixed with pryan. Pryany 
lode, a lode in which the masses, bunches, or stones of 
ore occur mixed with more or less flucan and gossan. 
[Cornwall, Eng.] 
prydet, An obsolete spelling of pride 1 . 
pryer, n. See prier. 
pryghtet. An obsolete preterit of jjrick. Chau- 
cer. 
prying (pri'ing), p. a. Peeping; peering; look- 
ing closely into anything; hence, inquisitive; 
curious. 
Many have been pri/ing and Inquisitive into this matter, 
hoping to know something more particularly of it. 
Waterlarul, Works, I. 227. 
Prying eyes the fire-blast seldom lack. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, III. 13. 
= Syn. Inquisitive, etc. See curious. 
pryingly (pri'ing-li), adr. In a prying manner; 
with close inspection or impertinent curiosity. 
To those who peer pryingly into all corners the little Inn 
of the place will suggest some memories of a very modern 
history. E. A. Freeman, Venice, p. 23f!. 
prykt, pryket, '. Middle English spellings of 
prick. 
prymet, a. and n. A Middle English spelling of 
prime. 
prymert, " An obsolete form of primer 1 . 
pryst, ii. A Middle English spelling of price. 
pryset, c. t. An obsolete spelling of prize?. 
prytaneum (prit-a-ne'um), n. ; pl.prytanea (-a). 
[L., < Or. npvraveiov, the meeting-place or official 
house of the prytanes, < irpvravic., a presiding 
magistrate : see prytanis.] A public hall in an- 
cient Greek states and cities, bousing and typi- 
fying the common ritual or official hearth of the 
community. That of Athens is especially famous. In 
it the city extended hospitality both to her honored citi- 
zens and to strangers. The prytanes, or presidents of the 
senate, were entertained in it at the public charge, toge- 
ther with those who, on account of personal or ancestral 
services, were entitled to this honor. 
prytanis (prit'a-nis), n.; pi. prytanes (-nez). 
[L., < Gr. irpi'Tavif, dial, vporavtf, a chief lord, 
prince, ruler, a presiding magistrate, president 
(see def.); prob. < irp6, before.] In ancient 
Greece: (a) A chief magistrate or priest in 
several states, as Rhodes, Lycia, and Miletus, 
(ft) A member, during the term of presidency 
of his section, of one of the ten sections of fifty 
each into which the Senate of Five Hundred was 
divided at Athens. These sections constituted stand- 
ing committees, every one of which, in rotation, repre- 
sented the full senate in minor matters, and had charge 
of routine business. See the quotations. 
The prytana were by turns presidents, had the custody 
of the seal, and the keys of the treasury and citadel, for 
one day. ./. Adams, Works, IV. 480. 
The principal functions of the state itself grew out of 
the care which was bestowed on the tribal fire. The men 
who attended it in Hellas were called the Prytanes. 
Encyc. Brit., IX. 229. 
prytanize (prit'a-mz), r. i. ; pret. and pp. pryt- 
aiiized, ppr. prytaiiizing. [< prytan-y 4- -ize.] 
psalmist 
In Gr. n i' In/., to exercise the prytany: said of 
a state or tribe, or of an individual legislator. 
The order of the ten tribes In line of battle, beginning 
from the right wing, was conformable to their order In 
prytanizina, as drawn by lot for the year. 
Grote, Hist Greece, IV. 300. 
prytany (prit'a-ni), M. [< Gr. irmravtia, a presi- 
dency, the term of office or authority of a pryt- 
anis, < vpiravic, a presiding magistrate: see 
prytanis.] In ancient Greece, a presidency or 
direction ; the office or dignity of a prytanis ; 
especially, in ancient Athens, the period dur- 
ing which the presidency of the senate belonged 
to the prytanes of one section. 
If Schumann's older view is correct, the presiding officer 
In the Senate and the Assembly must always belong to the 
tribe which holds the prytany at the time. 
ZVaru. Amer. Philul. Au., XVI. 169. 
prytheet. An obsolete spelling of prithee. 
P. S. An abbreviation (a) of postscript; (b) 
(tlieat.) of prompt-side. 
psallenda (sa-len'dfi), .; pi. psallentlee (-de). 
[L., fern. sing, gerund, of psallere, play on a 
stringed instrument, LL. sing the Psalms : see 
psalm.] In the Ambrosiau office, one of two 
proper antiphons sung at lauds and vespers on 
Sundays and certain saints' days. 
psalloid (sal'oid), a. [< NL. psalloides, irreg. 
< Gr. ^XL/fan; play on a stringed instrument, + 
eldof, form.] Lyriform ; like the lyra, or corpus 
psalloides, of the brain. 
psalm (sam), n. [< ME. psalme, psaiime, salm ; 
partly () < AS. seatm = D. 2>xalm = MLG. salme 
= OHG. psalmo, salnio, salm, MHG. psalme, 
psalm, salme, salm, G. psalm = Sw. psalm = Dan. 
psalme; partly (b) < OF. pgaumc, F. psaume = 
Pr. i>salm, psalme, salme = Sp. It. salnio = Pg. 
salnio, psalmo; < LL. psiihnits = Goth, jtsalma, 
psalmo, < Gr. V///<if, a song sung to the harp, a 
song, psalm, the sound of the cithura or harp, 
a pulling or twitching with the fingers (cf. 
Raffia, a tune played on a cithara or harp, > 
LL. psalma, a psalm), < ^>a7"/^iv, touch, twitch, 
play on a stringed instrument (> L. psallere, 
play on a stringed instrument, LL. sing the 
Psalms). Cf. psalter, psaltery.] 1. A sacred 
poem or song, especially one in which expres- 
sions of praise and thanksgiving are prominent : 
usually restricted either to those contained in 
the Book of Psalms, or to the versifications of 
these composed for the use of churches, as the 
Psalms of Tate and Brady, of Watts, etc. 
"This Dragon of Dissalt, that thou derfly hath fourmet: " 
Ho settle In the sauter the Salme to the end. 
Deitructiun of Tray (E. E. T. 9.), 1. 4436. 
Euen the name Psalmes will speake for nice, which, be- 
ing interpreted, is nothing but songes. 
Sir P. Sidney, Apol. for Poetrie. 
They do no more adhere and keep place together than 
the Hundredth Psalm to the tune of "Green Sleeves." 
Skalr., M. W. of W., 1L 1. 68. 
The great organ . . . rolling thro' the court 
A long melodious thunder to the sound 
Of solemn psalms, and silver litanies. 
Tennyson, Princess, ii. 
2. pi. [cap.] A book of the Old Testament 
which follows Job and precedes Proverbs, and 
contains 150 psalms and hymns; more fully, 
the Book of Psalms. The authorship of a Urge num- 
ber of the psalms is ascribed traditionally to David. Many 
of them, however, are supposed to date from the time of 
the exile or later. 
3. pi. Among the ancient Jews, the Hagiogra- 
pha: so called because the Psalms constitute 
the first book in it. Luke xxiv. 44. Abeceda- 
rian, gradual, penitential, etc., psalms. See the ad- 
jectives. Psalms of commendation. See commenda- 
tion, 5. Psalms of degrees. Same as gradual psalms 
(see gradual). 
psalm (siim),r. [ME. "psalmen, salmen; < psalm, 
n.ll.t intrans. To sing psalms. 
II. trans. To celebrate in psalms; hymn. 
That we her Subjects, whom He blesseth by her, 
Psalminff His praise, may sound the same the higher. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, ii., The Handy-Crafts. 
psalm-book (sam'buk), n. [< ME. "salmbok, 
salmboc,<. AS. sealmboc (= D. psalmboek = MLG. 
salmbok = G.psalmbuch = Svf.psalmbok = Dan. 
psalmebog), ( sealm, psalm, + boc, book: see 
psalm and book.] 1. A collection of metrical 
translations of the Psalms prepared for liturgi- 
cal use; a Psalter. 2. Any collection of sacred 
poems or songs for liturgical use, with or with- 
out music. 
psalmist (sa'mist or sal'mist), n. [= F. pgal- 
miste = Pr.psaImista, salmista = Sp. It. salmista, 
< LL. psalmista, < LGr. *^>aAju<ffr/ff, a composer 
or singer of psalms, < Gr. tya/ubs, a psalm : see 
psalm.] 1. A writer or composer of psalms: 
especially, one of the authors of the psalms in 
the Bible; specifically, David. 
