pursue 
I will tu death pursue him with revenge. 
Beau, and I'l , Maid's Tragedy, 111. '. 
Will you the knights 
Shall to the edge of all extremity 
Pursue each other'; 
Shak.,1. andC., Iv. 5. 89. 
6. To follow as u principle of action, profes- 
sion, trade, or occupation; prosecute; practise 
systematically; carry on. 
Men imist purmie things which are Just In present, und 
leave the future to the divine Providence. 
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. 284 
The . . . measures which are now purnted tend to 
itrengthun and aggrandize . . . absolute monarchy. 
Goldsmith, Seven Years' War, II. 
Ikith Koote and Fielding ptinrue.d the law until the law 
pursued them. Jon Bet, Essay on .Samuel Foote. 
The principle of asceticism never was, nor ever can be, 
consistently pursued by any living creature. 
Ili-iiiliinii, I nt mil. to Morals and Legislation, II. 10. 
7. To follow up; continue; proceed with. 
Thus far. with rough and all-unable pen, 
Our bending author hath pursued the story. 
Shak., lien. V., Epil. 
Be slow to stir inquiries which you do not mean partic- 
ularly to pursue to their proper end. 
Gladstone, Might of Right, p. 24:.. 
8f. To endeavor; try. 
Men fyndeth that Makainede was a man ycrystned, 
And a cardinal of court a gret clerk wlth-alle. 
And pormtede to haue foe pope, pryns of holychurche ; 
And for he was lyke a Lusshehorgh ich leyue oure lord 
hym lette. Piers Plowman (C), *vliL !? 
= Svn. 2. To track, hound. 3. To strive for. 6, To con- 
duct keep up, persist in. 
II. intrant. If. To give chase; charge. 
Therfore, wende well (iaheries he hadde be slayn ; and, 
therfore, he purmde vpon hym with swerde drawen. n 
fiercely as a wilde boor. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), U. 194. 
2f. To seek; endeavor; try. 
The dedc of Andromaca dull thai told, 
And how Elymis egerly ertld the lordls 
To purgu for the pes to the pure CIrekis. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 121)50. 
Quod ennie, "thi foote thou holde, 
And pursue for to passe the beest." 
Hymns to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 82. 
3. To go on ; continue ; proceed. 
I have, pursues Carneades, wondered chemists should 
not consider, etc. Boyle. 
4. To sue; act as prosecutor; take legal steps 
as plaintiff or prosecutor. 
And, ofyr yat, yel shul purm for her Catelle in qwat 
cowrte yat hem llste. Entjlish Gild* (E. E. T. S.), p. 71. 
pursuet, a. [Early mod. E. also pcrsue; < pur- 
sue, !.] Pursuit. 
By the great verme which she there perceav'd, 
Well hoped snee the beast engor'd hail beene. 
Spenser, F. Q., III. v. 28. 
pursuementt(per-su'ineut), . [Early mod. E. 
also purxumcnt; < pursue + -meat.] Pursuit. 
The Spachies ire horsemen, weaponed for the most part 
at once with bow, mase, lance, harquclmsh, and cymlter : 
whereof they haue the general! vses, agreeing with their 
fights, their (lights, or purmments. 
Sandu>, Travels, p. 48. (Davits.) 
pursuer (per-su'er), u. [< ME. pursuwer; < 
pursue + -er 1 .] 1. One who pursues or fol- 
lows; one who chases; one who follows in 
haste with a view to overtake. 2f. One who 
follows vindictively or with enmity; a perse- 
cutor. 
I first was a blasphemer and pitrsuimr. 
Wyclif, 1 Tim. i. 13. (Trench.) 
If Ood leave them in this hardness of heart, they may 
prove as desperate opposites and pursuers of all grace, of 
Christ and Christians, as the most horrible open awtue, as 
we see in Saul and Julian. 
D. Rogers, Vuninn the Syrian, p. 106. (Trench.) 
3. In Scots lair, the plaintiff: the party who in- 
stitutes and insists in an ordinary action, 
pursuit (per-suf), n. [Early mod. 'E.pursute; 
< ME. pursute, < OF. porsuit, poursuit, in., 
poursieute, poursiute, poursuite, F. poursuite, 
a following, chase, < porsuir, etc., poiirsuirre, 
pursue: see pursue.'] 1. The act of pursuing, 
or of following briskly for the purpose of over- 
taking; a following hastily, either for sport or 
iu hostility; the chase, or a chasing: as, the 
pursuit of game, or of an enemy. 
In his earnestness to expedite the pttrsiiit, Uncas had 
left himself nearly alone. 
J. F. Cooper, Last of Mohicans, xxxii. 
The [iiii'x>/it was kept up for some three miles beyond 
the point where the picket guard had been captured. 
U. S. Grant, Personal Memoirs, I. 333. 
2. The act of following with a view to reach, 
accomplish, or obtain : the endeavor to attain 
to or gain: as, the pursuit of happiness. 
It ys lyke that grete labour and special! purgvte shall be 
made to the Lord Scalys that he wolle meynteyn the said 
Tuddenham and Heydon in all he can or may, and thus I 
have herd sey. Pwton letters 1. 17-2. 
4861 
Paris should ne'er retract what he hath done. 
Nor faint In the pursuit. Shak., 1. and C., II. 2. 142. 
A man In pursuit of greatness feels no little wants. 
Kinrrson, Conduct of Life. 
3. The object of one's endeavors or continued 
exertions or application ; that which one sys- 
tematically engages in or follows as a recrea- 
tion, occupation, profession, or trade, or with 
some similar end in view ; course of occupation 
or employment : as, literary pursuits; mercan- 
tile pursuits. 
He lived where gallantry was the capital pursuit. 
Goldsmith, Richard Nosh, Pref. 
I judgeof the value of human jmmiil* by their bearing 
upon human interests. Huxley, Aiuer. Addresses, p. 142. 
4. A following up or out; a carrying out: 
prosecution : as, the pursuit of a design. 
.Knras and that noble ret of Troye, 
In martial moodes Lucane did singe the chaunce, 
End, and pursute of that lamented warre. 
PuUenham, Partheniades, II. 
5f. Persecution. 
And the! pursueth the pouere &. pasaeth [go Iwyond] jiur- 
Klllt'X, . . . 
First to brenne (bum) the bodye in a bale of njr. 
And sythen the sely noule alen Islay] & senden hyre to 
helle ! Piers Plowman's Crcde. (E. E. T. 8.), 1. 964. 
Curve of pursuit. See mm. - Fresh pursuit, in law. 
Heefrcth. -Uyn. 1 and 2. Pursuit, Pursuance. Pursuit is 
free in either physical or moral uses : as, the purntit of a 
tiger, a profession, an ambition. Pursuance is not now 
used except in the moral sense, and then generally in the 
sense of following out : as, pursuance of his original in- 
tention ; in pursuance of a peculiar theory. We speak of 
the pursuit of pleasure. 
Say, in purauit of profit or delight. 
Who risk the most that take wrong means, or right 
Pope, Essay on .Man, Iv. 85. 
George was to depart for town the next day, to secure 
his commission, in pursuance of his generous patron's di- 
rections. Goldsmith, Vicar, xxi. 
3. Callinif, Employment, etc. See occupation. 
pursuivant (per'swi-vant), n. [Formerly also 
poursuivant, purser-tint ; < ME. pursiraitni, pur- pUTUi 
eyrauut, < OF. (and F.) pourmiirant, a follower, '.'/'"] 
prop. ppr. of poitrsuirre, pursue : see pursue, purul 
Of. pursuant.] 1. A follower, attendant, or 
messenger; especially, one who attended the 
king in uis wars. 
In respect* of the office of Harold, Pursuivant, Messen- 
ger, or Interpreter, they (the Headers) always beare with 
patience ... all actions, both of woord and deede, apper- 
taining vnto his office. 
Guevara, Letters (tr. by Hellowes, 1577), To the Header. 
How oft do they with golden pineons cleave 
The flitting skyes, like flying Pursuivant. 
Against fowle feendes to ayd us militant ! 
Spenser, F. Q., II. vUi. 1 
Swift insects shine, thy hoveling pursuivant*. 
Wordstcorth, Sonnets, II. as. 
2. A state messenger; an officer who executes 
warrants. 
purveyance 
A short pursy man, stooping and laboring at a bow viol, 
so as to show nothing but the top of a round bald head. 
Irrinij, Sketch-Book, p. H. 
Il.t ". See the quotation. 
Pursy Is u desease In an horses bodye, and maketh hym 
to blow shorte, and appereth at his nosethrilles, and com- 
meth of colde, and may ! well mended. 
fUiherbert, Husbandry (Cath. Aug., p. 294). 
purtenance (per'te-nans), . [< ME. purtc- 
nanff, purtcnauitre, portetuiunee, jHirtinaunfe ; 
by apheresis from appurtenance.] Appurte- 
nance; pertinents; belongings; theinwardsor 
intestines of an animal: especially applied to 
the pluck, or the heart, liver, and lungs. 
With al the porttnaunce of punratorye and the payne of 
helle. I'iers Plowman (C\lll. 108. 
Kydde roste with y< heed <V I he porlenaunee on lambe <fc 
I'ygges fete, with vlnegre A percely theron. 
Balces Book (E. E. T. a.), p. 275. 
Koast with fire -. his head with his legs, and with the 
purtenance thereof. Ex. xlL 9. 
How she can dress and dish up lordly dish 
Fit for a duke, lamb's head and imrtrnnnee 
With her proud hands. 
Ilfiii-niwi, King and Book, I. 204. 
purtrayt, purtreyt, ' Middle English forms 
of portray. 
purulence (pu'r(J-lens), n. [= F. jinnilence = 
Sp. Pg. puruleiicia = It. puruleaza, < LL. purii- 
Irntiti, an accumulation of pus, < L. purulentun. 
full of pus, festering: we purulent.'] The state 
of being purulent ; the generation of pus or 
matter; pus, or its presence; suppuration. 
purulency (pu'rij-len-si), H. [As purulence (see 
-ci/).~\ Same as purulence. 
purulent (pu'r^-lent), a. [= F. purulrnt = Kp. 
Pg. It. punilento, < L. purulentun, full of pus. 
festering, t pus (pur-), pus: see JIM.*.] C'ou- 
sisting of pus or matter; full of, resembling, 
or of the nature of pus; suppurating Puru- 
lent pleurisy, empyema. 
purulently (pu'ro-lent-li), rtrfr. [< purulent + 
///'-.I In a purulent manner; as pus. 
purnloid (pu'r<?-loid), a. [< pnrii(lciit) + -aid.'] 
Resembling pus. 
purvey (i)^r-va'), ' [Early mod. E. also poiir- 
rey ; < ^lE. purvcycn, piirmym, pnrre ien, por- 
reyen, < OF. pint-tier, purreier, porreer, porveoir, 
porroir, pourroir. F. pourroir = Sp. proreer = 
Pg. prorer = It. prnvedere, < L. proeiilere, pro- 
vide : see provide, of which purrcy is a doublet.] 
1. trans. If. To foresee. 
What myght I wene, and I lindde swich a thoght, 
But that i iixl purctieth thynge that is to come. 
Chaucer, Troilus, Iv. lOWj. 
2. To provide; supply; furnish; especially (in 
modern use), to provide or supply provisions or 
other necessaries for (a number of persons). 
That great man [Dr. Goodwin) lay wind-hound In hourly 
suspicions that the purtemnt* would stop his voyage, and 
seize his person, before the wind would favour his getting 
away for Holland. C. Mather, Mag. Chris., ill. 5. 
One pursuimttl who attempted to execute a warrant 
there was murdered. Macaulay. 
3. One of the third and lowest order of heral- 
dic officers. There are four pursuivants belonging to 
the English College of Anns, named Rouge Croix, Blue 
Mantle, Portcullis, and Rouge Dragon. In the court of the 
I. yon King-of-Arms in Scotland there are three pareui 
vants, Unicorn, Carrick, Bute. In the court of the Ulster 
King-of-Arms in Ireland there are four pursuivants, Ath- 
lane and St. Patrick Nos. 1, 2, and 3. 
The purscmnts came next, In number more ; 
And like the heralds each his scutcheon bore. 
Dryden, Flower and Leaf, 1. 250. 
pursuivantt (per'swi-vant), t>. t. [(pursuivant, 
n.] To pursue; follow after; chase. [Rare.] 
Their navy was pursuivanied. Fuller. 
pursumentt, . See pursuement. 
pursy (per'si), a. and n. [Early mod. E. also 
pursie, pursive.pursif, purcif, purseyf; mod. 
dial, pussy; < ME. pursy, purcy, earlier purcyf, 
< OF.pourcif, var. of poulsif, poussif, f.pouxsif, 
short-winded, < OF. poulser,pousser, F.pousser, 
beat, pant, gasp, also pusli, < L. pulsare. beat, 
push: see push, pulse*.] I. a. Short-winded; 
asthmatic ; now, usually, fat and short-winded. 
As in hem that haue the plrre and styffles and ben pur- 
eyf and thtkke brethid. 
Trecisa, tr. Barthol. de Proprietatibus Rerum. 111. 15 (Cath. 
[Aug., p. 294). 
When I grew somewhat pursii, I grew then 
In men's opinions too and confidences. 
lieau. and Fl., Wit at Several Weapons, L 1. 
I had a start out, and by chance set upon a fat steward, 
thinking his purse had been as puny as his body. 
MiddlctonV), The Puritan, L 4. 
Slothful and pursy, insolent and mean. 
Were every bishop, prebendary, dean. 
Crabbe, Works, IV. 12. 
The thinges thet foyeth to comene he deth poruay anil 
ordayny. Ayenbite of limyt (E. E. T. S.), p. if.2. 
He checs hym for to wende 
And come agayn right at the yeres ende 
With swich answere as God wolde hym purrei/e. 
Chaucer, Wife of Bath's Tale, 1. 61. 
Whenne yee anawere or speke, yee shulle bepurvcyde 
What yee shalle say. Dabees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 3. 
And the seld grevaunces shewed also here amongs the 
Kyng and the Ixirdz, it ys verrayly to thynk that they 
shall be purtryed of a remedic. Paston Letters, 1. 178. 
Get thy wounds healed, purvey thee a better horse, and 
it may be I will hold it worth my while to scourge out of 
thee this boyish spirit of brarade. Scott, Ivanhoe, xllv. 
U. intrans. 1. To provide; make provision ; 
purchase or supply provisions, especially for a 
number. 
And as for the remenant of the assizes, he shall purvey 
to be (her by water. Paston Letters, 1. 50. 
And therfore the Patron of the Galye and euery man 
purveyed iu be redy as defensyble as myght be. 
Sir R. Ouy(forde, l"ylgrymage, p. 11. 
The incline time that the repalres and tranerses were 
made with all diligence, Sir Gabriel Martlnlngo iieuer 
ceased going to euery place to purvey for all things. 
Hakluyt's Voyagei, II. DO. 
2. To pander: with to. 
Their turpitude purveys to their malice. Burke. 
purveyance (per-va'ans), . [Early mod. E. 
also jiurrei/iiuiiee, pourceyance ; < ME. purrey- 
anee, purveyance, purveiauace, porteanee, pern - 
ounce, purryans, < OF. porvetanee, porreanee, 
pourreiance, puneiaunce, etc., foresight, provi- 
sion, <lj.provulentia, foresight: see prorideiice. 
of which purveyance is a doublet, as purvey is of 
provide.'] If. Foresight; providence. 
Eteme God, that thurgh thy pitrreiaunce 
Ledest the world by certein goveniaunce, 
In ydel, as men seyn. ye no thyng make. 
Chaucer, Franklin's Tale, 1. 137. 
Who wol do pereeaunce in worldes longe 
The paluies forto sette he must have mynde. 
i, Husbondrle (E. E. T. S.), p. wa. 
