Prick-eared to Priggery
Prick-eared
(Prick"-eared`) a. (Zoöl.) Having erect, pointed ears; — said of certain dogs.
Thou prick-eared cur of Iceland.
Shak. Pricker
(Prick"er) n.
1. One who, or that which, pricks; a pointed instrument; a sharp point; a prickle.
2. One who spurs forward; a light horseman.
The prickers, who rode foremost, . . . halted.
Sir W. Scott. 3. A priming wire; a priming needle, — used in blasting and gunnery. Knight.
4. (Naut.) A small marline spike having generally a wooden handle, — used in sailmaking. R. H.
Dana, Ir.
Pricket
(Prick"et) n. [Perhaps so called from the state of his horns. See Prick, and cf. Brocket.] (Zoöl.)
A buck in his second year. See Note under 3d Buck. Shak.
Pricking
(Prick"ing), n.
1. The act of piercing or puncturing with a sharp point. "There is that speaketh like the prickings of a
sword." Prov. xii. 18 [1583].
2. (Far.) (a) The driving of a nail into a horse's foot so as to produce lameness. (b) Same as Nicking.
3. A sensation of being pricked. Shak.
4. The mark or trace left by a hare's foot; a prick; also, the act of tracing a hare by its footmarks. [Obs.]
5. Dressing one's self for show; prinking. [Obs.]
Pricking-up
(Prick"ing-up) n. (Arch.) The first coating of plaster in work of three coats upon laths. Its
surface is scratched once to form a better key for the next coat. In the United States called scratch
coat. Brande & C.
Prickle
(Pric"kle) n. [AS. pricele, pricle; akin to LG. prickel, D. prikkel. See Prick, n.]
1. A little prick; a small, sharp point; a fine, sharp process or projection, as from the skin of an animal,
the bark of a plant, etc.; a spine. Bacon.
2. A kind of willow basket; — a term still used in some branches of trade. B. Jonson.
3. A sieve of filberts, — about fifty pounds. [Eng.]
Prickle
(Pric"kle), v. t. To prick slightly, as with prickles, or fine, sharp points.
Felt a horror over me creep,
Prickle skin, and catch my breath.
Tennyson. Prickleback
(Pric"kle*back` Pric"kle*fish`) n. (Zoöl.) The stickleback.
Prickliness
(Prick"li*ness) n. [From Prickly.] The quality of being prickly, or of having many prickles.
Prickling
(Prick"ling) a. Prickly. [Obs.] Spenser.
Pricklouse
(Prick"louse`) n. A tailor; — so called in contempt. [Old slang] L'Estrange.
