primrose (primroz)

and a. [ Thou seydest a zerd schulde sprynge Oute of the rote of Ientill Ie e, And schulde floure with flori chyng, With prime roses greet plent. Holy Rood (E. E. T. S.), p. 212. The primrose placing first, because that in the spring It is the first appears, then only flourishing. Drayton, Polyolbion, xv. 149. A primrose by a river's brim A yellow primrose was to him, And it was nothing more. Words worth, Peter Bell, i. 2. One of a few other plants with some resemblance to the primrose. See the phrases below. -3t. The first or earliest flower; a spring flower. IMG:content-0962.jpg:[blocks in formation] Was I not planted of thine owne hand, To be the primrose of all the land; With flow ring blo omes to furnish the prime? She is the pride and primrose of the rest, Made by the Maker selfe to be admired. ings, and has certain other privileges, but po e es no metropolitan authority. ed, and form a spreading tuft. The flowers are dim or- pho us, some having a short style and stamens borne high up on the tube, others opposite in both respects. They are white, pink, purple, or yellow in color, grouped in bracted umbels-in the true primrose, however, appearing as if on separate stalks. The common P. ver is of Europe Latin phrase, meaning 'first among equals.' and northern Asia, elsewhere in gardens, with yellow or primyt (prī'mi), a. [ prime + -y1.] Early; straw-colored flowers in early spring, has three varieties, blooming. [Rare.] primus inter pares (primus in'tėr pārēz). [L.: primus , first; rst; inter , among; pares , pl. of par , equal: see prime , inter2 , and pair1 .] A often regarded as species, corresponding to the names prim- rose ( P. vulgar is ), cowslip or pagle ( P. ver is ), and oxlip ( P. elatior). It is, however, generally believed that P. elatior is a good species, indigenous, though rare, in England, called Bard field oxlip ; and, according to Darwin, P. vul- garis and P. ver is are also distinct, while the common ox- lip is a hybrid between them. (See the above common names, and herb - peter ( St. - Peter's - wort ), lady - key , petty mul- len (under mullen ), and palsywort .) Numerous other spe. cies are beautiful and more or le cultivated. See auricu- la , baziers , bear's - ear , dusty - miller , French cowslip (under cowslip ), polyanthus , and primrose. 2. [l. c.] Any plant of the genus Primula . Primulaceæ (prim-ū-lā'sē-ē), n.pl. [NL. (Ven- ten at, 1799), Primula + -aceæ .] A very dis- tinct order of gamopetalous herbs of the cohort Primula les , characterized by its five stamens opposite to the five lobes of the regular corolla, and the capsular ovary containing two or more ovules, a single style, and an undivided stigma; the primrose family. It includes about 315 species, cla ed under 4 tribes and 25 genera, natives of temper ate regions and mainly alpine, rare in the southern hem i- sphere. They are herbs, growing usually from a peren- nial rootstock; the few that occur in the tropics become there annuals, an inversion of the usual effect of the trop- ics. They bear undivided or rarely lobed leaves, either all radical, or alternate, opposite, or whorled; and com- monly racemed, umbeled, or long-stalked flowers. Very many of the most-prized flowers of cultivation belong to this family, as the primrose, cowslip, polyanthus, auricu- la, cyclamen, and soldanelle. For the best-known genera, see Primula (the type), Lysimachia , Cyclamen , Trientalis , Glaux , Coris , Samolus , Soldan ell a , Do dec a the on , and Hot- tonia . primulaceous (prim-ū-lā'shius), a . Of or re- sembling the Primulaceæ . Primula les (prim-ū-lā lēz), n. pl . [NL. (Lind- ley, 1833), Primula , q. v.] A cohort of gamo- petalous plants of the series Heteromeræ , dis- tinguished by a one-celled ovary with a central and basal placenta, and stamens opposite the regular corolla-lobes. It includes 3 orders, of which the Myrsineæ , mainly tropical trees, and the Primulaceæ , herbs of temperate regions, are alike in their simple style and stigma, whereas the Plumbagineæ are mainly maritime herbs, with five styles. Primuleæ (pri-mūlē-ē), n . pl . [NL. (Endlich- er, 1836), Primula + -eæ.] A tribe of plants of the order Primulaceæ , characterized by the regular imbricated corolla-lobes, stamens on the corolla, superior ovary, and half-anatropous ovules. It includes 12 genera, of which Pri- mula is the type. primulin (prim'ū-lin), n. [ Primula + -in2.] A crystallizable substance obtained from the root of the cowslip. primum frigidum (primum frij'i-dum). [L.: primum , neut. of primus , first; frigidum , neut. of frigid us , cold: see prime and frigid .] Pure cold: an elementary substance, according to the doctrine of Par me nides. The first means of producing cold is that which nature present eth us withal: namely, the expiring of cold out of the inward parts of the earth in winter, when the sun hath no power to overcome it, the earth being (as hath been noted by some) primum frigidum . The dispute which is the primum frigidum is very well known among naturalists; some contending for the earth, others for water, others for the air, and some of the mod- erns for nitre, but all seeming to agree that there is some body or other that is of its own nature supremely cold, and by participation of which all other bodies obtain that quality. But, for my part, I think that before men had so hotly disputed which is the primum frigidum they would have done well to inquire whether there be any such thing or no. Boyle , Experimental History of Cold, title xvii. primum mobile (prī'mum mob'i-lē). [L.: pri- mum, neut. of primus , first; mobile , neut. of mobilis , movable: see prime and mobile1 .] In the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, the tenth or outermost of the revolving spheres of the uni- verse, which was supposed to revolve from east to west in twenty-four hours, and to carry the others along with it in its motion; hence, any great or first source of motion. The motions of the greatest persons in a government ought to be as the motions of the planets under primum mobile ,. carried swiftly by the highest motion, and softly in their own motion. Bacon , Seditions and Troubles. A star does not move more obediently from east to west than Bacon obeys, and appropriates as his own, the mo- tion of his primum mobile , the King. E. A. Abbott , Bacon, p. 249. primus (primus), n.; pl. primi (-mī). [L., first: see prime .] The first in dignity among the bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church. He is chosen by the other bishops, presides at all their meet- Wha will prin my sma' middle, Wi' the short prin and the lang? Hee looks as gaunt and prin as he that spent A tedious twelve years in an eager Lent. Shak., T. of the S., v. 2. 155. "No one thing," sighed Wal singh am, "doth more prog- nosticate an alteration of this estate than that a prince of her Majesty's judgment should neglect the stop- ping of so dangerous a gap." Motley, Hist. Netherlands, II. 329. Some of the Mercian Kings were very powerful Princes . E. A. Freeman , Old Eng. Hist., p. 39. 2. The title of the ruler of a principality: as, the Prince of Waldeck; the former Princes of Orange. Few such principalities now exist in Europe; they are either small in extent (as Monte negro and Mo- naco), or in certain relations subordinate in name or real- ity to a suzerain (as Bulgaria), or to a central government (as Lippe, Waldeck, and the other principalities of the German empire). IMG:content-0963.jpg:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-0964.jpg:[graphic] Hit semed as he myzt Be prynce with-outen pere, In felde ther felle men fyzt. Christmas prince. See Christmas. — Grand prince, or great prince. (a) A title of various rulers or princes in Ru ia. See grand duke ( b ), under grand . (b) A title of the emperor of Austria (as Grand Prince of Transylvania). -Merchant prince. See merchant . - Prince bishop, formerly, a ruler who was at once the bishop of a diocese (or other spiritual ruler) and a sovereign prince; espe- cially, such a prince and prelate of the German empire; also, in Monte negro, the chief ruler, or vladika, who was at the same time the head of the national church. The eldest of these three persons was no other than Edinburgh Rev. , CXLV. 2. Prince consort. See consort1. - Prince Elector, one of the electors of the former German empire. - Prince im- perial, the eldest son of an emperor. - Prince of Peace, the Me iah; Christ. For unto us a child is born... and his name shall be called... The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace . Isa. ix. 6. Prince of the Captivity, the title a umed by the head of the Me so pot am i an community of the Jews subsequent IMG:content-0965.png:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-0966.png:[blocks in formation] princelike (prins'lik), a . [ prince + like2 .] 2. The daughter of a sovereign; a female mem- Befitting a prince; like a prince. I euer set my fotestepps fre, Princelike , where none had gone. Drant, tr. of Horace's Ep., To Mæcenas. The wrongs he did me Shak ., Cymbeline, v. 5. 293. princeline (prins'li-nes), n . The quality of being princely. princeling (prins'ling), n. [ prince + -ling1 .] Same as princekin . The struggle in his own country has entirely deprived him of revenues as great as any forfeited by their Italian princelings . ber of a royal family: in this sense a title of courtesy. Compare prince , 4. I'll tell you who they were, this female pair, Lest they should seem prince es in disguise. Such apparel as might well beseem His [Geraint's] prince , or indeed the stately Queen. Tennyson, Geraint. princely (prins'li), a. [= D. prinselijk G. prinzlich = Dan. prindselig ; as prince + -ly1.] 1. Pertaining or belonging to a prince; having inches wide. Compare duche , 2.-Prince the rank of a prince; regal. In Tarquin's likene I did entertain thee. Thou wrong'st his honour, wound'st his princely name. Shak., Lucrece, 1. 599. IMG:content-0967.png:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-0968.png:[blocks in formation] princeps (prin's eps), a . and n. [L., first, chief, prince:: see prince.] I. a. First; original; hence, specifically, earliest printed; belonging to the first edition. The princeps copy, clad in blue and gold. J. Ferriar, Bibliomania, 1. 6. who is first or chief; a chief; specifically, in early Teut . hist ., a chief judicial officer or leader in a pagus or other division. Attached to him was a body of attendants called the comitatus . Over each of their local divisions or pagi, at their own pleasure and on a plan which in their eyes was a prudent one, a single princeps or chieftain presided. Next Archigald, who for his proud disdayne Deposed was from prince do me soverayne. After that God against him war proclaim'd, And Satan princedom of the earth had claim'd. Under thee, as head supreme, Thrones, princedoms , powers, dominions, I reduce. Milton , P. L., iii. 320. tery descending the neck to supply the trapezius, and anas- to mosing with the superficial is coll i, vertebral, and supe- rior intercostal arteries. - Princeps pollicis, a branch of the radial, at the beginning of the deep palmar arch, supplying the integument of the palmar surface of the thumb. Princeps senatus, in ancient Rome, the sen- at or first called in the roll of senators. He was usually of consular and censorian dignity. princehood (prins'hud), n. [ prince + -hood.] prince's-feather (prin's ez-feTH"èr), The quality or rank of a prince. princekin (prins'kin), n . [ prince + -kin .] A young or little prince; a petty or inferior prince. The princekins of private life, who are flattered and wor- shipped. Thackeray , New comes, liii. prince le (prins'les), a . Without a prince. IMG:content-0969.png:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-0970.png:[blocks in formation] plant, Amarant us hypochondriac us . It is a showy garden annual from tropical America, sometimes 6 feet tall, bearing thick crowded spikes of small red flowers, the uppermost spike much longer and interrupted. The name sometimes extends to other species of the genus. Also Prince - of - Wales's - feather . 2. A taller garden annual, Polygonum orientale , in England called tall persicaria , bearing slen- der spikes on curving branches. Also called ragged-sailor. prince's-pine (prin's ez-pin), п. See pinel . prince (prin's es), n . [ prince e = D. prinses = G. prinze e , prinze = Sw. prinse a = Dan. prinse e , prince e ( = Pr . prince a = Sp. princes a = Pg. princeza = It. principe a ), principi a , prince (found only as an abstract noun, principality, principate), fem. of L. princeps , prince: see prince.] 1. A female sovereign; a woman of princely rank. How doth the city sit solitary, she that was great among the nations, and a prince among the provinces! Lam. i. 1. Swift . The English girls... laughed at the princified airs Thackeray , Virgin i ans, v. principal (prin'si-pal), a . and n . [ cipal , prynsipall , principal = Sp. Pg . principal = It. principale , principal is , first, original, chief, princeps ( -cip- ), first, chief: see prince .] I. a . 1. Chief; highest in rank, authority, value, or importance; most consider a- Sir R. Guylforde , Pylgrymage, p. 7. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. Prov. iv. 7. The principal men of the army meeting one evening at the tent of Sextus Tarquinius. Shak ., Lucrece, Arg. Character is but one, though a principal , source of in- terest among several that are employed by the drama and the novel. J. Sully , Sensation and Intuition, p. 298. 21. Of or pertaining to a prince; princely. He,... by the great goodwill our Prince bears him, may soon obtain the use of his name and credit, which hath a principal sway, not only in his own Arcadia, but in all these countries of Peloponnesus. leading part; one primarily concerned in an action, and not an auxiliary, acce ory, a is tant, or agent: as, the principals in a duel. Seconds in factions do many times, when the faction subdivideth, prove principals . Bacon , Faction. ities (-tiz). [ principalite , princi- pal ité , also principauté , F. principauté = Sp. principal i dad = Pg. principalidade = It. princi- pal ită , principal it a ( t- ) s , the first place, pre- eminence, principal is , first, chief: see princi- pal .] 1. The state or condition of being prin- cipal or superior; priority or privilege; prerog- ative; predominance; preëminence. In hevyn thow hast a principalite Off worship and honowre. Charge him to go with her thro' all the courts of Greece, and with the challenge now made to give her beauty the principality over all other. Sir P. Sidney , Arcadia, i. Moisten e e in aire houldes principality , And heat is secundarie quality. Certain and known idolatry, or any other sort of practi- cal impiety with its principi ant doctrine, may be punished corporally. Jer. Taylor , Works (ed. 1835), II. 375. II. n. A beginner; a tyro. Do you think that I have not wit to distinguish a prin- cipiant in vice from a graduate? Shirley, Grateful Servant, iii. 4. If any mystery, rite, or sacrament be effective of any spiritual ble ings, then this is much more, as having the prerogative and illustrious principality above everything else. Jer. Taylor , Worthy Communicant, i. § 3. 2. The authority of a prince; sovereignty; su- Nothing was given to King Henry... but only the bare name of a king; for all other absolute power of principal it ye he had in himselfe before derived from many former kings. Spenser , State of Ireland. The Bishops of Rome and Alexandria, who beyond their Priestly bounds now long agoe had stept into principality . Milton , Reformation in Eng., ii. 3. The territory of a prince, or the country which gives title to a prince: as, the princi- pality of Wales; the principality of Montene- gro. The principality is composed of two countries, Neucha- tel and Valengin. J. Adams , Works, IV. 374. The isle of Elba is given him [Napoleon] as his princi- pality, with an annual revenue of two million francs, chargeable to France. Woolsey , Introd. to Inter. Law, App. ii., p. 410. The Danubian Principalities took their destiny into 6. A musical instrument used in old orchestral music, especially that of Handel-a variety of trumpet, probably having a larger tube than the ordinary tromba.-7. In music : ( a ) The subject of a fugue: opposed to answer . (b) A soloist or other leading performer.-8. Same as principal rafter . See rafter . Our lodgings shook as the earth did quake; The very principals did seem to rend, And all-to topple. 5. pl . An order of angels. It was the seventh order in the celestial hierarchy of Dionysius. See hierarchy . For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities , against powers, against spiritual wick- edne in high places. Eph. vi. 12. In the a embly next upstood Nisroch, of principalities the prime. Milton , P. L., vi. 447. Danubian principalities. See Danubian . principally (prin'si-pal-i), adv . In the princi- pal or chief place; above all; chiefly: as, he was principally concerned about this. Whereof the Aquæduct made by the Emperour Valen- tinian, and retaining his name, doth principally challeng remembrance. Sandys , Travailes, p. 26. They wholly mistake the nature of criticism who think its busine is principally to find fault. Dryden. principalne (prin'si-pal-nes), n. The state of being principal or chief. principalship (prin'si-pal-ship), n. [ princi- pal + -ship .] The position or office of a prin- cipal. principate (prin'si-pāt), n. [= OF. principe , princie , F. principat = Pr. principat = Sp. Pg. principado = It. principato , principatus , the first place, preëminence, princeps ( -cip- ), first, chief: see prince.] 1. The first or supreme place; primacy. They proudely den ye that the Romane churche obteyn- eth the principate and preeminent autoritie of all other. R. Eden , tr. of Paolo Giovio (First Books on America, ed. [Arber, p. 315). Of these words the sense is plain and obvious, that it be understood that under two metaphors the principate of the whole church was promised. Barrow , Pope's Supremacy. ( Latham .) All monarchies and best knowen Common weales or principates . Sir H. Gilbert , Queen Elizabethes Achademy (E. E. T. S.), [extra ser., VIII. i. 3. The Liukiu (i. e., Loochoo Islands) constituted until lately a separate principate or Han. J. J. Rein , Japan, p. 7. 31. Same as principality , 5. Which are called of Saint Paule principates and powers, lordes of the world. Foxe , Martyrs, p. 1609, an. 1555. principes, n. Plural of princeps . principia (prin-sip'i-a), n . pl . [L., pl. of prin- cipium , a beginning: see principle .] First prin- ciples; elements. The word is most used as the con- tracted title of the "Philosophiæ Natural is Principia Ma- thematic a" of Newton; it is also used in the titles of ele- It imports the things or effects principia ted or effected by the intelligent active principle. Sir M. Hale , Orig. of Mankind. [ principi- principi ateł (prin-sip'i-āt), a. at us , pp.: see the verb.] Primitive; original. Our eyes, that see other things, see not themselves; and those principi ate foundations of knowledge are themselves unknown. Glanville , Vanity of Dogmatizing, iv. principi at i on (prin-sip-i-a's hon), n. [ princip- iate -ion .] Analysis; redüction to const it- uent or elemental parts. principle (prin'si-pl), n. [With unorig. I (as also in participle , syllable ) , prin- cipe = Sp. Pg. It. principio , principium , a beginning, princeps ( -cip- ), first: see prince . ] 1t. Beginning; commencement. He gan to burne in rage, and friese in feare, Doubting sad end of principle unsound. principle place the singular use of the word principle in the sense of a legal proposition elicited from the precedents by comparison and induction. Maine, Village Communities, p. 335. 5. That which is profe ed or accepted as a law of action or a rule of conduct; one of the fundamental doctrines or tenets of a system: as, the principles of the Stoics or of the Epicureans; hence, a right rule of conduct; in general, equity; uprightne : as, a man of prin ciple. If I had a you sand sons, the first humane principle I would teach them should be to forswear thin potations. Shak., 2 Hen. IV., iv. 3. 133. They di olved themselves and turned Seekers, keeping that one principle , That every one should have liberty to worship God according to the light of their own consciences. N. Morton , New England's Memorial, p. 154. In all governments truly republican, men are nothing - principle is everything. D. Webster , Speech at Salem, Ma ., Aug. 7, 1834. The party whose principles afforded him [James II.] no guarantee would be attached to him by interest. The party whose interests he attacked would be restrained from insurrection by principle . Macaulay , Hist. Eng., vii. The man of principle - that is, the man who, without any flourish of trumpets, titles of lordship, or train of guards, without any notice of his action abroad, expecting none, takes in solitude the right step uniformly, on his private choice, and disdaining consequences-does not yield, in my imagination, to any man. Emerson , War. 6. In chem.: ( a ) A component part; an element: as, the constituent principles of bodies. ( b ) A substance on the presence of which certain qualities, common to a number of bodies, depend. See proximate principles, under prox imate. Confinement to a single alimentary principle , or to any one cla of them alone, is sure to be followed by disease. Huxley and Youmans , Physiol., § 429. 7. In patent law, a law of nature, or a general property of matter, a rule of abstract science. George Ticknor Curtis. A principle is not patentable, although a proce for utilizing a principle may be. Compare proce . It is very difficult to distinguish it [the specification of the hot-blast furnace for throwing hot air into a furnace instead of coal, thereby increasing the intensity of the heat] from the specification of a patent for a principle, and this at first created in the minds of the court much difficulty; but, after full consideration, we think that the plaintiff does not merely claim a principle, but a machine embodying a principle, and a very valuable one. We think the case must be considered as if, the principle being well known, the plaintiff had first invented a mode of applying it by a mechanical apparatus to furnaces, and his invention then consists in this-by interposing a receptacle for heated air between the blowing apparatus and the fur Baron Parke, 8 Meeson & W., 306. nace. A principle of human nature, a law of action in human beings; a constitutional propensity common to the human species. - Arch i me dean principle. See Arch i me dean. Bitter principles, commutative principle, constitutive principles. See the adjectives. - Carnot's principle, a highly important principle of the theory of he at namely, that the work done by an engine is proportional to the amount of heat used multiplied into the fall of temperature of that heat in the action of the engine. In the mechanical theory of heat, this principle is transformed into the second law of thermodynamics. It was discovered in 1824 by Sadi Carnot (1796-1832), son of the great war-minister Carnot. - D'Alembert's principle, an important principle of mechanics, to the effect that the forces impre ed upon a mechanical system may be resolved into forces balancing one another perpendicular to the motions of the particles and of forces whose direct effects would be to make the particles move as they do move. Declination of principles. See declination. Dirichlet's (or Dir ich let i an) principle, a certain important proposition concerning the equation IMG:content-0971.png:[ocr errors][merged small] Distributive principle. See distributive. - Doppler's principle, in acoustics, the phenomenon that, when a sound-body is rapidly approaching the ear, the pitch of the sound is raised, because more sound-waves reach the ear per second, and conversely if the sounding body recedes. This principle is also applied in optics, and the rapidity of relative approach or rece ion of the earth and some of the fixed stars has been deduced from it, by the change in the character of the light (as to wave-length), as shown by the spectroscope. - Extractive principle. Same as ex tract, 4. First principle, one of the most general principles, not deducible from others. - Fruitful principle. See fruitful. General principle. See general. Helmholtz's principle, the proposition (enunciated by Helmholtz, a German physicist, born 1821) that if any source of light or of sound situated at any point will by the intervention of any system of reflectors or lenses produce any given intensity of illumination or of sound at any second point, then the same source being placed at the second point would produce the same intensity of radiation at the first point. Heterogeneous principle, heteronymous principles, immanent principle. See the adjectives. - Huygens's principle, the proposition (enunciated by Christian Huygens in 1678) that any disturbance due to waves in any part of a medium at any instant is that due to the superposition of all the disturbances reaching it at that instant from the neighboring parts of the medium. Hypostatic principle, a chemical element. - Material principle. See material. Organic principles. Same as proximate principles (which see, under proximate ). - Principle of IMG:content-0972.png:[blocks in formation] And thou, yong Princox , Puppet as thou art, Shalt play no longer thy proud Kingling's Part Vpon so rich a stage. Sylvester , tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, ii., The Decay. eral description subject to certain conditions, then this number remains, if finite, of the same value, however the general description be specialized. For example, if we wish to know how many lines can cut four given lines, we take four special lines, say two cutting one another and two others cutting one another. Then there are evidently just two lines-namely the one through the two points of intersection and the one common to the planes of the two pairs-which cut all the four lines; and consequently the same will be true in all cases where the number remains finite. - Principle of contradiction. See contradiction.-Principle of correspondence, in geom., the principle that, if the points on a line have an m to n correspondence with one another, there are m + n points which correspond to themselves. There is also an extension to the plane. - Principle of duality, of homogeneity, of identity. See duality, etc. - Principle of least action, of least constraint. See action, constraint. Principle of similitude, in dynam., proposition 32 of section 7 of the Second Book of Newton's “Principia," namely that, if two systems are geometrically similar, and have their corresponding ma es proportional, and begin to move in the same way, in proportional times, they will continue to move in the same way, provided the forces are proportional to the ma es and the linear dimensions, and are inversely as the squares of the times. - Principle of sufficient reason. See reason. - Principle of the arith metical mean, the proposition that the mean of different results of direct observation of a quantity is the best way of combining them. - Principle of the composition of rotations. See rotation. - Principle of the inclined plane, in mech., same as principle of the parallelogram of forces (which see, under force1 ). - Principle of the last multiplier, a certain principle used in the solution of dynamical equations. - Principle of the lever, in mech., same as Arch i me dean principle (a) (which see, under Arch i me dean ). - Principle of the parallelogram of forces. See force1. - Principle of translation, in math., the theorem that all the invariantive properties of a ternary form can be represented by the vanishing of invariants and the identical vanishing of covariants, contra variants, or mixed forms. Principle of virtual velocities. See velocity. Reductive, regulative, etc., principle. See the adjectives Short-haul princi ple, the principle that the charge for carrying freight should not be higher for a shorter than for a longer distance. See long haul, under long1. The currency principle. See currency. The principle of excluded middle or third. See middle. - Transcendental principle. See transcendental. = Syn. 5. Principle, Rule, Precept. "There are no two words in the English language used so confusedly one for the other as the words rule and principle. ... You can make a rule; you cannot make a principle; you can lay down a rule; you cannot, properly speaking, lay down a principle. It is laid down for you. You can establish a rule; you cannot, properly speaking, establish a principle. You can only declare it. Rules are within your power, principles are not. Yet the ma of mankind use the words as if they had exactly similar meanings, and choose one or the other as may best suit the rhythm of the sentence." ( Helps.) A principle lies back of both rules and precepts; it is a general truth, needing interpretation and application to particular cases. From a principle we may deduce rules that we lay imperatively upon ourselves or upon others who are under our authority, and precepts that we lay upon those who look to us for instruction. It is a principle that "the Sabbath was made for man"; details as to the observance of the Sabbath would be not principles, but rules, maxims, or precepts. See aphorism. Christianity is a spirit, not a law; it is a set of princi . ples, not a set of rules . Christianity consists of prin ciples, but the application of those principles is left to every man's individual conscience. F. W. Robertson , Sermons, Marriage and Celibacy. Nations pay little regard to rules and maxims calculated in their very nature to run counter to the nece ities of society. A. Hamilton , The Federalist, No. 25. Teachers best Of moral prudence, with delight received In brief sententious precepts , while they treat Of fate, and chance, and change in human life. Milton , P. R., iv. 264. principle (prin'si-pl), v. t.; pret. and pp. prin cipled, ppr. principling. [ Well did thir Disciples manifest themselves to bee no better principl'd then thir Teachers. Milton, Hist. Eng., iii. A parliament so principled will sink All antient schools of empire in disgrace. Young, On Public Affairs. We replied, we hoped he would distinguish and make a difference between the guilty and the innocent, and be tween those who were principled for fighting and those who were principled against it, which we were, and had been always known to be so. T. Ellwood , Life (ed. Howells), p. 263. princockł (pring'kok), n. [Also princox, prime cock, etc.; Your proud university princox thinkes he is a man of such merit the world cannot sufficiently endow him with preferment. n. [An arbitrary var. princumt (pring'kum), of prink , simulating a L. form. Cf. prinkum- prankum .] A scruple; a nice or affected no- tion. My behaviour may not yoke With the nice princums of that folk. D'Urfey, Colin's Walk, i. ( Davies .) prine (prin), n. [Cf. prin1.] Same as pick1, 5. pringlet (pring'gl), n. A small silver coin, of about the value of a penny, formerly current in Scotland and in the northern parts of England. Hall i well. Pringlea (pring'glē-ä), n. [NL. (J. D. Hooker, 1847), named after Sir John Pringle (1707-82), a British physician and natural philosopher.] A genus of plants of the order Cruciferæ and tribe Aly ineæ, characterized by its fruit, an oblong one-celled silicle, containing very many cordate seeds with their outer coat prolonged into a short beak, and by its growth from a thick rootstock with ample and compactly imbricated leaves. The only species, P. antiscorbutic a, is a cabbage like plant of Kerguelen Land, valuable as a preventive of scurvy. The thick round rootstock lies on the ground for 3 or 4 feet, and bears a single large ball of leaves which are loose and green outside, and form a dense white ma within. The flower-stalk grows out from below the head of leaves, and reaches 2 or 3 feet in height. An e ential oil pervading the plant gives it a taste resembling a combination of mustard and cre . Prinia (prin'i-ä), n. [NL. (Hors field, 1820), type. Also called Daseocharis and Drymoipus. prink1 (pringk), v. i. [ Thanne Conscience curteisliche a con ten a unce he made, And preynte vpon Pacience to preie me to be stille. Piers Plowman (B), xiii. 112. prink2 (pringk), v. [A weaker form of prank, to which it is related as clink to clank, etc.: see prank. Cf. prick, v., in like sense.] I. in trans. 1. To prank; dre for show; adorn one's self. Or womans wil (perhappes) Enflamde hir haughtie harte To get more grace by crummes of cost, And princke it out hir parte. Gas coigne, Philomene (ed. Arber), p. 93. They who prink , and pamper the Body, and neglect the Soul are like one who, having a Nightingale in his House, is more fond of the Wicker Cage than of the Bird. Howell , Letters, iv. 21. Hold a good wager she was every day longer prinking in the gla than you was. Jane Collier. 2. To strut; put on pompous airs; be pretentious or forward. [Prov. Eng.] II. trans . To deck; adorn; dre ostentatiously or fantastically. She prink'd her sell and prinn'd her sell, By the ae light of the moon. The Young Tamlane (Child's Ballads, I. 118). To gather kingcups in the yellow mead, And prink their hair with daisies. Cowper, Task, vi. 303. Ay, prune thy feathers, and prink thyself gay. Scott , Monastery, xxiv. It is... a most perilous seduction for a popular poet like Burns to prink the unadorned simplicity of his ploughman's Muse with the glittering spangles and curious lacework of a highly polished literary style. Prof. Blackie , Lang. and Lit. of Scottish Highlands, iii. prinker (pring'kėr), n . One who prinks; one who dre es with much care. prinkle (pring'kl), v. i.; pret. and pp. prinkled, Ppr. prinkling. [Appar. a nasalized form of prickle.] To tingle or prickle. [Scotch.] My blude ran prinklin ' through my veins, As I beheld my dear, O. Hogg , Mountain Bard, p. 200. ( Jamie son . ) prinkle (pring'kl), n . The coalfish. [Local, Eng.] prinkum-prankum (pringʼkum-prang'kum), п . [A redupl. of prink2 or prank , simulating a L. form. Cf. princum .] A kind of dance. What dance? No wanton jig, I hope; no dance is lawful But Prinkum - Prankum ! Randolph , Muses Looking-gla , v. 1. ( Davies . ) The long-tailed titmouse, Acredula rose a . [Cornwall, Eng.] print (print), v . [ printen , prenten , preen ten , print (= D. prenten , imprint, = MLG.pren The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia print ten, print, write, = Sw. prent a, write German letters, = Dan. prente, print), by apheresis from emprinten, enprinten, impre , imprint: see im print, v. Cf. late OF. printer, pre . See print, n.] I. trans. 1. To pre upon or into (something); impre ; imprint. In that Roche is prented the forme of his Body. Mandeville, Travels, p. 62. Think, when we talk of horses, that you see them Printing their proud hoofs i' the receiving earth. Shak ., Hen. V., i., Prol., 1. 27. The murdred face lies printed in the mud. Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, ii., The Handy-Crafts. And print on thy soft cheek a parent's ki . Byron, Childe Harold, iii. 116. And hill and wood and field did print The same sweet forms in either mind. Tennyson, In Memoriam, lxxix. 4732 decorated with transfer-printing. - Printed goods, cal i coes figured by printing from blocks or rollers. - Printed ware, a term applied to porcelain, queen's-ware, etc., decorated with printed designs. II. in trans . 1. To use or practise the art of taking impre ions in a pre .-2. To produce books or any form of printed work by means of a pre ; specifically, to publish books or writings. Like Lee or Budgell, I will rhyme and print . Pope , Imit. of Horace, II. i. 100. 3. To form imitations of printed characters; write in the style of print: as, the child can print , but has not learned to write yet.