Spenser, Shep

Cal., December. I said the deer was not a haud credo; 'twas a pricket. Shak., L. L. L., iv. 2. 22. 4. The wall-pepper or biting stonecrop, Se dum acre . [Eng.]-Pricket's sister, the female of the fallow-deer in its second year. W. W. Greener , The Gun, p. 508. pricking (prik'ing), n . [Verbal n. of prick , v .] 1. The act of piercing with a sharp point; a stinging or tingling sensation. By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes. sensation of being pricked or stung. [Colloq.] All o' me thet wuzn't sore an' send in' prickles thru me Was jist the leg I parted with in lick in' Montezumy. Lowell , Biglow Papers, 2d ser., i. 4. A kind of basket: still used in some trades. See the second quotation. Well done, my pretty ones, rain roses still, Until the last be dropt; then hence, and fill Your fragrant prickles for a second shower. B. Jonson , Pan's Anniversary. The prickle is a brown willow basket in which walnuts are imported into this country from the Continent; they are about thirty inches deep, and in bulk rather larger than a gallon measure. prickle (prik'l), v .; pret. and pp. prickled , ppr. prickling . [= LG. prickeln , prikkeln , prokeln = G. prickeln , prick: see prickle , n., prick.] I. trans. 1. To prick or puncture slightly; pierce with fine sharp points.-2. To cause a pricking sensation in: said of the skin. I... Felt a horror over me creep, Prickle my skin and catch my breath. IMG:content-0943.png:[blocks in formation] See prickly prickle-layer (prik'l-lā"ėr), n . The lowest stratum of the epidermis; the stratum spinosum, next below the stratum granulosum. It is formed of prickle-cells, the lowest layer being prismatic, and resting on the corium. prickle-yellow (prik'l-yel"ō), n. yellowwood , under yellowwood . prickline (prikʻli-nes), n . prickly, or having many prickles. prick louse (prikʻlous), n .; pl. pricklice (-līs). [ prick , v ., + obj. louse .] A tailor: so called in contempt. Also prick - the - louse . IMG:content-0944.png:[blocks in formation] 2. Pricking or stinging; noting the sensation of being pricked or stung. - Prickly catt. See cat i , wort. See gla wort and kelpwort . - Prickly heat, let8.-Prickly comfrey. See comfrey. Prickly gla tuce, licorice, etc. See the nouns. prickly-ash (prikʻli-ash'), n . A shrub or small tree, Xanthoxylum Americanum , with ash-like leaves, and branches armed with strong prickles. Its bark is an active stimulant, used in a fluid extract as a diaphoretic in chronic rheumatism, and popularly as a masticatory to cure toothache. Hence called toothache tree, as is also the species X. Clava - Herculis (also called prickly - ash ), which grows further south, and probably has similar properties. prickly back (prik'li-bak n . 1. Same as prickle back .-2. The edible crab, Call i nec tes has tatus , when the new shell is only partially hardened; a shedder. [Long Island.] prickly-broom (prikʻli-bröm′), n . IMG:content-0945.png:[blocks in formation] prickly-pear (prikʻli-par′), n . 1. The fruit of cacti of the genus Opuntia , a pear-shaped or ovoid berry, in many cases juicy and edible, armed with prickles or nearly smooth.-2. Any plant of this genus, primarily O. vulgar is (or O. Rafinesquii , which is not always distinguished from it). See Opuntia. These are native in barren ground on the eastern coast of the United States, the latter also in the upper Mi i ippi valley, the most northern species. With other members of the genus, they bear edible berries or pears. Some species support the cochineal-insect. (See cochineal .) Various species are available as uninflammable hedge-plants. O. Tuna , O. vulgar is , O. Ficus - Indica , and others are cultivated and more or le naturalized around the Mediterranean, etc., and their fruit is largely gathered for the market. Also called Indian fig . prickly-pole (prik'li-pol'), n . A West Indian palm, Bactris Plumeriana : so called from its slender trunks, which are ringed with long black prickles at intervals of half an inch. The stems grow in tufts, and are sometimes 40 feet high. The wood is said to be elastic, and suitable for bows and rammers. prickly-spined (prik'li-spind), a . Acanthopterygious, as a fish or its fins. prickly-withe (prik'li-with'), n. A cactaceous plant, Cereus triangular is , found in Mexico and Jamaica. It has climbing and rooting branches, which are three-cornered and armed with prickles. prickmadamt, n. An old name of three species of stonecrop - Sedum acre , S. album , and S. re flexum . prick-me-dainty, prick-ma-dainty (prik'mē-, prik'ma-dān'ti), a . and n . I. a . Characterized by finical language or manners; finical; overprecise. [Scotch.] "Nane of your deil's play-books for me," said she; "it's an ill warld since sic prick - my - dainty doings came in fashion." Scott , St. Ronan's Well, xii.