precinct (presingt)

[=Pg. It. precinto, I think never man could boast it without the precincts of paradise but he that came to gain us a better Eden Glanville, Vanity of Dogmatizing, xii. then we lost. God made a winde to pa e in Commi ion, and, as a common vmpire, to end their vnnaturall strife, forcing the Waters into their ancient precincts aboue and beneath the Firmament. Purchas , Pilgrimage, p. 41. preces (prēʼsēz), n . pl . [ML., pl. of L. prex ( prec- ), a prayer: see prayl .] The alternate him, and the garden a familiar precinct . petitions, such as the versicles and suffrages, She made the House of the Seven Gables like a home to Hawthorne , Seven Gables, xii. The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia 5. Particular; scrupulous; fastidious; over- nice. In swich estaat as God hath cleped us, I wol per sever, I nam nat precius . Chaucer, Prol. to Wife of Bath's Tale, 1. 148. Precious blood, the blood shed by Christ on the cro : it gives name to various orders, confraternities, and relics in the Roman Catholic Church, and to the Feast of the Most Precious Blood on the first Sunday in July.-Precious IMG:content-0819.png:[blocks in formation] Shot after us in storm, o'erblown, hath laid The fiery surge, that from the precipice in several of the United States, the principal subdivision of the county, corresponding gen- erally to the township in other States. These subdivisions in Nebraska and Oregon are called precincts . In California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Mi i ippi, and Nevada they are called election precincts . The counties of Texas are each divided into four commi ioners ' pre- cincts, also into from four to eight justices ' precincts , and into from four to eleven election precincts . Some of the counties of Kentucky are divided into voting precincts. In colonial Ma achusetts a precinct was a part set off from a town and made independent of it in respect to some matters of local administration, but not in respect to choosing a representative to the General Court. As easily may you get the soldan's crown As any prizes out of my precinct . I am the king's vicegerent by my place; His right lieutenant in mine own precinct . value. Platinum is also sometimes included with the pre- cio us metals; it is more valuable than silver, and has been used in coinage. Mercury also has been by some called one of the precious metals. In general, precious means valuable enough to be used as a standard of value and abundant enough for coinage. Only gold and silver have these requisites. - Precious stone, a stone dist in- guished for its beauty and rarity, and prized for use in ornamentation, especially in jewelry; a gem; a jewel. Beauty of color, hardne , and rarity are the e ential qualities which entitle a mineral to be called precious. Strictly speaking, the only precious stones are the diamond, ruby, sapphire, and emerald, though the term is often extended to the opal, notwithstanding its lack of hard- My fortunes standing in this precipice , 'Tis counsel that I want, and honest aids. B. Jonson , Devil is an A , iv. 3. But surely it cannot be safe for any man still to walk upon a precipice , to stand upon an indivisible point, and to be always upon the very border of destruction. South , Sermons, VI. xi. Geo . F. Kunz , Gems and Precious Stones of North America, [p. 310. We set everything by that little bird, Bartholomew!... He understands now that we're precious of it. Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney , The Other Girls, vii. =Syn. 1 and 2. Costly , etc. See valuable . exceedingly; extremely. [Colloq.] For I had brought Lizzie something dear, and a precious heavy book it was. R. D. Black more , Lorna Doone, xxvii. Precious glad he is to be rid of us girls, I know. preciously (presh'us-li), adv . [ precious- ly ; precious +-ly2.] 1. In a costly manner; at a great price or expense. Chaucer , Prol. to Wife of Bath's Tale, 1. 500. Some preciously by shattered porcelain fall, And some by aromatic splinters die. Dryden , Annus Mirabilis, st. 29. 2. Valuably; in a manner productive of worth; to good purpose. The time 'twixt six and now Must by us both be spent most preciously . 3. Very much; exceedingly; extremely. [Col- loq.] -4. Fastidiously; scrupulously; with ex- treme care in matters of detail. If, on the other hand, you fall short of this point [the limit to imitation of details), your art of painting from nature is not yet quite perfectly and preciously imitative. P. G. Hamerton , Thoughts about Art, ii. preciousne (presh'us-nes), n . 1. The char- costline .-2. Anything of great price or value; a valuable article, object, or part of a thing. pretious ; precious , precyous , precius , precios , precieus , precieux , valuable, costly, precious, beloved, also affected, finical, F. pré- cieux Sp. Pg. precioso = It. prezioso , tiosus , of great value, costly, dear, precious, pretium , value, price: see price .] 1. Of great price; costly; having a high money-value. Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head. Shak., As you Like it, ii. 1. 14. To leave a little snuffe Is petty treason, and such pretious stuffe Must not be throwne away. A gold-adorned pillared temple round, Worthy to be the ransom of great kings. Sir R. Guylforde , Pylgrymage, p. 27. Health is precious because sickne doth breed that pain which disableth action. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, v. 76. By thy precious Death and Burial;... Good Lord, deliver us. Book of Common Prayer , Litany. O, what a precious book the one would be That taught observers what they're not to see! (b) A note of instructions delivered by a plain- tiff or his solicitor to the officer of the court to procure a writ of summons.- 2t. A precept; an order. Clense wele our eghne, and stand is on bakke, For here es comene swykke menne to take. Hasted with glad precipitance . Rashne and precipitance of judgment. IMG:content-0820.png:[blocks in formation] But soon recovering speed he ran, he flew Precipitant . Add is on, Eneid, iii. 3. Rashly hasty; precipitate; characterized by rapid movement or progre ; impatient to reach a conclusion. Your worship is a precious a ! B. Jonson , Volpone, i. 1. Oh, you're a precious man! two days in town, And never see your old friend! Fletcher, Mad Lover, iii. 3. Sir Oliver S. Well, Sir Peter, I have seen both my nephews in the manner we proposed. Sir Peter T. A precious couple they are! précipice = Sp. Pg. precipicio = It. precipizio , a precipice, præcipitium , a falling down headlong, an abrupt descent, a steep place, præceps ( præcipit- ), head foremost, headlong, præ , before, + caput , head: see cap it all . Cf. precipitate.] 1. A headlong fall; an abrupt His [Job's] fall is with a precipice , from a sublime pin- nacle of honour to a deep puddle of penury. Rev. T. Adams , Works, III. 293. precipitate long, præceps ( præcipit- ), head foremost, headlong, præ , before, + caput , head: see cap it all , Cf. precipice .] I. trans . 1. To cast down headlong; fling from a precipice or height; hurl downward. Few men have frowned first upon Fortune, and precipi tated themselves from the top of her wheel, before they felt at least the declination of it. Dryden , Amboyna, Ded. He trembles to think that a single touch might bury him under a crag precipitated from above. Eustace , Italy, I. i. 2. To cause to fall as a sediment to the bottom of a ve el; reduce from a state of solution to a solid form, as by means of a reagent or chemical force.-3. To drive forcibly; cause to hasten onward. Ere Hence, then, and evil go with thee along, Precipitate thee with augmented pain.