<B>prig</B> (2), verb, <B>prigged,</B> <B>prigging,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Especially British.) <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to quarrel or haggle about a price, terms, or the like. <DD><B> 2. </B>to beg; importune. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to pilfer or steal. <BR> <I>Ex. I think we'd find that Mr. Beeton has been prigging little things out of the rooms here and there (Rudyard Kipling).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a petty thief. </DL>
<A NAME="priggery">
<B>priggery, </B>noun, pl. <B>-geries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the conduct or character of a prig. </DL>
<A NAME="priggish">
<B>priggish, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> too particular about doing right in things that show outwardly; priding oneself on being better than others. adv. <B>priggishly.</B> noun <B>priggishness.</B> </DL>
<B>prill, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a small ball or pellet roughly the size of small shot. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to form (balls or pellets), as of metal or chemicals. </DL>
<A NAME="prim">
<B>prim, </B>adjective, <B>primmer,</B> <B>primmest,</B> verb, <B>primmed,</B> <B>primming.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> precise, neat, proper, or formal in a stiff way. <BR> <I>Ex. friends ... staid and prim, of evangelical tendencies (Samuel Butler).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to form (the face or mouth) into an expression of stiff demureness. <DD><B> 2. </B>to make (a person, thing, or place) prim. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to draw up the mouth in an affectedly nice way. <BR> <I>Ex. They mince and prim and pout, and are sigh-away (George Meredith).</I> adv. <B>primly.</B> noun <B>primness.</B> </DL>
<B>prima ballerina, </B>pl. <B>prima ballerinas.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the principal woman dancer in a ballet company. </DL>
<A NAME="primacy">
<B>primacy, </B>noun, pl. <B>-cies.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the fact or condition of being first, as in order, rank, or importance. (SYN) preeminence. <DD><B> 2. </B>the position or rank of a bishop of the highest rank. <DD><B> 3. </B>the supreme power of the pope in the Roman Catholic Church. </DL>
<A NAME="primadonna">
<B>prima donna, </B>pl. <B>prima donnas.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the principal woman singer in an opera, operatic company, or concert group. (SYN) diva. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) a temperamental person. <BR> <I>Ex. [His] genius was for making men work as a team. He had to handle the prima donnas of a dozen different nations (Newsweek).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="primafacie">
<B>prima facie,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> at first view; before investigation. adj. <B>primafacie.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="primafaciecase">
<B>prima-facie case,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Law.) a case supported by prima-facie evidence. </DL>
<A NAME="primafacieevidence">
<B>prima-facie evidence,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Law.) evidence sufficient to establish a fact, or raise a presumption of fact, unless rebutted. </DL>
<A NAME="primage">
<B>primage, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a small allowance formerly paid by a shipper to the master and crew of a vessel for the loading and care of goods. </DL>
<A NAME="primainterpares">
<B>prima inter pares,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Latin.) first among her peers. </DL>
<A NAME="primal">
<B>primal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of early times; first; primeval. <BR> <I>Ex. It hath the primal eldest curse upon it, A brother's murder (Shakespeare).</I> (SYN) original. <DD><B> 2. </B>chief; fundamental. adv. <B>primally.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="primaltherapy">
<B>primal therapy</B> or <B>primal scream therapy,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a form of group psychotherapy in which members reenact experiences of early childhood to release their repressed anger or pain. <BR> <I>Ex. The main technique that primal therapy uses is to persuade the patient to become a baby (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="primaquine">
<B>primaquine, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a synthetic drug used to cure some forms of malaria. </DL>
<A NAME="primarily">
<B>primarily,</B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>above all; chiefly; principally. <BR> <I>Ex. Ulysses S. Grant was primarily a general.</I> (SYN) preeminently. <DD><B> 2. </B>at first; originally. </DL>
<A NAME="primariness">
<B>primariness, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the state of being primary. </DL>
<A NAME="primary">
<B>primary, </B>adjective, noun, pl. <B>-ries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>first, as in order, time, or place. <BR> <I>Ex. a primary layer of tissue, the primary causes of unemployment.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>first in importance; chief. <BR> <I>Ex. a primary task. Education is the primary purpose of a school. A balanced diet is primary to good health.</I> (SYN) principal, prime. <DD><B> 3. </B>from which others have come; original; fundamental. <BR> <I>Ex. The historian searched for primary sources of information about the past.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Electricity.) denoting or having to do with the inducing circuit, coil, or current in an induction coil or the like. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Chemistry.) <DD><B> a. </B>characterized by the replacement of a single atom or group. <DD><B> b. </B>formed by replacing a single atom or group. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Geology.) <DD><B> a. </B>formed or developed directly from magma. <BR> <I>Ex. a primary rock or ore.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Obsolete.) Archeozoic. <DD><B> 7. </B>(Grammar.) <DD><B> a. </B>(of word structure) consisting of a single free morpheme (<I>boy</I>) or of two or more bound morphemes (<I>receive</I>). <DD><B> b. </B>(of suffixes) added directly to an unanalyzable root. <DD><B> c. </B>(of tenses in certain older Indo-European languages) expressing present or future time. <DD><B> 8. </B>utilizing the crude products of nature as raw materials. <BR> <I>Ex. Some industries also are classed as primary (Finch and Trewartha).</I> <DD><B> 9. </B>(Metallurgy.) derived from ore rather than from a combination of ore and scrap or from scrap alone. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>anything that is first in order, rank, or importance. <DD><B> 2. </B>an election in which members of a political party choose candidates for office; primary election. Primaries are held before the regular election. <DD><B> 3. </B><B>=primary color.</B> <DD><B> 4. </B>a primary coil or circuit. <DD><B> 5. </B>a heavenly body around which another revolves. <DD><B> 6. </B><B>=primary feather.</B> <DD><B> 7. </B>a cosmic-ray particle traveling at high velocity that is commonly stopped on entering the earth's atmosphere by collision with an atom of other matter, the collision resulting in the formation of a number of secondary particles. </DL>
<A NAME="primaryaccent">
<B>primary accent,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the strongest accent in the pronunciation of a word, as on the first syllable of <I>secretary.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a mark used to show this. </DL>
<A NAME="primaryatypicalpneumonia">
<B>primary atypical pneumonia,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a form of pneumonia, rarely fatal, that is caused by the Eaton agent and associated viruses. </DL>
<A NAME="primarycare">
<B>primary care,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>medical care basic to diagnosis and treatment of an illness or condition of the body, usually as the first step in seeking specialized treatment. <BR> <I>Ex. Primary-care physicians include general practitioners (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=primary health care.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="primarycell">
<B>primary cell,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an electric cell that cannot be recharged electrically. The cells used in flashlights and portable radios are primary cells. </DL>
<A NAME="primarycoil">
<B>primary coil,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a coil connected to the source of current through which voltages are induced in the secondary coil, as in a transformer. </DL>
<A NAME="primarycolor">
<B>primary color,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a color of a group of colors which, mixed together, will produce all other colors. Red, yellow, and blue are the primary colors in pigments. In light they are red, green, and blue. In psychology, yellow, blue, green, and red are primary colors. </DL>
<A NAME="primaryconsumer">
<B>primary consumer,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Ecology.) an animal in a food chain, such as a rabbit or deer, that eats grass and other green plants. </DL>
<A NAME="primarycrusher">
<B>primary crusher,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a machine in which rock is broken down into large pieces before being ground down further. </DL>
<A NAME="primaryelection">
<B>primary election,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an election to choose candidates for office from a certain political party. <BR> <I>Ex. The letter recommended that Mr. Eisenhower enter his name in all Presidential primary elections (Newsweek).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="primaryfeather">
<B>primary feather,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> one of the large flight feathers growing on the distal section of a bird's wing. </DL>
<A NAME="primarygrades">
<B>primary grades,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) the first three or four grades of elementary school. </DL>
<A NAME="primarygroup">
<B>primary group,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Sociology.) a group whose members have direct, intimate contact with each other. </DL>
<A NAME="primaryhealthcare">
<B>primary health care,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> rudimentary medical service, including physical examination, assistance in childbirth, and care of the sick and injured by dispensing medicine and treatment for certain conditions. </DL>
<A NAME="primaryintention">
<B>primary intention,</B> =first intention.</DL>
<A NAME="primaryproducer">
<B>primary producer,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Ecology.) a green plant in a food chain, such as a grass or a tree, that gets energy from the sun and nutrients from the soil, and provides food for primary consumers. </DL>
<A NAME="primaryroot">
<B>primary root,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Botany.) the single root which develops from the embryo itself. </DL>
<A NAME="primaryschool">
<B>primary school,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the first three or four grades of the elementary school. </DL>
<A NAME="primarystress">
<B>primary stress,</B> =primary accent.</DL>
<A NAME="primarystructure">
<B>primary structure,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a minimal sculpture. </DL>
<A NAME="primarystructurist">
<B>primary structurist,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a minimal sculptor. </DL>
<A NAME="primarysyphilis">
<B>primary syphilis,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the first stage of syphilis, indicated by a painless chancre, usually on the genitals. </DL>
<A NAME="primaryteeth">
<B>primary teeth,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> baby teeth or milk teeth. </DL>
<A NAME="primarywave">
<B>primary wave,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an earthquake wave traveling through solids faster than the secondary wave, and causing rocks to vibrate parallel with the wave. </DL>
