Proscenium, prō-sē′ni-um, n. the front part of the stage: the curtain and its framework. [L.,—Gr. proskēnion—pro, before, skēnē, the stage.]
Proscribe, prō-skrīb′, v.t. to publish the names of persons to be punished: to put beyond the protection of law: to banish: to prohibit: to denounce, as doctrine.—ns. Prōscrib′er; Prō′script; Proscrip′tion, the act of proscribing or dooming to death or outlawry: utter rejection.—adj. Prōscrip′tive, pertaining to, or consisting in, proscription.—adv. Prōscrip′tively. [L. proscribĕre—pro, before, publicly, scribĕre, scriptum, to write.]
Prose, prōz, n. the direct, straightforward arrangement of words, free from poetical measures: ordinary spoken and written language: all writings not in verse.—adj. pertaining to prose: not poetical: plain: dull.—v.i. to write prose: to speak or write tediously.—v.t. to compose in prose.—ns. Prose′-man, Prō′ser, Prose′-writ′er, a writer of prose.—adv. Prō′sily, in a prosy manner: tediously.—ns. Prō′siness, the state or quality of being prosy; Prō′sing, speaking or writing in a dull or prosy way.—adj. Prō′sy, dull, tedious. [Fr.,—L. prosa—prorsus, straightforward—pro, forward, vertĕre, versum, to turn.]
Prosect, prō-sekt′, v.t. to dissect beforehand.—v.i. to perform the duties of a prosector, one who dissects a body for the illustration of anatomical lectures.—ns. Prosec′tion; Prosec′tor.—adj. Prosectō′rial.—n. Prosec′torship. [L. pro, before, secāre, to cut.]
Prosecute, pros′ē-kūt, v.t. to follow onwards or pursue, in order to reach or accomplish: to continue: to pursue by law: to bring before a court.—v.i. to carry on a legal prosecution.—ns. Prosecū′tion, the act of prosecuting or pursuing, esp. a civil or criminal suit: the party by which legal proceedings are instituted; Pros′ecūtor, one who prosecutes or pursues any plan or business: one who carries on a civil or criminal suit:—fem. Pros′ecūtrix.—Public prosecutor, a person whose duty it is to conduct prosecutions in the public interest. [L. prosequi—pro, onwards, sequi, secutus, to follow.]
Proselyte, pros′e-līt, n. one who has come over from one religion or opinion to another: a convert, esp. one who left the heathen and joined a Jewish community.—v.t. to convert.—v.t. Pros′elytīse, to make proselytes.—ns. Pros′elytīser, one who proselytises; Pros′elytism, the act of proselytising or of making converts: conversion.—Proselyte of the gate, a convert who was not compelled to submit to the regulations of the Mosaic law. [Fr.,—L.,—Gr. prosēlytos—proserchomai, I come to—pros, to, erchomai, ēlthon, to come.]
Prosencephalon, pros-en-sef′a-lon, n. the fore-brain, comprising the cerebral hemispheres and olfactory processes.—adj. Prosencephal′ic. [Gr. pros, before, enkephalon, the brain—en, in, kephalē, the head.]
Prosenchyma, pros-eng′ki-ma, n. the fibro-vascular system or tissue of plants—opp. to Parenchyma, the soft tissues.—adj. Prosenchym′atous. [Gr. pros, to, enchyma, an infusion.]
Proseuche, (-a), pros-ū′kē, (-kä), n. a place of prayer: among the Jews one that was not a synagogue, or the temple, usually roofless:—pl. Proseu′chæ. [Gr. pros, towards, euchesthai, to pray.]
Prosiliency, prō-sil′i-en-si, n. a standing forward.