Defn: Cutting off; abstracting. [R.] Cheyne.
PRESCIOUS Pre"scious (pre"shus), a. [L. praescius; prae before + scius knowing, fr. scire to know.]
Defn: Foreknowing; having foreknowledge; as, prescious of ills. [R.]
Dryden.
PRESCRIBE
Pre*scribe", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Prescribed; p. pr & vb. n.
Prescribing.] Etym: [L. praescribere, praescriptum; prae before +
scriebe to write. See Scribe.]
1. To lay down authoritatively as a guide, direction, or rule of action; to impose as a peremptory order; to dictate; to appoint; to direct. Prescribe not us our duties. Shak. Let streams prescribe their fountains where to run. Dryden.
2. (Med.)
Defn: To direct, as a remedy to be used by a patient; as, the doctor prescribed quinine.
Syn. — To appoint; order; command; dictate; ordain; institute; establish.
PRESCRIBE
Pre*scribe", v. i.
1. To give directions; to dictate. A forwardness to prescribe to their opinions. Locke.