*prose*

a. [ See Leprous. ] (Nat. Hist.) Covered with thin, scurfy scales. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ L., to be unwilling to prosecute. ] (Law) Will not prosecute; -- an entry on the record, denoting that a plaintiff discontinues his suit, or the attorney for the public a prosecution; either wholly, or as to some count, or as to some of several defendants. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ L. he does not prosecute. ] (Law) A judgment entered against the plaintiff in a suit where he does not appear to prosecute. See Nolle prosequi. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Pertaining to, or composed of, prose; not in verse; as, prose composition. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Possessing or exhibiting unpoetical characteristics; plain; dull; prosaic; as, the prose duties of life. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. prose, L. prosa, fr. prorsus, prosus, straight forward, straight on, for proversus; pro forward + versus, p. p. of vertere to turn. See Verse. ] 1. The ordinary language of men in speaking or writing; language not cast in poetical measure or rhythm; -- contradistinguished from verse, or metrical composition. [ 1913 Webster ]

I speak in prose, and let him rymes make. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

I wish our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of prose and poetry, that is; prose -- words in their best order; poetry -- the best order. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence, language which evinces little imagination or animation; dull and commonplace discourse. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (R. C. Ch.) A hymn with no regular meter, sometimes introduced into the Mass. See Sequence. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Prosed p. pr. & vb. n. Prosing. ] 1. To write in prose. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To write or repeat in a dull, tedious, or prosy way. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To write prose. [ 1913 Webster ]

Prosing or versing, but chiefly this latter. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L., an anatomist, from prosecare to cut up; pro before + secare to cut. ] One who makes dissections for anatomical illustration; usually, the assistant of a professional anatomist. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being prosecuted; liable to prosecution. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Prosecuted p. pr. & vb. n. Prosecuting. ] [ L. prosecutus, p. p. of prosequi to follow, pursue. See Pursue. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To follow or pursue with a view to reach, execute, or accomplish; to endeavor to obtain or complete; to carry on; to continue; as, to prosecute a scheme, hope, or claim. [ 1913 Webster ]

I am beloved Hermia;
Why should not I, then, prosecute my right ? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To seek to obtain by legal process; as, to prosecute a right or a claim in a court of law. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Law) To pursue with the intention of punishing; to accuse of some crime or breach of law, or to pursue for redress or punishment, before a legal tribunal; to proceed against judicially; as, to prosecute a man for trespass, or for a riot. [ 1913 Webster ]

To acquit themselves and prosecute their foes. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To follow after. [ Obs. ] Latimer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) To institute and carry on a legal prosecution; as, to prosecute for public offenses. Blackstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. prosecutio a following. ] 1. The act or process of prosecuting, or of endeavoring to gain or accomplish something; pursuit by efforts of body or mind; as, the prosecution of a scheme, plan, design, or undertaking; the prosecution of war. [ 1913 Webster ]

Keeping a sharp eye on her domestics . . . in prosecution of their various duties. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) (a) The institution and carrying on of a suit in a court of law or equity, to obtain some right, or to redress and punish some wrong; the carrying on of a judicial proceeding in behalf of a complaining party, as distinguished from defense. (b) The institution, or commencement, and continuance of a criminal suit; the process of exhibiting formal charges against an offender before a legal tribunal, and pursuing them to final judgment on behalf of the state or government, as by indictment or information. (c) The party by whom criminal proceedings are instituted. Blackstone. Burrill. Mozley & W. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. L. prosecutor an attendant. ] 1. One who prosecutes or carries on any purpose, plan, or business. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) The person who institutes and carries on a criminal suit against another in the name of the government. Blackstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ NL. ] A female prosecutor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. proselite, OF. proselite, F. proselytus, Gr. &unr_;, adj., that has come, n., a new comer, especially, one who has come over from heathenism to the Jewish religion; &unr_; toward, to + (prob.) the root of &unr_; to come. ] A new convert especially a convert to some religion or religious sect, or to some particular opinion, system, or party; thus, a Gentile converted to Judaism, or a pagan converted to Christianity, is a proselyte. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ye [ Scribes and Pharisees ] compass sea and land to make one proselyte. Matt. xxiii. 15. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fresh confidence the speculatist takes
From every harebrained proselyte he makes. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- See Convert. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Proselyted p. pr. & vb. n. Proselyting. ] To convert to some religion, opinion, or system; to bring over. Dr. H. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. prosélytisme. ] 1. The act or practice of proselyting; the making of converts to a religion or a religious sect, or to any opinion, system, or party. [ 1913 Webster ]

They were possessed of a spirit of proselytism in the most fanatical degree. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Conversion to a religion, system, or party. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. proselytized p. pr. & vb. n. Proselytizing ] To convert to some religion, system, opinion, or the like; to bring, or cause to come, over; to proselyte. [ 1913 Webster ]

One of those whom they endeavor to proselytize. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To make converts or proselytes. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who proselytes. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A writer of prose. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A seminary which prepares pupils for a higher institution. T. Warton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. proseminare, proseminatum, to disseminate. ] Propagation by seed. [ Obs. ] Sir M. Hale. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the prosencephalon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ NL., fr. Gr. &unr_; toward, near to + E. encephalon. ] [ Sometimes abbreviated to proen. ] (Anat.) (a) The anterior segment of the brain, including the cerebrum and olfactory lobes; the forebrain. (b) The cerebrum. Huxley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ NL., fr. Gr. &unr_; near + -enchyma, as in parenchyma. ] (Bot.) A general term applied to the tissues formed of elongated cells, especially those with pointed or oblique extremities, as the principal cells of ordinary wood. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A writer of prose. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who talks or writes tediously. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Pref. trans- + prose. ] To change from prose into verse; to versify; also, to change from verse into prose. [ Obs. ] Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]