▪ I. prune, n.
(pruːn)
Forms: see below.
[a. F. prune (13th c. in Littré):—med.L. prūna, fem. sing. from prūna, neut. pl. of L. prūn-um, a. Gr. προῦν-ον, later form of προῦµν-ον a plum.]
A. Illustration of Forms.
4 prunne, 4– prune; 5–6 proyne, 6 prown, preune, 6–7 proine, 7 prewyn, pruine, 7–8 (9 dial.) pruin, pruen, pruan, 8 pruant.
| 1345–6 Prunnes [see B. 2]. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 74 Drie prunis [v. r. prunes] of damascenes. c 1430 Prune [see B. 2]. 1481–90 Howard Househ. Bks. (Roxb.) 338 On Crystemas even my Lord resseyved be the caryer..iiij. lb proynes. 1519 in W. M. Williams Ann. Founders' Co. (1867) 52 Item, iij lb of Prownys. 1530 Prune [see B. 1]. c 1532 G. Du Wes Introd. Fr. in Palsgr. 1073 Preunes. 1598 Proines [see B. 2]. 1602 How to Choose Gd. Wife iii. iii. (1614) G j b, Pies, with Raisins, and with proines. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. i. 93 Longing..for stewd prewyns. Ibid. 103. Ibid. 110. 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia ii. 26 The fruit..they..preserue..as Pruines. 1658 Phillips, Jubeb,..a kind of Pruan [1696 Pruen, 1706 Prune]. 1659 Wood Life 9 Apr. (O.H.S.) I. 277 Lemmons, oranges, pruins. 1711 Lond. Gaz. No. 4790/4, 24 small Barrels of new..Pruants. 1714 Fr. Bk. of Rates 20 Old Rags, Paper, Cards, Pruens, &c. 1719 Accomplisht Lady's Delight (ed. 10) 21 To make Conserve of Pruants. 1719 W. Wood Surv. Trade 94 Wines, Brandies,..Pruans, Linins and wrought Silk. 1773 Pruin sauce [see B. 5]. |
B. Signification.
1. † a. The fruit of the plum-tree; a plum; also, the tree,
Prunus domestica.
Obs. (
exc. as in c. and 2).
| 1530 Palsgr. 259/1 Prune a kynde of frute, prune. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. vii. 37 Gardens..filled with..prunes, abricots, dates & oliues. 1626 Bacon Sylva §319 In Drying of Peares, and Prunes, in the Ouen, and Remouing of them often as they begin to Sweat. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 247 Peach, Apricot, Prunello's, Figs, Prunes,..and all those we call Wall-Fruit. |
† b. damask prune = damson: see
damask 2.
| [c 1400: see A.] 1533 Elyot Cast. Helthe (1539) 22 The damaske prune rather bindeth than lowseth. 1579 J. Jones Preserv. Bodie & Soule i. xvi. 29 Also Medlars, Peaches, Cheries, Grapes,..damaske proynes so they be sweete. |
c. U.S. A variety of plum suitable for drying.
| 1902 Westm. Gaz. 14 Feb. 12/2 Prunes grow in many countries, and it is said California is ‘full of them’... The crop in 1900 was about 140,000,000 pounds. 1902 Daily Chron. 18 Sept. 5/1 After three years the prunes grow, the deep-blue ripe fruit being most plentiful at the end of August and beginning of September. |
d. slang (
orig. U.S.). A disagreeable or disliked person; a simpleton;
spec.,
Royal Air Force, the personification of stupidity and incompetence (also, as a fictitious title,
P.O. Prune). Hence
ˈprunery;
ˈprunish a.| 1895 W. C. Gore in Inlander Dec. 112 Prune, one who is disagreeable, and irritable. 1941 Baker Dict. Austral. Slang 57 Prune, a simpleton, fool. 1942 Tee Emm (Air Ministry) II. 67 All because the Prunes of the Air Force will ignore the existence of A.A. Danger Areas. 1942 Observer 4 Oct. 7/2 The Royal Air Force has adopted him [sc. P.O. Prune] now, and an official magazine is devoted to the purpose of trying to cure him of his prunery! Ibid., One day, I think, in some solemn dictionary Prune will become immortal. 1942 T. Rattigan Flare Path i. 30 They call me P.O. Prune—he's a character in The Training Manual—sort of crazy, good-tempered, half⁓witted sort of bloke..and I—well, I kind of act P.O. Prune for them. Ibid. ii. i. 53 He's not quite so prunish as he lets on. 1943 C. H. Ward-Jackson Piece of Cake 49 Prune, Pilot Officer, a fictitious character who behaves as every officer should not, created by Squadron Leader Anthony Armstrong and the artist RAFF (L. A. C. W. Hooper)... Prune was created to teach pupils and other flying personnel how things should not be done. 1944 ‘N. Shute’ Pastoral ii. 35 He wished..that he knew what it was that worried her, whether it was some prune that she had left at her last station. 1961 G. Smith Business of Loving viii. 201 Snap out of it, you moonstruck old prune. 1963 Listener 28 Feb. 392/3 No horse-play, no gremlins: in Mr Barr's script the Prunes have all been turned into serious-minded Prisms. 1970 Women Speaking Apr. 5/1 If a man doesn't like a girl's looks or personality, she's a..prune, lemon. 1978 J. Krantz Scruples xiii. 368, I think she's a bit of a prune. |
2. The dried fruit of several varieties of the common plum-tree, produced in France, Germany, Southern Europe, California, etc., and largely used for eating, raw or stewed; a dried plum. Formerly distinguished as
dry prune.
(The finest kind imported from France are also called
French plums.)
| 1345–6 Ely Sacr. Rolls (1907) II. 130 In ij lb. de Prunnes empt. 1s. 4d. c 1400 Drie prunis [see A.]. c 1420 Liber Cocorum (1862) 40 Do dates þerto..and raysyns and prunus also. c 1430 Two Cookery-bks. 52 Plante þe cofynne a-boue with Prunez, & with Datys. 1584 Cogan Haven Health cv. (1636) 104 The Damasin Plummes are woont to be dried and preserved as figges, and are called in English, Prunes. 1598 Epulario B ij, Stuffe them with sweet hearbes, dry proines, soure grapes. 1633 Hart Diet Diseased i. xvi. 63 In France and Spaine..they drie their plummes..these kinds wee commonly call..prunes. 1752 Berkeley Th. Tar-water Wks. 1871 III. 503 Stewed prunes, and other diet of an opening kind. 1893 E. H. Barker Wand. Southern Waters 295 Upon the sill were plums laid out on wooden trays to dry in the sun and become what English people call prunes. |
3. transf. The dark reddish purple colour of the juice of prunes; also called
prune-purple. Also
attrib.| 1884 Chr. World 17 Jan. 52/1 All wool Rich Ottoman Dress material..in..Prune. 1884 Pall Mall G. 2 Sept. 4/1 Prune and a large variety of greys are likewise on the list of fashionable colours. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 20 May 1/3 Miss Debby arrayed in a prune silk gown. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 690 A sofa upholstered in a prune plush. 1976 Vogue Jan. 74/1 Prune silk crepe de chine with tiny white print. |
4. Phrase.
prunes and prism: see
quot. 1855. Thence, applied to a prim and mincing manner of speaking, and to superficial ‘accomplishments’. Also
adj. phrs. prunes and prismy,
pruny and prismy.
| 1855 Dickens Dorrit ii. v, ‘Father is rather vulgar, my dear... Papa..gives a pretty form to the lips. Papa, potatoes, poultry, prunes and prism, are all very good for the lips: especially prunes and prism. You will find it serviceable in the formation of a demeanour, if you sometimes say to yourself in company or on entering a room, {oqq}Papa, potatoes, poultry, prunes, and prism, prunes and prism.{cqq}’ Ibid. vii. heading, Mostly, Prunes and Prism. 1888 Brit. Weekly 28 Sept. 353/1 He has none of the ‘prunes and prism’ style, and is, perhaps, addicted to strong language. 1892 W. G. Jenkins in Amer. Ann. Deaf Apr. 91 Surface accomplishments, the prunes and prisms of education. c 1909 D. H. Lawrence Collier's Friday Night (1934) i. 8 She says this in a very quaint ‘prunes-and-prisms’ manner, with her chin in the air and her hand extended. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 365 Say prunes and prisms forty times every morning, cure for fat lips. 1931 Time & Tide 4 July 802/2 A tougher-minded generation than ours may find it altogether too prunes-and-prismy. 1940 G. D. H. & M. Cole Counterpoint Murder v. 50 She's forty if she's a day, and all pruny and prismy. 1979 Daily Tel. 22 Nov. 14/7 She regales us with an amusing chronicle of Lady Lytton's attempts to find a congenial companion among the straightlaced Indian Civil Service wives, whose ‘prunes and prisms’ expressions she found most off⁓putting. |
5. attrib. and
Comb. (see also sense 3), as
prune-orchard,
prune-packer,
prune plum,
prune-rancher,
prune sauce,
prune-stone,
prune-whip;
prune-coloured,
prune-dark adjs.;
prune-brandy, an alcoholic beverage prepared from prunes;
prune-juice, the juice of prunes; also
attrib. in reference to its colour (see 3); also (
U.S. slang), nonsense;
prune picker U.S. colloq., a Californian;
prune-tree, (
a) a plum-tree (now in sense 1 c); (
b)
Prunus occidentalis, a West Indian timber-tree (
Treas. Bot. 1866).
| 1895 M. Pemberton Impregnable City vi. 41 Drink that, and when you've drained the bumper, we'll have some *prune brandy. |
| 1872 Young Englishwoman Nov. 595/1 A hat of duck-green turquoise is trimmed with *prune-coloured velvet. 1923 Blackw. Mag. Oct. 499/2 The foothills..were covered with a shadow over which prune-coloured clouds hung. |
| 1941 L. MacNeice Plant & Phantom 64 With *prune-dark eyes, thick lips, jostling each other. |
| 1863 Aitken Sc. & Pract. Med. (1866) II. 729 The so-called ‘*prune juice’ expectoration characteristic of the third stage of pneumonia. 1873 T. H. Green Introd. Pathol. (ed. 2) 91 A rusty or prune-juice colour. 1957 J. Kerouac On Road (1958) iii. iv. 199 Here we were dealing with the pit and prunejuice of poor beat life. 1965 Wodehouse Galahad at Blandings x. 170 We decided that a big Society wedding was a lot of prune juice and we wanted no piece of it. |
| 1921 Chambers's Jrnl. Mar. 173/1 *Prune-orchards do not need irrigating. |
| 1905 Daily News 8 Dec. 6 The French *prune-packers, it is said, often import Californian prunes,..repack them,..and sell them to the Americans. |
| 1918 L. E. Ruggles Navy Explained 112 *Prune picker, a native of California. So called because of the abundant prune crops. 1929 Papers Mich. Acad. Sci., Arts & Lett. X. 316 Prune picker, a Californian. |
| 1891 Ibid. 24 Oct. 5/4 *Prune plums, damsons, and bullaces are the principal other fruit. |
| 1921 Chambers's Jrnl. Mar. 174/2 With proper pruning and cultivation the *prune-rancher has an assured..living. |
| 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. 11, To men that are hungry, pig, with *pruin sauce is very good eating. |
| 1599 Peele Sir Clyom. Wks. (Rtldg.) 500/1 This fear hath made me beray myself with a *proin-stone that was not digested. |
| 1617 Janua Ling. 98 The *prune tree and cherry tree do wither with frost. 1902 Daily Chron. 18 Sept. 5/1 A peach or apricot seed is planted, and when the little tree is a year old it is cut to the ground, and a piece of live prune-tree fastened to it. |
| 1942 ‘R. West’ Black Lamb & Grey Falcon II. 26 Their coffee-brown beauty which fastidious nostrils, secretive lips and eyes like *prune-whip made refined and romantic. |
▪ II. prune, v.1 Obsolescent.
(
pruːn)
[ME. prune, pruyne, proyne, of uncertain origin, but in its phonetics apparently French; agreeing in form with prune v.2, of which it has been supposed to be a specialized fig. application. This is not impossible; but prune v.2 is not found till later, nor was it common till about 1550, and its original, OF. proignier, is not used in this sense. To identify them, it would be necessary to assume that in
Anglo-Fr. (? in Falconry) the verb had acquired this changed use, and been taken into
Eng., long before its original French sense was adopted. Evidence of the
vb. in
Anglo-Fr. has not been found. There appears to be some relationship between this and the synonymous
prene,
preen v.
2 Cf. the Chaucer
quot. c 1386 in A. β]
A. Illustration of Forms.
(
α) 4–
prune, (5
prowne, 6–7
prewne).
| 1390– Prune [see B.]. c 1450 Bk. Hawkyng in Rel. Ant. I. 298 Put her oute a-gayn to prowne and spalch herself, and a-non after that proynyng draw her in agayn. 1592 Prewn(e [see B. 4]. a 1625 Prewning [see pruning vbl. n.1 c]. |
(
β) 4
pruyne, 5–7
proyne, 6
proine,
proign, 6–7
proin,
proyn.
| a 1380 Pruynen [see B. 1 b]. c 1386 Chaucer Merch. T. 768 (Corp. MS.) He kembiþ him and proyneþ him and pikeþ [so Cambr., Petw., Lansd.; Ellesm. preyneth, Heng. prayneth, Harl. 7334 pruneth]. 1508 Proyne [see B. 1]. 1575 Turberv. Falconrie 133 That they may..proine and picke their feathers. 1588 Proign [see pruning vbl. n.1 b]. 1623 B. Jonson Underwoods, Celebr. Charis v, Where I sit and proin my wings After flight. |
(
γ)
Sc. 5–6
prunȝe, 6
prunȝa,
pronȝe,
prounȝe,
prwnȝe,
prunȝie.
| c 1450 Holland Howlat 21 Birdis..Pransand and prunȝeand, be pair and be pair. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 374, I wald me prunȝa plesandly in precius wedis. 1513 Douglas æneis v. iii. 50 A standand place quhar skarthis with ther beikis, Forgane the son, glaidlie thaim pronȝe and bekis. c 1560 Prounȝe [see B. 2 b]. 1571 Satir. Poems Reform. xxxvii. 56 Persaue..þe papingo þat prwnȝeis. a 1585 Montgomerie Flyting 86 As proud as ȝee prunȝie, ȝour pennes sall be plucked. |
B. Signification.
1. Of a bird (or any being so figured): To trim or dress the feathers with the beak:
= preen v.
2 1.
a. trans. (
refl., or with the feathers, etc. as
obj.)
| 1390 Gower Conf. III. 75 For there he [i.e. the eagle] pruneth him and piketh, As doth an hauk. 1490 Caxton Eneydos xvi. 63 As a byrde that pruneth or pycketh her. 1508 Fisher Penit. Ps. cii. Wks. (1876) 154 There she proyneth & setteth her feders in ordre. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. iii. 36 She gins her feathers fowle disfigured Prowdly to prune, and sett on every side. 1704 Swift Batt. Bks. Misc. (1711) 235 Friend, said the Bee (having now prun'd himself). 1735 Pope Donne Sat. iv. 186 Where Contemplation prunes her ruffled wings. 1820 Scott Abbot vii, The falcon instantly settled on his wrist, and began to prune itself. 1874 Holland Mistr. Manse v, The pigeon pruned his opal breast. |
b. absol. or intr. for refl.| a 1380 Pistill of Susan 81 Þe popeiayes perken and pruynen for proude. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. lxiv, The birdis..said, ‘wele is vs begone,..We proyne and play without dout and dangere’. 1649 G. Daniel Trinarch., Hen. IV lxxiv, Harry prunes safe, and brings fresh feathers on T' enlarge his wing. |
2. Of a person: To trim, dress up with minute nicety; to prink, deck out, adorn.
a. trans. (or refl.):
cf. preen v.
2 2. (In
quot. c 1450, ironical.)
| c 1386 [see A. β]. c 1450 Cov. Myst. xvii. (Shaks. Soc.) 164, I xal prune that paddok and prevyn hym as a pad. 1513 Douglas æneis iv. v. 80 His hair enoynt weill prunȝeit ondir that. 1599 B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. Induct., Another..with more beard than brain prunes his mustaccio. 1629 Massinger Picture iv. ii, The younger Prunes up himself, as if..he were To act a bridegroom's part. 1737 Songs Costume (Percy Soc.) 220 Adorn thy mind the more within, And prune thy person less. 1789 E. Darwin Bot. Gard. II. 13 So Ninon pruned her wither'd charms. |
b. absol. or intr. for refl.| c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xxxiv. 95 Swa ladeis will no{supt} sounȝe With waistit wowbattis rottin, Bot prowdly thay will prounȝe, Quhair geir is to be gottin. 1678 Dryden All for Love Epil. 13 He grows a fop..Prunes up, and asks his oracle, the glass, If pink or purple best become his face. 1684 Otway Atheist iii. i, A vain, pert, empty Rogue, That can prune, dance, lisp, or lie very much. |
† 3. refl. fig. To plume oneself, pride oneself.
Obs.| 1643 Trapp Comm. Gen. xi. 7 He turned Nebuchadnezzar a grazing among beasts, for pruning and priding himself upon this Babel. 1657 W. Blois Mod. Policies, etc. (ed. 7) E iij b, The Great Turk may justly exsult and prune him⁓self in discourses of this nature. 1672 Marvell Reh. Transp. I. 43 Divines..who pruned themselves in the peculiar Virulency of their Pens. |
† 4. trans. To set in order.
Obs. rare.
| 1592 Warner Alb. Eng., æneidos 195 A hunting was generally appoynted,..the Standes were prewned; the Toyles pitched. |
▪ III. prune, v.2 (
pruːn)
Forms: α. 5
prouyne, 6–7
proin(e,
proyne; β. 7
pruin(e,
pruyn(e, 6–
prune.
[In 15th c. prouyne, in 16th c. proine, a. OF. proöing(n)ier, proögnier, later proignier, in 16th c. progner, prougner, to prune or cut back (the vine): cf. L'aultre sa vigne y prougne ou taille (E. Damernal ed. 1597). The ulterior history of the
OF. is uncertain; it is quite distinct in sense and form from
provaigner,
provigner to layer a vine-shoot;
provine v.; although in
mod.F. dialects the latter is reduced to
preugner,
progner.]
1. a. trans. To cut or lop superfluous branches or twigs from (a vine, tree, or shrub), in order to promote fruitfulness, induce regular growth, etc.; to trim.
| α 1547 Homilies 1. Falling fr. God ii. (1859) 87 As long as a man doth proine his vines, doth dig at the roots, and doth lay fresh earth to them, he hath a mind to them, he perceiveth some token of fruitfulness. 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 49 He is coumpted no good Gardener, that..doeth diligently proine his old Trees, and hath no regard either to ympe or graffe young settes. 1670 W. Hughes Compl. Vineyard 15 In Germany..they Proin not their Vines the first year. |
| β 1575 Fenton Gold. Epist. (1577) 93 The tree..by the high way giues more shadowe to the passenger, than fruite to the owner that prunes it. 1611 Bible Lev. xxv. 3 Sixe yeeres thou shalt prune thy Vineyard. 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia ii. 26 Vines..covered with fruit, though never pruined nor manured. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 98 ¶1 Like Trees new lopped and pruned. 1870 Yeats Nat. Hist. Comm. 76 In France, the vine is pruned down to the size of a gooseberry bush. |
b. absol.| 1584 R. Scot Discov. Witchcr. ix. ii. (1886) 136 Times and seasons to sowe, to plant, to proine. 1612 Drayton Polyolb. iii. 357 Heere set, and there they sowe; here proine, and there they plant. 1648 Sanderson Serm. (1681) II. 243 What Husbandman would plow and sow and plant and prune..if he did not hope..to Inn the fruits? 1847 Emerson Repr. Men, Montaigne Wks. (Bohn) I. 347 On the whole, selfishness plants best, prunes best, makes the best commerce, and the best citizen. |
2. To cut or lop off (branches, boughs, shoots).
| α 1572 L. Mascall Plant. & Graff. (1575) 12 Ye must proyne or cut the braunch of commonlye in winter. 1612 Two Noble K. iii. vi. 242 Doe men proyne The straight yong bowes that blush with thousand blossoms? 1626 Bacon Sylva §432 A Tree..[with] the lower boughes onely maintained, and the higher continually proined off. |
| β 1612 Woodall Surg. Mate Wks. (1653) 390 After the dead boughs are pruned off. 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. 99 [They] should have their bottom side-shoots carefully pruned, cutting them close to their stem. |
3. fig. a. To ‘cut down’, mutilate (
quot. 1565); to rob, spoil (
quot. 1640);
esp. to cut down or reduce by rejecting superfluities; also to rid or clear
of what is superfluous or undesirable.
| α 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 244 Many a thyng, yt ys no nay, Mot be prouyned, & kut a-way, And yshape of newe entaylle. 1565 Jewel Repl. Harding (1611) 274 It is neither indifferent, nor true dealing, thus to nip, and to proine the Doctours sayings. 1608 Machin Dumb Knight iii. i. F j b, Hee proind him well and brought him vp to learning. 1640 Howell Dodona's Gr. 50 They might oppresse, spoyle, rob, peele, proyne, and grubbe them up at pleasure. |
| β 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. xxiii. §49 Howe they [laws] are to bee pruned and reformed from time to time. 1659 Stanley Hist. Philos. xii. (1701) 475/1 When I considered, how difficult it were so to prune it [a treatise], as to please all Persons. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 135 ¶10 Some..Authors..began to prune their Words of all superfluous Letters. 1796 Southey Lett. fr. Spain (1799) 201 [The lamp] has three branches;..a small pincers to prune it, and a bucket to deposit the snuff in. 1836 J. H. Newman in Brit. Mag. X. 137 Prune thou thy words. 1838 Prescott Ferd. & Is. (1846) II. xx. 194 Pruning it of all superfluous phrases. 1925 B. Beetham in E. F. Norton Fight for Everest, 1924 368 Bow to the inevitable, countenance what you deem to be reasonable, but prune early with a firm pencil anything excessive. 1970 Railway Mag. Oct. 546/1 The locomotive-hauled stock of British Railways has been drastically pruned in recent years. |
b. To take away or remove (superfluities, deformities). Also with
out.
| c 1680 Waller On Earl of Roscommon 9 Horace will our superfluous Branches prune. 1766 Blackstone Comm. II. v. 77 Even magna carta itself..only pruned the luxuriances that had grown out of the military tenures. 1869 H. F. Tozer Highl. Turkey II. 117 Establishing a standard and pruning away deformities [in language]. 1955 Bull. Atomic Sci. Mar. 94/2 Undoubtedly, these will be pruned out in the next edition. 1973 Sci. Amer. June 93/3 Shannon therefore proposed that the computer should not consider all possible moves from each position but should prune out the most obvious of bad moves. |