▪ I. prickle, n.1
(ˈprɪk(ə)l)
Forms: 1 pricels, pricel, inflected -ele, -le, 4–5 prykel, -yl, 5 -elle, 5–6 prikle, 6 Sc. prickil, 6–7 prickel, -ell, 6– prickle.
[OE. pricel, later form of pricels, f. stem pric- of prician to prick + instrumental suffix -els from earlier -isl = OHG. -isli:—WGer. *-islja. Cf. MDu., MLG. prickel, prēkel, Du. prikkel, LG. prickel a prickle, sting, spur, etc. In later times the suffix was app. sometimes associated with the dim. -el, -le from Fr., and a prickle viewed as a small prick. See also pritchel.]
† 1. A thing to prick with; a goad. Obs.
| a 1000 in Aldhelm Gloss. (Napier) 4228 and 4656 Stimulis, pricelsum. c 1000 Ags. Gosp., Luke Pref., Wið priclom eftdræᵹend [L. contra stimulos recalcitrantem]. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 16218 Penda poyned hym als a prykel. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 6578 Wel ney his flanke his strok he tecles, And strikes him with spere and pricles. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 413/1 Prykyl.., stimulus, aculeus; idem quod pryk. 1570 Levins Manip. 121/41 A Prickle, stimulus. 1609 Bible (Douay) Ecclus. xxxviii. 26 That holdeth the plough, and glorieth in the goade, driveth oxen with the prickle, and converseth in their workes. |
† 2. A pricking or goading sensation.
Obs.| a 1050 Liber Scintill. xviii. (1889) 87 Þænne mid oferfylle wamb byð aþened pricelas [L. aculei] galnysse beoð awehte. c 1050 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia (1885) VIII. 307 Ac seo ræding pingð þæne scoliere mid scearpum pricele. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 8485 Y fele a ful hard prykyl Þat my flesshe tempteþ me mykyl. |
† 3. A small mark or character in writing; a jot, iota; a minute fraction, part, or particle;
= prick n. 3, 5.
Obs. (Only
OE.)
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. v. 18 Iota unum [gloss] foruord vel pricle an vel enne, aut unus apex enne pricle vel stæfes heafod non præteribit ne forgæs. Ibid. Luke xii. 59 Ðone hlætmesto pricclu [Rushw. lætemestu pricla]. |
† 4. The sting of an insect.
Obs.| c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 3376 (Royal MS.) Senek seithe how the kyng and the leder Of bees prikles hathe he right none,..Othir bees prikles han euerychone. |
5. A rigid sharp-pointed process developed from the bark or any part of the epidermis of a plant, consisting of a compound hair.
Botanically, a
prickle differs from a
thorn or
spine in that it may be peeled off with the epidermis and does not grow from the wood of the plant; but popularly a prickle is a smaller or finer kind of prick or thorn, and the prickles of the rose are commonly called
thorns.
| c 1440 [see 1]. 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 388 Nettles..haue no prickells, yet they sting. 1660 R. Coke Power & Subj. 63 No roses without prickles. a 1672 Sterry Freed. Will (1675) 157 It hath prickels to guard those Roses from rash and rude hands. 1776 Withering Brit. Plants (1796) II. 188 The prickles at the edge of the leaves..readily distinguish this from the G[alium] montanum. 1870 Hooker Stud. Flora 123 Rosa canina..distinguished from spinosissima by its hooked prickles. |
6. a. A hard-pointed spine or outgrowth of the epidermis of an animal, as in the hedgehog; formerly applied also to the quills of the porcupine.
| 1567 J. Maplet Gr. Forest 89 Almost on euerie prickle or brestle he getteth an Apple or Grape. 1577 J. Northbrooke Dicing (1843) 84 Histrix is a little beast with speckled prickles on his back. 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 74 [The Urchin] of the Sea, drunk with the prickles, expelleth the stone. Ibid. 102 Porcupine. They have..on the back and sides diverse coloured prickles. 1840 Hood Kilmansegg, Dream xiv, He lies like a hedgehog roll'd up the wrong way, Tormenting himself with his prickles. |
b. One of the minute spines on a prickle-cell.
| 1875 Encycl. Brit. I. 897/1 The cells..next in order are polygonal, and not unfrequently possess pointed processes or prickles projecting from them, hence the name, prickle cells, employed by Schultze. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 881 The prickle cells in the neighbourhood of the lacunæ, which are found here and there over the papillæ, have lost their prickles. |
7. fig. Something that pricks the mind or feelings. (Chiefly in
pl.)
| 1638 Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. II.) 128 The wisedome of the Cardinall will strip off all the thorny prickles of passion. 1682 Dryden Medal 148 The man who laughed but once..Might laugh again to see a jury chaw The prickles of unpalatable law. 1705 tr. Cowley's Plants Wks. 1711 III. 364 The Rose has prickles, so has Love, Though these a little sharper prove. |
† 8. = file-fish b.
Obs.| 1681 Grew Musæum i. v. iii. 113 The Prickle or longest File-Fish..on the sides hinderly grows a little short Prickle upon the centre of every Scale. |
9. attrib. and
Comb., as
prickle-edge;
prickle-armed,
prickle-edged,
prickle-nosed,
prickle-shaped adjs.;
† prickle-apple = prickled apple;
prickle-cell Biol., a descriptive term applied to the round cells found in the deeper layers of stratified epithelium, bearing fibrils or minute spines;
† prickle-fish, the stickleback;
prickle-layer, the lowest layer of epidermis, made up of prickle-cells (Billings
Dict. Med. 1890);
† prickle-palm = prickly palm (
prickly a. 3);
prickle-tree, the Spindle-tree: see
euonymus;
prickle-yellow, prickly yellowwood: see
prickly 3.
| 1681 Grew Musæum ii. i. ii. 186 Part of a *Prickle-Apple... The Fruit is remarkable for the several Tussucks or Bunches of Thorns wherewith it is armed all round about. |
| c 1620 T. Robinson Mary Magd. i. 310 No thistle heere was seen, no *pricle-armed thorne. |
| 1875 *Prickle-cell [see 6 b]. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 542 The prickle layer is thinned or absent, and the prickle cells flattened horizontally. 1962 Blake & Trott Periodontology ii. 17 This epithelium consists of a few layers of prickle cells. 1974 R. M. Kirk et al. Surgery v. 72 Histologically the tumour is of the prickle-cell layer, invading the deeper tissues, and later spreading to the regional lymph glands. |
| 1885–8 Fagge & Pye-Smith Princ. Med. (ed. 2) I. 119 Not infrequently some of the cells [of keratoid carcinoma] have *prickle-edges, exactly as in certain layers of the epidermis. |
| 1857 Gosse Creation 136 Its great *prickle-edged stiff leaves grow in long diagonal rows. |
| 1668 Charleton Onomast. 144 Atherina..the *Prickle-fish. |
| 1681 Grew Musæum i. vii. ii. 162 The *Prickle-Nos'd Beetle..hath only a small short Prickle. |
| 1684 tr. Bucaniers Amer. 33 Another sort of these Palm-trees is called *Prickle-Palm..by reason it is infinitely full of prickles. |
| 1776 Withering Brit. Plants (1796) IV. 105 Leaves..edged with *prickle-shaped substances the same as those on the surface. |
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 190 The *prickle or spindle tree (called also Euonymus). |
Hence
ˈpricklet nonce-wd., a minute prickle;
† ˈpricklish a., somewhat prickly.
| 1878 Ogle tr. Kerner's Flowers & Unbidden Guests iv. 76 The under side..being studded..with numerous sharp pricklets. 1698 J. Petiver in Phil. Trans. XX. 328 The..Leaves stand on a pricklish or rough Footstalk. |
[2.] Delete
† Obs. and add:
App. obsolete by early 14th.
cent.; the
mod. use appears to represent a separate development (
orig. dial. and
U.S. colloq.).
| 1895 in Funk's Stand. Dict. 1898 N. Munro John Splendid xxiii. 223 A prickle's at my skin that tells me here is dool. 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §134/1 The prickles, a pricking sensation. 1975 M. Duffy Capital i. 48, I shall feel the prickle of heat and grass. 1985 J. Winterson Oranges are not the Only Fruit 109, I felt a prickle at the back of my neck. |
[7.] b. pl. A tendency or capacity to react argumentatively; defensiveness, prickliness, touchiness.
Cf. *
prickle v. 3 b,
prickly a. 1 b.
| 1975 L. Gillen Return to Deepwater ii. 38 ‘You've got the McCourt prickles, anyway,’ he told her tactlessly. 1975 D. Francis High Stakes iii. 49 Before I collected you, I expected honesty, directness and prickles. |
▪ II. prickle, n.2 (
ˈprɪk(ə)l)
[Derivation obscure.] A wicker basket,
esp. for fruit or flowers. ?
Obs.| 1609 N. F. Fruiterers Secrets 17 When your baskets or prickels be ful. 1625 B. Jonson Pan's Anniversary 21 Rain roses still,..and fill Your fragrant prickles for a second shower. 1883 Symonds Shaks. Predec. ix. (1900) 278 Nymphs, carrying prickles, or open wicker baskets. |
| attrib. 1693 Evelyn De la Quint. Compl. Gard. II. 181 The prickle Baskets, and Hand-barrows should at this time be plyed with the greatest vigour and diligence. |
b. Also used in specific senses: see
quots.| 1674 in Strype Stow's Surv. (1754) II. v. xxi. 415/1 For each Prickle or Basket, holding not above one Bushel, one Half-penny per Day. 1825 Brockett N.C. Gloss., Prickle, a basket or measure of wicker work among fruiterers. Formerly made of briers. Hence, perhaps, the name. 1851 Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 27/2 The prickle is a brown willow basket, in which walnuts are imported..from the Continent; they are about thirty inches deep, and in bulk rather larger than a gallon measure; they are used only by the vendors of walnuts. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Prickle, a sieve of filberts, containing about ½ a cwt. |
▪ III. prickle, v. (
ˈprɪk(ə)l)
[Partly f. prickle n.1; = MDu., MLG. prēkelen, MDu. prickelen, Du. prikkelen, LG. prikkeln, prickeln, whence G. prickeln to prickle, sting, prick. Partly dim. of prick v.] 1. trans. (or absol.) To prick, as with a goad or other sharp instrument; hence, to goad, instigate.
| 1513 Douglas æneis xii. Prol. 299 So pryklyng hyr grene curage for to crowd In amorus voce and wowar soundis lowd. 1570 Levins Manip. 122/3 To Prickle, stimulare. 1585 Lupton Thous. Notable Th. (1675) 16 The outward part of the Nettle, doth sting, prickle, or burn. 1693 Congreve Old Bach. iii. x, You have such a beard, and would so prickle one. 1828 Craven Gloss. (ed. 2), Prickle, to prick. 1876 T. S. Egan Heine's Atta Troll, etc. 222 If that point I shall once unpack, 'Twill prickle and hackle your faces. |
b. transf. To affect with a prickling sensation.
| 1855 Tennyson Maud i. xiv. 36, I..Felt a horror over me creep, Prickle my skin and catch my breath. |
† 2. fig. To affect with a feeling of pain or compunction.
Obs. Cf. prick v. 2.
| 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxix. 15 My panefull purss so prikillis me. Ibid. 20 So pricliss me. 1533 Gau Richt Vay 62 Thay war priklit in thair hartis and said to hime..quhat sal we dw? |
3. intr. To tingle as if pricked.
| 1634–5 Brereton Trav. (Chetham Soc.) 42 His finger burned and prickled. 1872 Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 1361 Sir Gareth's head prickled beneath his helm. |
4. trans. To sprinkle or cover with minute points; to dot.
rare.
| 1888 Harper's Mag. Apr. 753 Evening shadowed; the violet deepened and prickled itself with stars. |
5. intr. To rise or stand up like prickles.
Cf. prick v. 28.
| 1905 Blackw. Mag. Sept. 305/2 The roofs of gray shingles or red tiles prickling up through the mass of greenery. |
Hence
ˈprickling vbl. n. and ppl. a.| 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. v. 29 The fragrant Eglantine did spred His prickling armes, entrayld with roses red. 1656 W. D. tr. Comenius' Gate Lat. Unl. §258 With very little pricklings, Itching. 1726 Monro Anat. Nerves (1741) 63 The Numness and Prickling we..feel point out the Course of this Nerve. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xxxiii. (1856) 289 The wind was like prickling needles. |
Add:
[3.] b. fig. To react defensively or angrily to others' behaviour, a situation, etc.; to bristle. Const.
with (an emotion),
at (a source of provocation).
Cf. *
prickle n.1 7 b,
prickly a. 1 b.
| 1983 S. Cooper Seaward iii. 17 The field was still, prickling with tension... Faintly from the nearest group of golden soldiers a shout rose: ‘Charge!’ 1983 G. Harris Seventh Gate ii. 29 You're easy to tease and I like to watch you prickle, like a marsh kitten refusing to be stroked. 1989 Los Angeles Times 23 July (Book Rev. section) 10/1 Lawyers will prickle at the simplistic approach he takes to explaining the common law. |