▪ I. prog, n.1
(prɒg)
Also 7 progg(e, 8–9 progue.
[Origin obscure; perh. a variant of prag n.1; cf. also brog, and prod n. and v.]
1. A piercing instrument or weapon; a spike; a skewer; a stiletto; a prick or prickle.
| 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 27 Slicing it into little gobbets, prick it on a prog of iron, and hang it in a fornace. 1634 W. Wood New Eng. Prosp. ii. vii, The water having dank't his pistoles, and lost his Spanish progge in the bottome, the Indians swomme him out by the chinne to the shore. 1785 R. Forbes Poems Buchan Dial., Ulysses 31 Sin the Fates hae orders gi'en To bring the progues [= arrows] to Troy. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Prog, a curved spike or prong, to drag what is seized by it... A prog would be of no use if it could not hold and draw as well as pierce. Both these words are otherwise pronounced progue. 1825 Brockett N.C. Gloss., Prog, a prick. —Progly, a. prickly. |
2. An act of progging; a stab, thrust, sharp poke; a prod. Sc. and dial. Also fig.
| 1822 Galt Steam-Boat viii. 155, I..could thole her progs and jokes with the greatest pleasance and composure. 1856 Deil's Hallowe'en 39 (E.D.D.) He..gied a progue, that wasna licht. 1891 Burgess Rasmie's Büddie 31 He'll mebbe need anidder proge, Frae my aald staff. |
▪ II. prog, n.2
(prɒg)
Also 7 progge, 7–8 progg, progue.
[perh. f. prog v.1, = that which is progged or got by progging.]
‘A cant word for provision, goods, or money laid up in store’ (Dyche, 1740).
1. Food, victuals, provender; esp. colloq. provisions for a journey or excursion; slang, food generally, ‘grub’.
| 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. vi. ii. 290 The Abbot..every Saturday was to visit their beds, to see if they had not shuffled in some softer matter, or purloyned some progge for them⁓selves. a 1704 T. Brown Sat. French King Wks. 1730 I. 60 When first I came to town with household clog, Rings, watch, and so forth, fairly went for prog. a 1745 Swift Direct. Servants, Cook, You can junket together at night on your own progue, when the rest of the house are abed. 1772 Mrs. Delany in Life & Corr. Ser. ii. (1862) I. 402, I had a letter last night from your father, who has sent me some good Xtmas prog according to custom. 1813 Lady Burghersh Lett. (1893) 13 We are obliged to carry with us all the ‘prog’ we want on the road. 1827 Carlyle Germ. Rom. I. 80 Unless the Turk..do freely give thee prog and lodging. 1870 Simmons Oakdale Grange 49 What a capital idea for prog (the refined expression by which scholars convey to each other the refined delicacies which tickle their palates). |
b. fig. Food for the mind.
| 1783 F. Burney Lett. 12 Apr., If my letters will give you any amusement, I will write oftener..and supply you with all the prog I get myself. 1815 Ireland Scribbleomania 166 George Brewer our crew now with confidence hails, And for prog straight produces his Siamese Tales. |
2. dial. A hoard (of money). Cf. prog v.1 4.
| 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss. s.v., He's got a fine prog of money somewhere. |
3. = progger1.
| 1828–32 Webster, Prog, one that seeks his victuals by wandering and begging. |
4. Comb. prog-basket, a provision-basket, on a journey or ‘outing’.
| 1855 Haliburton Nat. & Hum. Nat. I. 245 Taking out a pair of pistols and lots of ammunition from the bottom of his prog-basket. 1865 N. Brit. Rev. Sept. 229 During the repast a lean hungry tribe of dogs were working outside at his ‘prog-basket’. They opened it; stole a goose. |
▪ III. prog, n.3 Undergraduates' slang.
Also proggins.
[Perversion of proctor, on the pattern of Juggins and the like.]
A proctor at Oxford or Cambridge. Hence prog v.3 = proctorize v.
| 1890 Barrère & Leland Dict. Slang II. 152/2 Proggins (university), proctor. 1892 Granta 13 Feb. 196/1 [Proctor] What do you mean by this, Sir? You have been following me about for the last ten minutes... [Freshman] Oh—er—I only wanted to see you proggins some one! 1898 Blackw. Mag. Jan. 39 (Cambridge) His conversation is..about..the Dean or the ‘Proggins’. 1900 G. Swift Somerley 137 When you lifted your arm to take your cap off to the proctor, you pulled the reins and lugged the horse's head round into the prog's mouth. 1901 Daily Chron. 24 Aug. 7/2 The chief offences for which the fines are imposed—or, to adopt 'Varsity parlance, for which undergraduates are ‘progged’ [at Cambridge]—seem to be those of smoking when wearing cap and gown, and appearing in public on Sunday evenings improperly dressed. 1935 D. L. Sayers Gaudy Night xii. 255 The Proggins was just coming..round the corner of Broad Street. 1935 N. Mitchison We have been Warned iv. 428 ‘I warned him he might get progged.’.. ‘We might make the progs feel a bit awkward!’ 1945 G. B. Grundy Fifty-Five Years at Oxford iv. 55 He did not care a— for all the— proggins in the kingdom. 1965 Guardian 6 May 5/3 This evening may be the last..on which undergraduates can be progged. Ibid. 5/5 The progs have chased and chased us Up and down the town. |
▪ IV. prog, a. and n.4 slang.
(prɒg)
Also Prog.
Abbrev. of progressive a. (n.)
| 1958 ‘N. Blake’ Penknife in my Heart vii. 91 The Lanes, his hosts, were a prog. couple. 1965 N.Y. Times 1 June 33 The ‘progs’ or progressives believe Tewkesbury lives too much in the past. 1968 Listener 29 Aug. 280/2 Chaps like us..who don't believe in change, do far more for the Church than a thousand bloody progs like Pope John. 1971 Progress (Cape Town) May 1/1 (heading) Prog. expansion programme. Ibid. 1/2 (heading) Swing to Progs in North Rand. 1977 Guardian Weekly 11 Dec. 7/1 Liberal-minded South Africans cheered their favoured Progressive Federal Party... Much applause for the gains of the ‘progs’, as they are locally termed. |
▪ V. prog, n.5 slang.
(prɒg)
Abbrev. of programme n. 2 e.
| 1975 Listener 11 Dec. 790/1 Nice to have you with us on the prog, we say, don't we, fans? |
▪ VI. prog, v.1 Obs. exc. dial.
(prɒg)
Also 6 progg, 7 proague, progue.
[Origin and sense-history obscure; it is not certain whether all the senses belong to one word.]
† 1. trans. (?) Obs. rare.
| 1566 Drant Horace i. i. A j, Who gapes, who gawes, who pores, who pries, who proggs his mate but he? |
2. intr. To poke about for anything that may be picked up or laid hold of; to search about or hunt about, esp. for food; to forage, (?) to purvey; also, to solicit, to beg, to go about begging.
| [1618: cf. progman. 1622: see progging ppl. a.] 1624 Quarles Job xiv. 60 Man digs,..He neuer rests,..He mines, and progs, though in the fangs of death. 1635 ― Embl. ii. ii, We travel sea and soil, we pry, we prowl, We progress, and we prog from pole to pole. 1641 Milton Reform. ii. Wks. 1851 III. 64 Excommunication servs for nothing with them, but to prog, and pandar for fees. 1650 Weldon Crt. Jas. I 55 This Lake had linked himselfe in with the Scottish Nation, progging for Suits, and helping them to fill their Purses. a 1670 Hacket Abp. Williams i. (1692) 56, I never saw any of our Ministry more abstracted from their studies, continually progging at the Parliament door. 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables 52 She went out progging for provisions again as before. 1703 A. B. Law Succession to Benefices Just. 37 With an impious Craft like his [Judas's] you may prog for your own Bag. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Prog, to pry or poke into holes and corners... Those who go progging about..are likely enough to steal whatever they can lay their hands upon. 1838 M. Howitt Birds & Fl., House-sparrow iii, Coarse is his nature, made to prog about. 1876 Whitby Gloss., Prooaging,..foraging, as an animal searches for food. 1935 Z. N. Hurston Mules & Men i. vi. 128 We proaged thru the woods that was full of magnolia, pine..and many kinds of trees whose name I do not know. 1949 ‘J. Nelson’ Backwoods Teacher vi. 63 He took a stick and progued around in the hole. 1949 Sun (Baltimore) 9 June 10/6 A progger..is a fellow that goes progging for frogs. |
† 3. trans. To search or hunt out; to poke out.
| 1654 H. L'Estrange Chas. I (1655) 131 The subtile engineer..at length from old records progs and bolts out an ancient Precedent of raising a Tax upon the hole Kingdome, for setting forth a Navy in case of danger. 1656 Heylin Extraneus Vapulans 309 An old Skulking Statute, which..was printed and exposed to open view, and therefore needed no such progging and bolting out, as is elsewhere spoken of. |
† 4. (?) trans. See quot. (Cf. prog n.2 2.) Obs.
| 1719 Sewel Dutch Dict., Potten, geld potten, to Hord up money, to prog. |
▪ VII. prog, v.2 dial.
Also 9 progue.
[f. prog n.1 Cf. prod v., and brog v., in similar sense.]
1. trans. To prick, stab, pierce; to prod.
| 1811 A. Scott Poems 114 (Jam.), I ga'e my Pegasus the spur..An' sair his flank I've proggit. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. II. 82 While children..prog the hous'd bee from the cotter's wall. 1823 E. Logan St. Johnstoun II. 168 (Jam.), I was progging up the old witch a little, to..make her confess. 1825 Brockett N.C. Gloss., Prog, Proggle, to prick, to prickle. 1832–53 R. Inglis in Whistle-binkie (Scotch Songs) Ser. iii. 115 Again, at the battle o' red Waterloo, How they pricket and proget the French thro' and thro'. 1890 J. Service Thir Notandums xv. 103 He progued them wi' his fork. |
2. intr. To poke, to pierce; to prod.
| 1896 Dialect Notes (U.S.) I. 333 (E.D.D.) Prog, to search for anything imbedded in the mud, as clams, terrapins, or cedar logs, by means of a sounding rod. [But this may belong to prog v.1] |
▪ VIII. prog, v.3
to proctorize: see prog n.3