▪ I. prize, n.1
(praɪz)
For earlier forms (pris, prys, prise, price, etc.) see price n.
[A differentiated variant of ME. prīs, prise, now price n. The latter was formerly, and in some dialects is still, prise, prize (praɪz), and its plural in 16–18th c. was very commonly prises, prizes. The corresp. verb is also prise, prize v.1 Cf. also the forms of prize n.3, v.2]
1. a. A reward, trophy, or symbol of victory or superiority in any contest or competition.
consolation prize, a prize won in a consolation match: see consolation 3 b.
| α a 1300 Cursor M. 25364 (Cott.) For oft þe men þat er rightwis Thoru faanding win þai to þair pris [so Gött.; F. prise]. 1382 Wyclif 1 Cor. ix. 24 Thei that rennen in a furlong, alle forsoth rennen, but oon takith the priys. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 15 So that the heiere hond he [Bacchus] hadde And victoire of his enemys, And torneth homward with his pris. c 1460 Launfal 487 So the prys of that turnay Was delyvered to Lanfaul that day. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 196 Shooting for wagers..and for like rewards and prises. |
| β 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. clxviii. 205 All..ar playnly acorded..to gyue you the price and chapelette. 1627 Hakewill Apol. (1630) 239 The onely man to whom the price was of right to be adjudged. 1675 Phil. Trans. X. 549 Certain brabiums or prices for such as shall do best. |
| γ 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. ii. ix. 60 (Qo. 1600) Did I deserue no more then a fooles head, Is that my prize, are my deserts no better? 1600 ― A.Y.L. i. i. 168 If euer hee goe alone againe, Ile neuer wrastle for prize more. 1668 Dryden Ess. Dram. Poesy Ess. (ed. Ker) I. 37 They had judges ordained to decide their merit, and prizes to reward it. 1752 Hume Ess. & Treat. (1777) I. 193 We overvalue the prize for which we contend. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. 250 A week before the prize was decided by the king. 1899 Scribner's Mag. XXV. 7/1, I should have missed the Santiago campaign, and might not even have had the consolation prize of going to Porto Rico. |
b. In colleges, schools, etc.: A reward in the form of money, books, or the like, given to the pupil who excels in attainments, usually as tested by a competitive examination. Formerly
premium.
| 1752 Cambr. Univ. Notice 11 Dec., Mr. Finch and..Mr. Townsend having proposed..to give Two Prizes of Fifteen Guineas each to two Senior Batchelors of Arts..who shall compose the best Exercises in Latin Prose. 1768 M. Howard Conqt. Quebec, Honoured with the Prize given by the..Chancellor of the University of Oxford, for the best English Verses on this Subject. 1769 Sir J. Reynolds (title) A Discourse, delivered to the Students of the Royal Academy, on the distribution of the prizes. 1784 Cowper Tiroc. 473 The prize of beauty in a woman's eyes Not brighter than in theirs the scholar's prize. 1791 (Circular) Clarke's..School, Liverpool. Præmia. Names of the Young Ladies and Gentlemen to whom the Annual Prizes were publicly adjudged. 1800 Cambr. Univ. Cal. 9 University Prizes. Two gold medals, value 15 guineas each, are given annually by the Chancellor of this University. 1847 Tennyson Princ. iii. 283 You love The metaphysics! read and earn our prize, A golden broach. |
c. A premium offered to the person who exhibits the best specimens of natural productions, works of art, or manufactures, at a competition designed to promote the study, cultivation, or production of such objects, or at an exhibition or ‘show’ arranged for the instruction or amusement of visitors.
| 1775 Orig. Ipswich Jrnl. 6 May (in N. & Q. 29 Feb. 1908), There will be a shew of Tulips... Every person's flower shall be his own actual property and of his own blowing, or they will not be entitled to either of the prizes. 1793 (June 4) Musical Entertainmt. at Sadler's Wells Th., The Prize of Industry. Taken from a Fete given in Oxfordshire for the encouragement of industry amongst the Villagers; and introducing the Spinning for the Prize Medal. 1824 [see 4 a]. 1845 Florist's Jrnl. 209 The first prize for 12 Ranunculuses (amateurs' class) was awarded [etc.]. Mod. The infant to whom the first prize was awarded at the baby show. |
2. A sum of money or a thing of value, offered for competition by chance or hazard, as by trying who shall throw the highest or other specified number at dice, or draw a particular ticket from among a large number to which no advantage attaches, called
blanks. Often
fig.| 1567 Lottery Chart Aug., A very rich Lotterie generall, without any Blanckes, contayning a great number of good Prices. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 242 ¶2 A Ticket in the Lottery, and..'tis come up this Morning a Five hundred Pound Prize. 1728 Young Love Fame iii. 264 A beauteous sister, or convenient wife, Are prizes in the lottery of life. 1842 Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life (1870) III. ix. 153 A twenty thousand prize in the lottery. 1883 W. C. Smith in Encycl. Brit. XV. 11/1 The word lottery..may be applied to any process of determining prizes by lot. |
3. fig. a. Anything striven for or worth striving for; a thing of value won by or inspiring effort.
| 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iii. iii. 83 (Qo. 1609) Place, ritches, and fauour, Prizes of accident as oft as merit. 1610 ― Temp. i. ii. 452 But this swift busines I must vneasie make, least too light winning Make the prize light. 1712–14 Pope Rape Lock v. 111 The Lock..In ev'ry place is sought, but sought in vain: With such a prize no mortal must be blest. 1838 Lytton Alice x, What a prize to any younger sons in the Merton family. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 326 There were still indeed prizes in the Church: but they were few. 1856 Grindon Life xxii. (1875) 273 Life has a prize for every one who will open his heart to receive it. |
b. An advantage, privilege; something prized or highly valued.
| 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, i. iv. 59 (Qo. 1595) Tis warres prise to take all aduantages. Ibid. ii. i. 20 (Fol. 1623) Me thinkes 'tis prize [1595 pride] enough to be his Sonne. 1638 Walton in L. Roberts Merch. Mapp Commend. Verses 11 If thou would'st be a Merchant, buy this Booke: For 'tis a prize worth gold. |
c. glittering prizes.
| 1875 F. Arnold Our Bishops & Deans I. v. 286 There are certain glittering prizes which are the great attractions to these. 1923 Ld. Birkenhead in Times 8 Nov. 7/4 The world continues to offer glittering prizes to those who have stout hearts and sharp swords. 1976 F. Raphael (title) Glittering prizes. 1977 A. Clarke Let. from Dead ix. 104 Just keep your trap shut..and remember the glittering prizes. 1978 Broadcast 3 Apr. 9/3 Party political broadcasts are not the glittering prizes that once they seemed to be... The public are bored by them. |
4. attrib. and
Comb. a. attrib. (
a) That gains a prize; for which a prize is awarded in a competition or exhibition; also
fig. such as would or might gain a prize; supremely excellent of its kind, first-class; now also
fig. (as
adj.) describing undesirable qualities: outstanding, unrivalled, complete, utter. (
b) That is offered or gained as a prize. (Often hyphened.)
| 1803 D. Wilson (title) Common Sense: A Prize Essay, recited in the Theatre, Oxford, June 15, 1803. 1807 (title) Oxford Prize Poems: being a Collection of such English Poems as have at various times obtained Prizes in the University of Oxford. 1812 Sporting Mag. XL. 270 Jemmy Hill claimed his prize-pig, but his competitors disputed his right. 1824 Byron Juan xvi. lx, There was a prize ox, a prize pig, and ploughman, For Henry was a sort of Sabine showman. 1831 Edin. Rev. LIII. 556 The world..is pretty well agreed in thinking that the shorter a prize-poem is, the better. 1856 C. M. Yonge Daisy Chain ii. xviii. 548 He..had written the best prize poem ever heard at Oxford. 1857 Geo. Eliot Let. 22 May (1954) II. 329 Meditations about a new book..when the Prize Essay has reached a second edition. 1881 Jowett Thucyd. I. 15 My history is an everlasting possession, not a prize composition which is heard and forgotten. 1897 Daily News 28 Jan. 3/1 Look at the prize gussets, the prize hemmings, the prize buttonholes, the prize darnings, the prize stitchings..suspended by innumerable tin tacks to the wall. 1933 Blunden Charles Lamb 21 George Richards, whose Oxford prize-poem delighted Byron. 1952 E. O'Neill Moon for Misbegotten i. 63 Hogan. All prize pigs, too! I was offered two hundred dollars apiece for them. 1956 K. Tillotson Matthew Arnold & Carlyle 139 Arnold opens non-committally, using a techinque of evasion common in prize-poems. 1976 Southern Even. Echo (Southampton) 13 Nov. (Suppl.) 5/3 The final episode finds Katy..accused of writing to a young man regarded as a prize flirt. 1978 M. Tripp Wife-Smuggler v. 58 I've been made a fool, a prize bloody fool. 1980 E. G. Wilson John Clarkson iv. 46 A Cambridge prize essay was bound to have a good circulation. |
b. Comb., as
prize-giver,
prize-giving,
prize-holder,
prize-loser,
prize-seeker,
prize-taker,
prize-winner;
prize-taking,
prize-winning,
prize-worthy adjs.;
prize-book, a book gained as a prize;
prize-fellowship, a fellowship in a college given as a reward for eminence in an examination, as distinct from an official fellowship; hence
prize-fellow, one who holds such a fellowship;
prize-list, a list of the winners of prizes in any competition;
prize-medal, a medal offered or gained as a prize;
prize-question, a question or subject for the answer to or discussion of which a prize is offered;
prize-roll, a roll or list of prize-winners.
| 1839 C. Sinclair Holiday House xii. 274 Being the best scholar there [sc. at school], he might..receive a whole library of *prize-books. 1858 Lytton What will he do vii. ix, The poor relics of her innocent happy girlhood,..—the prize-books, the lute, the costly work-box. c 1909 D. H. Lawrence Collier's Friday Night (1934) i. 4 Then on the next shelf prize-books in calf and gold. |
| 1897 Westm. Gaz. 27 Apr. 2/1 A *prize-fellow in his seventh year is one of the most dolorous sights in the world. These *prize-fellowships ought to be abolished, and the money devoted..to relieving the intolerable strain on the University chest. 1900 G. C. Brodrick Mem. & Impress. 170 ‘Prize fellows’ as they are ungracefully called, elected for seven years only. |
| 1865 Daily Tel. 5 Dec. 7/1 Zealous and more determined *prize-givers and prize-seekers overruled Mr. Wright and his supporters. |
| 1905 E. M. Forster Where Angels fear to Tread v. 124 Fortunately the school *prize-giving was at hand. 1955 E. Blishen Roaring Boys ii. 100 Prize-giving..didn't flow naturally out of what had gone before, as it does in a grammar school. 1973 R. Parkes Guardians vii. 124 There they all were, droning away..as though at some Kafkaesque prize-giving. |
| 1864 Burton Scot Abr. I. i. 54 They were naturally the *prizeholders. |
| 1890 Cent. Dict., *Prize-list. 1. A detailed list of the winners in any competition for prizes, as a school examination or a flower-show. 1793 *Prize Medal [see 1 c]. 1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 3524 Patent and prize-medal artificial eyes,..&c. |
| 1808 Edin. Rev. XI. 268 The subject of the tides was proposed as the *prize-question by the Academy of Sciences in the year 1740. |
| 1912 Chambers's Jrnl. May 329/1 A medal can be verified occasionally if the *prize-roll or some other collateral document is extant. |
| 1893 Outing (U.S.) XXII. 146/1 The cockpit in the *prize winners is only large enough to contain the feet of the skipper. |
| 1635 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Banish'd Virg. 5 Endowments but handmaides to others farre more *prize-worthy. |
▪ II. † prize, n.2 Obs. Forms: α. 6
pryse, 6–7
prise,
price; β. 6–8
prize.
[Of uncertain origin: possibly the same word as the prec. in a transferred use: cf. Gr. ἄθλον, ‘the prize of contest, a prize’, also ‘a contest, hence conflict, struggle’. The forms are the same as the contemporary ones of prize n.1; but, not being found before the last third of the 16th century, this has not the earlier pris, prys. In Amyot's
Fr. transl., 1559, of
Plutarch's Lives, Pericles c. x., the
Gr. µουσικῆς ἀγῶνα, τοὺς µουσικοὺς ἀγῶνας,
lit. ‘contest of music’, ‘the musical contests’, are rendered
jeux de prix de (la) musique,
lit. ‘prize-plays of music’; for this North, 1579, has not ‘prizes’ but ‘games for musicke’.]
A contest, a match; a public athletic contest;
pl. the public games of the Greeks and Romans; in late use, a prize-fight. Also
fig.| α 1577 J. Northbrooke Dicing (1843) 106, I meane not to condemne such publicke games or prices, as are appointed by the magistrate. 1596 Spenser F.Q. vi. viii. 25 His leg, through his late luckelesse prise, Was crackt in twaine. |
| β 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iii. ii. 142 (Qo. 1600) Like one of two contending in a prize That thinks he hath done well in peoples eyes. 1597 Beard Theatre God's Judgem. (1612) 349 The people being gathered together to behold the Fencers prizes were fiftie thousand of them hurt and maimed..by the Amphitheatre that fell vpon them. 1651 N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. ii. vi. (1739) 34 The Prize was now well begun concerning the Pope's power in England. 1663 Pepys Diary 1 June, Here I saw the first prize I ever saw in my life: and it was between one Mathews, who did beat at all weapons, and one Westwicke. 1669 Ibid. 12 Apr., Here we saw a prize fought between a soldier and a country fellow. |
b. esp. in phrase
to play a prize, to engage in a contest or match,
esp. a fencing-match; also
fig. to play one's prize, to play one's ‘game’, play one's part.
| α 1592 Greene Upst. Courtier B iij b, Ieatting vp and downe like the Usher of a Fense-schoole about to playe his Pryse. 1597 Tofte Laura i. iii, Like to the blacksome night I may compare My Mistres gowne, when darknes playes his prise. 1605 B. Jonson Volpone v. ii, Thou 'hast playd thy prise, my precious Mosca. |
| β 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. i. i. 399 (Qo. 1600) So Bascianus, you haue plaid your prize, God giue you ioy sir of your gallant Bride. 1620 Swetnam Arraign'd (1880) 55 Cupid, the little Fencer playd his Prize At seuerall weapons in Atlanta's eyes. 1640 Brome Antipodes iv. iii, A Woman Fencer, that has plaid a Prize, It seemes, with Losse of blood. a 1670 Hacket Abp. Williams ii. (1692) 147 Attributed to the Chairman's dexterity, who could play his prize in all weapons. |
c. in
pl. to play prizes (
= b);
to fight prizes, to fight as gladiators; to engage in a prize-fight, or practise prize-fighting;
to run prizes, to run races. Also
fig.| α 1565 J. Calfhill Answ. Treat. Crosse F ij b, When y⊇ masters of defence came to play their prises, he [Nero] would beholde them in his ring. 1600 Holland Livy viii. xx. 295 That yeare were erected in the great race called Circus, the Barriers, from whence the horses and their chariots are let forth, when they run their prices. 1642 Rogers Naaman 197 This base carnality plaies her prises one way or other, and dares act her part upon Gods stage. |
| β 1596 Nashe Saffron Walden Ep. Ded., Wks. (Grosart) III. 6 Dick of the Cow..who plaied his prizes with the lord Iockey so brauely. 1599 ― Lenten Stuff ibid. V. 235 Another playes his prizes in print. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 206 When the Prizes of Germanicus Cæsar were played; there were many Elephantes which acted strange feates or partes. 1663 Pepys Diary 1 June, The New Theatre, which..is this day begun to be employed by the fencers to play prizes at. a 1694 Tillotson Serm. ix. (1743) I. 222 He does not, like some of the cruel Roman emperors, take pleasure..to see them play bloody prizes before him. 1702 W. J. Bruyn's Voy. Levant vii. 8 A Circus or Amphitheatre, wherein Prizes were anciently Fought. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull i. iv, He..went about through all the country fairs, challenging people to fight prizes, wrestling, and cudgel-play. 1715 Leoni Palladio's Archit. (1742) I. 77 The whole People came there together, to see the Athletes (or Fencers and Wrestlers) play their prizes. |
d. Comb. prize-playing, the playing of a prize or prizes; acting as an athlete or gladiator; in
quot. attrib. = won in athletic contests. See also
prize-fight, -fighter.
| 1647 R. Stapylton Juvenal 36 Our nointed clowne prize-playing ornaments Or a poore basket-scrambling gown contents [L. Rusticus ille tuus sumit trechedipna, Quirine, Et aromatico fert niceteria collo.] |
▪ III. prize, n.3 (
praɪz)
Forms: α. 4–7
prise, 5–7
price, 6–7
pryse. β. 6–7
pryze, 6–
prize.
[a. F. prise the action of taking, capture, esp. the capture of a ship, the booty taken, a captured ship or cargo = Pr., Sp., It. presa:—early Rom. prēsa:—prensa, L. præhensa, fem. n. from pa. pple. of L. præhendĕre to seize: see prehend. (In origin, a special sense of prise n.1, which late in 16th c. began to be phonetically spelt prize, and thus to be identified with prize n.1)] † 1. The action of taking; capture, seizure.
Obs.| [1414 Act 2 Hen. V, Stat. i. c. 6 Quils..facent plein enformacion..a le conservatour de le port..de la dite prise et de la quantite dicelle.] |
| c 1475 Harl. Contin. Higden (Rolls) VIII. 576 The cyte of Constantynople..was taken by the Turke..by whiche pryse Cristen feyth perysshed in Grece. 1481 Caxton Godeffroy lxxxii. 130 By the prise of this cyte. Ibid. clxxxv. 271 heading, Of the pryse and takynge of Iherusalem. 1611 Chapman Iliad iv. 332 Age, that all men overcomes, hath made his prise on thee. 1648 J. Raymond Voy. Italy 77 Opposite to this is the Arch of Titus Vespasian, erected to him for his prise of Jerusalem. a 1649 Winthrop New Eng. (1853) II. 74 He said he got them by trade, but it was suspected he got them by prize. 1721 De Foe Moll Flanders (1854) 167 This [stealing of a bundle of plate, jewellery, &c.] was the greatest and the worst prize that ever I was concerned in. |
2. † a. Anything seized or captured by force, especially in war; booty, plunder, prey; a captive of war.
Obs. exc. as in b.
| α c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶281, I wol departe my prise or my praye by deliberacion. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 246 Gret pris upon the werre he hadde. c 1430 Hymns Virg. (1867) 53, I haue brouȝt hidir manye a greet price Hidir into helle of al kinde of man. c 1450 Merlin ii. 240 Thei hadden gete the richest prise thut euer was sein in her comynge. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 72 Returnit hame againe witht great pryce of men and goodis. c 1611 Chapman Iliad i. 135 Woulst thou maintaine in sure abode Thine owne prise, and sleight me of mine? 1693 Mem. Cnt. Teckely i. 40 To shelter the Prises which the Croats had taken from the Turks. a 1734 North Exam. i. iii. §154 (1740) 222 His Neighbour's Pigs and Hens used to be his Prise, when he could catch them. |
| β 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. iv. 8 His owne prize, Whom formerly he had in battell wonne. 1608 D. T[uvil] Ess. Pol. & Mor. 69 Many have had the victory snatcht..and themselves become the dishonourable pryze of whome they had earst most honourably surpryz'd. a 1735 Arbuthnot Most Wonderful Wonder Misc. Wks. 1751 I. 195 He took Shipping afterwards with his Prize, and safely landed at Tower-Wharf. 1865 Ld. Derby Iliad 1 220 Ev'n from thy tent, myself, to bear thy prize, The fair Briseis. |
b. esp. A ship or property captured at sea in virtue of the rights of war; a legal capture at sea.
| α 1512 in Rymer Foedera XIII. 328/2 One Shippe Royall..with the Ordinance and Apparell of every such Prise that shall fortune to be taken by theym. 1588 Greene Perimedes 9 Carrying away, both vessell and marriners as a pryse. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 188 Calicut, a great Citie ten leagues whence we tooke our price [(1638) 302 prize]. 1672 C. Manners in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 24 Wee take every day some considerable pryses, which may pay for the warr. |
| fig. 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 279 Desire my Pilot is, Beautie my prise. |
| β 1608 Shakes. Per. iv. i. 93 Pira. 2. A prize, a prize. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 549 They took a prize of nine hundred tunnes. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 51 The gallies..towing at their sternes three or foure little vessels no bigger then fisher boats. A ridiculous glory, and a prize to be ashamed of. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. round World (1699) 174 We were now 6 Sail, 2 Men of War, 2 Tenders, a Fire-ship and the Prize. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. iv. 164 The Commodore ordered..his first Lieutenant, to take possession of the prize. 1879 Lubbock Addr. Pol. & Educ. vii. 137 Steamers..would be the real prizes—if prizes are to be made at all. |
c. without
a or
pl. Property seized as in war;
esp. in the
phr. to make prize. Also
fig. [In this and the following,
prize seems to hover between sense 1 ‘capture, seizure’, and the concrete sense 2.]
| 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, iii. vii. 187 (Qo. 1597) A beauty-waining and distressed widow..Made prise and purchase of his lustfull eye. 1601 J. Wheeler Treat. Comm. 68 Diuerse ships..had beene taken at sea, and the goods therein made prize, and confiscate. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 9 We resolved to make prize of it, as in a time of war. 1755 N. Magens Insurances I. 496 Prize or not Prize, must be determined by Courts of Admiralty, belonging to the Power whose Subjects make the Capture. 1798 Ferriar Illustr. Sterne vi. 182 He made prize of all the good thoughts that came in his way. 1845 Stephen Comm. Laws Eng. (1874) II. 18 It is..necessary that the vessel should have been condemned as prize, by legal sentence. 1885 Rigby in Law Rep. 29 Ch. Div. 286 On matters of prize the judgment could be looked to. |
d. In
good prize,
fair prize,
free prize,
just prize,
lawful prize, with reference to the legality of the seizure. Also
fig.| 1550 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 102 The samin schip and gudis..in caise scho wer nocht fund just prise. 1561 Ibid. 162 Decernyng the schippis and gudis..to be lauchfull pryse. 1610 B. Jonson Alch. iii. iii, How now? Good prise? 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 185 [The junk] was a good prize and worth the keeping. a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) I. 168 Plagiary Privateers, That all Mens Sense and Fancy seize, And make free Prize of what they please? 1747 Gray Cat 41 Not all that tempts..your heedless hearts is lawful prize. 1836 Alison Hist. Europe xlii. §52 (1847) IX. 362 The English Admiralty courts..declared good prize neutral vessels carrying colonial produce from the enemy's colonies to the mother state. 1854 J. S. C. Abbott Napoleon (1855) I. xxii. 353 If the command was unheeded, a broadside followed, and the peaceful merchantman became lawful prize. |
3. attrib. and
Comb., as
prize brandy,
prize cause,
prize goods,
prize property,
prize ship;
prize agent, an agent appointed for the sale of prizes taken in maritime war; so
prize agency;
prize court, a department of the admiralty court, which adjudicates concerning prizes;
prize crew, a crew of seamen placed on board a prize ship to bring her into port;
prize-list, a list of persons entitled to receive prize-money on the capture of a ship;
prize-master, an officer appointed to command a prize ship;
prize-office (see
quot. 1706). See also
prize-money.
| 1806 A. Duncan Nelson 215 The abuses of *prize agency. |
| 1802 Nelson Parl. Sp. 21 Dec. ibid. 213 Transactions..with any of the boards or *prize agents. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. s.v. Agent, Prize agent, one appointed for the sale of prizes, and nominated in equal numbers by the commander, the officers, and the ship's company. 1905 Whitaker's Almanack 211 Navy and Prize Agents. |
| 1667 Dryden & Davenant Tempest ii. i, This is *prize brandy. |
| 1747 (title) Observations on the Course of Proceeding in Admiralty Courts in *Prize Causes. |
| 1810 J. F. Pott (title) Observations on Matters of Prize, and the Practice of the Admiralty *Prize Courts. |
| 1830 Marryat King's Own xxxiv, The *prize crew of the Aspasia. |
| 1625 Impeachm. Dk. Buckhm. (Camden) 32 To hasten the raising of monies by sales of *prise goods here. 1711 Act 10 Anne c. 22 Preamble, Several considerable Quantities of Prize-Cocoa, Sugars, Indigo, and other Prize-Goods. 1826 Kent Comm. (1873) I. xvii. 357, I know of no other definition of prize goods..than that they are goods taken on high seas jure belli, out of the hands of the enemy. |
| 1794 Nelson in Nicolas Disp. (1845) I. 417 You want a *Prize-List for one vessel taken by Tartar and myself. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Prize-list, a return of all the persons on board..at the time a capture is made; those who may be absent on duty are included. |
| 1760 in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1911) XLVII. 125 He put a *Prize Master (as he called him) and three more of his Hands on board the Sloop. 1800 Suppl. to Chron. in Asiat. Ann. Reg. 144/1 The prize-master informed the unfortunate people who were sent on board the Arab, that there was abundance of provisions and water. 1893 Dict. Nat. Biog. XXXIV. 152/1 Louis was appointed prize-master of the Phœnix. 1916 in Outlook (N.Y.) 9 Aug. 823/2 Prizes cannot be brought into the waters of the United States for the purpose of laying up by a prize master. 1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 16 July 555/3 For his conduct as a prizemaster in the captured Genéreux..he was advanced to commander. 1937 C. S. Forester Happy Return i. vii. 80 Gerard, whom he had left on board as prizemaster, had served in a Liverpool slaver. |
| 1664 Pepys Diary 22 Nov., To speak with my lord about our *Prise Office business. 1706 Phillips, Prize-Office, an Office appointed for the Sale of Ships taken from an Enemy as lawful Prize. |
| 1710 Boston News-Let. 26 June 2/2 On the said day arrived Her Majesties Ship the Feversham..with Col. Hunter, our Governour, and with him a *Prize ship of 300 Tons. a 1722 Fountainhall Decisions (1759) I. 333 The oft debated cause of the Capers of the two prize Danish ships. 1863 Dicey Federal St. I. 87 The officer in command of the ‘Erie’ when sent as a prize⁓ship to New York. |
| 1799 Nelson in Nicolas Disp. (1845) IV. 92, I send you a cask of sugar, such as I think you mean by saying *prize-sugar. |
▪ IV. prize, prise, n.4 (
praɪz)
Also 6
pryse.
[ME. prise, a. F. prise a taking hold, grasp: see prec.] 1. An instrument used for prizing (see
prize v.
3); a lever. Now
dial.| 13.. St. Erkenwolde in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 267 Wyȝt werkemen..Putten prises þer to, pinchid one vnder, Kaghtene by þe corners w{supt} crowes of yrne. 1541 Aberdeen Regr. (1844) I. 176 Item, ane pryse, with ane turning staf. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Prise, a lever used for the purpose of forcing. This instrument is sometimes called a pry. 1825 Jamieson, Prise, Prize, a lever. 1895 T. Pinnock Black Co. Ann. (E.D.D.), Run, fetch a prise, quick to lift on. |
2. The act of prizing; leverage, purchase.
| 1835 Kirby Hab. & Inst. Anim. II. xvii. 150 Those plumes which so ornament the wings of birds, and give them as it were more prise upon the air. 1842 J. Aiton Domest. Econ. (1857) 166 This spade is..rounded considerably in the back, to afford the better prize. 1893 F. Adams New Egypt 88 Is it fanciful to ascribe this curious upward movement of a river-course to the prise given by it, in its enormous stretch in a straight line from north to south, to the diurnal whirl of the earth from west to east? |
3. Comb., as
prize-beam, a beam used in packing tobacco;
prize-bolt: see
quot.| 1800 W. Tatham Hist. & Pract. Ess. Tobacco 52 As all tobacco must be in due case when it is put into the hogs⁓head, so must the prize-beam retain its depressed position until two distinct ends are attained, to wit, that of giving a compact consistency to the cake [etc.]. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., Prise-bolts, the projecting bolts at the rear of a mortar-bed or garrison gun-carriage under which the handspikes are inserted for training and maneuvering the piece. |
▪ V. prize, v.1 (
praɪz)
Forms: α. 4–7
prise, 4–6 (
Sc. –8)
pryse (also
Sc. 4
priss,
pryss, 4–5
pris,
prys, 6
pryis(s),
prysse. β. 6–
prize. γ. See
price v.
[ME. a. OF. prisier, F. priser, levelled form of OF. preisier, praise v. (under which see the origin and form-history). In Sc., from the 14th century, prise was preferred to praise in all its senses (see sense 4 below); but English at length differentiated praise and prise, retaining praise in the sense of F. louer, L. laudare, and appropriating prise to senses connected with the ns. pris, prise, price, and prize. In these senses it has received further differentiation, becoming price in the commercial sense of ‘set a price to’, and remaining as prize only in sense 3 below. (But this last differentiation has hardly yet been completed, for in dialect, local, and individual use, to prise or prize is often said instead of to price, even when the latter is written: cf. the distinction of n. and vb. in advice, to advise, house, to house, use, to use.)] I. † 1. trans. To value, to estimate the (relative) value of; to estimate, esteem, account as worth (so much); to account, reckon.
Obs. (or
arch.)
| α 1375 Barbour Bruce (MS. 1487) vi. 505 He wald nocht priss his liff a stra, With-thi he vengeans on hym mycht ta. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xix. 44 A prodigall man I am so prysit. a 1574 Earl Glencairn Ep. fr. Hermit of Alareit 11 Our stait hypocrisie they prysse..Sayand, That we are heretikes. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 146, I prise your worthinesse at farre greater value. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado iii. i. 90 Hauing so swift and excellent a wit As she is prisde to haue. c 1611 Chapman Iliad vii. 38, I am thy brother, and thy life, with mine is euenly prisde. 1724 Ramsay Vision vii, Devysing, and prysing, Freidom at ony rate. |
| β 1596 Edw. III, ii. i, If on my beauty, take it if thou canst; Though little, I do prize it ten times less. 1633 P. Fletcher Purple Isl. ix. xiv, He in himself priz'd things as mean and base, Which yet in others great and glorious seem'd. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iii. xxv. 230 Oh that their profession were but as highly prized, as their estate is valued. |
† 2. To estimate or fix the money value of; to value, appraise; to fix the price of (a thing for sale).
Obs. in literary use: see
appraise v.,
price v.
| α c 1440 Promp. Parv. 414/1 Prysyn, or settyn a pryce, taxo,..licitor. 1445 Aberdeen Regr. (1844) I. 14 They sal sell na flesche quhill it be prisit be the sworne prisaris. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 254 Thair may thow sell..als deir as thow will prys. 1530 Palsgr. 666/2, I prise ware, I sette a price of a thyng what it is worthe, je aprise. 1535 Coverdale Zech. xi. 12 So they wayed downe xxx. syluer pens, y⊇ value that I was prysed at. 1611 Bible ibid. 13 A goodly price, that I was prised at. 1625 Purchas Pilgrims ii. x. iv. 1709 margin, There Pearles are prised according to the Caracts which they weigh. 1713 S. Sewall Diary 2 June, Owen took a Cow of Veisy pris'd at {pstlg}4. 0. 0. |
| β 1599 H. Buttes Dyets drie Dinner M iv, The Romanes prized this fish at a wonderfull high rate. 1623 Whitbourne Newfoundland 59 [They] were there prized to be worth two shillings sixepence apiece. 1698 Phil. Trans. XX. 442, I will procure you one of the Catalogues of Manuscripts, which is prized by the Delegates of our Press, at One Pound Two Shillings. 1709 Hughes Tatler No. 113 ¶26 The Whole [goods] are to be set up and prized by Charles Bubbleboy, who is to open the Auction with a Speech. 1755 Johnson, Prize, to rate; to value at a certain price. |
† b. To be the price of; to equal in value.
Obs. rare.
| 1596 Spenser Hymn Heav. Love 175 How can we thee requite for all this good? Or what can prize that thy most precious blood? |
† c. To offer as the price, to stake.
d. To offer a price for, bid for.
Obs. rare.
| c 1590 Greene Fr. Bacon xiii. 41 Thou'rt worthy of the title of a squire, That durst, for proof, of thy affection And for thy mistress' favour, prize thy blood. 1590 C'tess Pembroke Antonie 264 But terror here and horror, naught is seene: And present death prizing our life each hower [orig. Et la presente mort nous marchande à tous coups]. |
3. To value or esteem highly, to think much of. (The current sense.)
| α 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 239 And suld think fredome mar to pryss Than all the gold in warld that Is. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 1207, I aught as prynce him to prise for his prouese. c 1615 Sir W. Mure Sonn. ix, In bewty, (loue's sueit object), ravischt sight Doth some peculiar perfectioun pryse [rime lyes]. 1665 Boyle Occas. Refl. vi. iii, That we..prise many [customs] of our own onely because we never consider'd them. |
| β c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. cxxxix. x, My God, how I these studies prize, That doe thy hidden workings show! 1618 E. Elton Exp. Rom. vii. (1622) 136 A blessing that cannot be sufficiently prized. 1681 J. Flavel Meth. Grace xxxv. 583 When we would express the value of a thing, we say, we prize it as our eyes. 1715 Pope Iliad i. 237, I..prize at equal rate Thy short-liv'd friendship, and thy groundless hate. a 1720 Sewel Hist. Quakers (1795) I. 53 Prize your time now, while you have it. 1891 Speaker 11 July 36/2 The Swiss seem more and more to prize..the Referendum and the Initiative. |
| γ 1375–1643 [see price v. 5]. |
† b. With negative: Not to value at all, to think nothing of, care nothing for.
Obs.| c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. cxliii, Not prizing her poore infants discontent. 1611 ― Wint. T. iv. iv. 386 Had [I] force and knowledge More then was euer mans, I would not prize them Without her Loue. |
II. † 4. To commend or extol the worth, excellence, or merit of;
= praise v. 3.
Obs. north.| α 1375 Barbour Bruce x. 776 Of this deid,..The Erll wes prisit gretumly. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 11 Ilke man did sum thing, that was mekle to lowe and to pris. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xliii. 45 Sic ladyis wyiss, Thay ar to pryis. 1567 Satir. Poems Reform. v. 16 Gif him all thankis..And pryse his name with all ȝour micht. |
▪ VI. prize, prise, v.2 Forms: α. 6
pryse, 6–7
prise; β. 7–
prize.
[f. prize n.3] trans. To seize, take, capture; to seize as forfeited, to confiscate.
Obs. exc. as in b.
| α 1535 Coverdale Dan. iii. 29 All people..which speake eny blasphemy agaynst the God of Sydrac, Misac and Abdenago, shal dye, and their houses shalbe prysed. 1581 Lambarde Eiren. ii. iv. (1588) 177 If any bee afterward found offending,..their armour and weapon shall be prised,..to the use of the Queenes Maiestie. c 1611 Chapman Iliad xi. 385 To kill the five Hippasides And prise their arms. |
| β 1602 Warner Alb. Eng. x. lv. (1612) 245 The Queene of Scots from Ours almost her Crowne and life had prizde. |
b. spec. To make a prize or seizure of; to seize (a ship or her cargo) as a prize of war.
| α 1568 C. Watson Polyb. 60 b, The Romans being both more in number and valianter men, prised her [the Rhodians' ship] without labour and toke the Rhodian. 1600 Hakluyt Voy. (1810) III. 236 The one [ship]..being prised near Silley by a ship of which I am part owner. 1622 Malynes Anc. Law-Merch. 145 If it happen a Ship to be prised for debt or otherwise to bee forfeited, yet the Mariners hire is to be payed. |
| β 1886 American XII. 67 It was explained that the David J. Adams was prized for concealing her name and her sailing-port. |
▪ VII. prize, prise, v.3 (
praɪz)
[f. prize n.4] 1. trans. To raise or move by force of leverage; to force up;
esp. to force open in this way.
| 1686 Plot Staffordsh. 344 They easily prize up bushes, furses, or broom by the very roots. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. xx. (Roxb.) 246/1 The Forked end is strucken deep in the ground each side the root and so drawn or prised vp. 1808 Jamieson, To prize up, to force open, to press up a lock or door. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. vi, The door was..assailed with sledge-hammers, iron crows [etc.]..with which they prized, heaved and battered for some time with little effect. 1822 ― Pirate vii, There stands yonder a chest, from which the lid has been just prized off. 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge lxiv, Many men..were seen..striving to prize it [the jail door] down with crowbars. 1897 Pall Mall Mag. June 254 The lock was broken, and the lid bore signs of having been prised. |
| fig. 1824 Prior Burke (1854) 232 Thus this famous measure..became the lever by which to prize its authors out of office. |
2. a. To compress (cured tobacco) in a hogshead or box.
Southern U.S.| 1724 H. Jones Present State Virginia 40 [They] by Degrees prize or press with proper Engines into great Hogsheads. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Prizing,..also, the act of pressing or squeezing an article into its package, so that its size may be reduced in stowage. 1889 Bruce Plant. Negro 183 To the moment that the leaf is prized in the hogshead. 1902 U.S. Dept. Agric. Farmers' Bull. No. 60. 17 The leaves..are tied into hands and bulked down for a short time, after which they are ‘prized’ into hogs⁓heads. |
b. To pack (persons) into a narrow space.
| 1799 W. Beckford Let. 16 Aug. in J. W. Oliver Life W. Beckford (1932) x. 269 Assure Lady Heard that she shall not be worn to death with seeing Sights,..nor prysed into rumbling Carriages. |
Hence
prizing,
prising vbl. n.2; also
attrib.| 1867 [see 2]. 1890 Daily News 14 July 2/8 This pad prevented the splintering of wood, although the prising power would be the same. 1891 Atkinson Last of Giant-Killers 166 More hammering and more prising with the gavelocks and crowbars. |