PRIME a.
rime mover in English antislavery agitation. -- Prime number (Arith.), a number which is exactly divisible by no number except itself or unity, as 5, 7, 11. -- Prime vertical (Astron.), the vertical circle which passes through the east and west points of the horizon. -- Prime-vertical dial, a dial in which the shado…
PROOF a.
ined by Act 58, George III., to be such as shall at a temperature of 51º Fahrenheit weigh exactly the second, third, and fourth proof spirits respectively. -- Proof staff, a straight-edge used by millers to test the flatness of a stone. -- Proof stick (Sugar Manuf.), a rod in the side of a vacuum pan, for testing the…
PUNCTUAL a.
Appearing or done at, or adhering exactly to, a regular or an appointed time; precise; prompt; as, a punctual man; a punctual payment. "The race of the undeviating and punctual sun." Cowper. These sharp strokes [of a pendulum], with their inexorably steady intersections, so agree with our successive thoughts that they…