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To look over; to explore or examine for something; as, to prospect a district for gold.

A summary, plan, or scheme of something proposed, affording a prospect of its nature; especially, an exposition of the scheme of an unpublished literary work.

A person who is appointed to superintend, or preside over, something; the chief magistrate in some cities and towns; as, the provost of Edinburgh or of Glasgow, answering to the mayor of other cities; the provost of a college, answering to president; the provost or head of certain collegiate churches.…

To peep narrowly; to gaze; to inspect closely; to attempt to discover something by a scrutinizing curiosity; -- often implying reproach. " To pry upon the stars." Chaucer. Watch thou and wake when others be asleep, To pry into the secrets of the state. Shak.

The act of pulling or drawing with force; an effort to move something by drawing toward one. I awakened with a violent pull upon the ring which was fastened at the top of my box. Swift.

, by persistent questioning or plying; to question or ply persistently in order to elicit something, as information, money, etc. But pump not me for politics. Otway.

The act of puncturing; perforating with something pointed.

n, or acquire. Chaucer. That loves the thing he can not purchase. Spenser. Your accent is Something finer than you could purchase in so removed a dwelling. Shak. His faults . . . hereditary Rather than purchased. Shak.

That which pertains or belongs to something; esp., the heard, liver, and lungs of an animal. [Obs.] " The purtenaunces of purgatory." Piers Plowman. Roast [it] with fire, his head with his legs, and with the purtenance [Rev. Ver., inwards] thereof. Ex. xii. 9.

clothes; to assume. "Mercury . . . put on the shape of a man." L'Estrange. (b) To impute (something) to; to charge upon; as, to put blame on or upon another. (c) To advance; to promote. [Obs.] "This came handsomely to put on the peace." Bacon. (d) To impose; to inflict. "That which thou puttest on me, will I bear." 2 K…

Something which perplexes or embarrasses; especially, a toy or a problem contrived for testing ingenuity; also, something exhibiting marvelous skill in making.

An unfledged bird; hence, something immature or unfinished. Ford.

Something having the form of a quill; as:

An instrument or frame used for stretching, extending, retaining, or displaying, something. Specifically:

A kind of lottery, in which several persons pay, in shares, the value of something put up as a stake, and then determine by chance (as by casting dice) which one of them shall become the sole possessor.

ake over; to scrape or scratch with a rake for the purpose of collecting and clearing off something, or for stirring up the soil; as, to rake a lawn; to rake a flower bed.

and sanction; to make valid; to establish; to settle; especially, to give sanction to, as something done by an agent or servant; as, to ratify an agreement, treaty, or contract; to ratify a nomination. It is impossible for the divine power to set a seal to a lie by ratifying an imposture with such a miracle. South.…

Sight; perception; vision; -- from an old theory of vision, that sight was something which proceeded from the eye to the object seen. All eyes direct their rays On him, and crowds turn coxcombs as they gaze. Pope.

To extend; to stretch; to thrust out; to put forth, as a limb, a member, something held, or the like. Her tresses yellow, and long straughten, Unto her heeles down they raughten. Rom. of R. Reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side. John xx. 27. Fruit trees, over woody, reached too far Their pampered boughs. Mil…

in effect when read; as, that sentence reads queerly. To read between the lines, to infer something different from what is plainly indicated; to detect the real meaning as distinguished from the apparent meaning.