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A superintendent of a department who has control of its police establishment, together with extensive powers of municipal regulation. [France] Brande & C.

judgment, etc.; to offer; to present; to proffer; to address; -- said especially of a request, prayer, petition, claim, charge, etc. He spake, and to her hand preferred the bowl. Pope. Presently prefer his suit to Cæsar. Shak. Three tongues prefer strange orisons on high. Byron.

the state of being preferred; the setting of one thing before another; precedence; higher estimation; predilection; choice; also, the power or opportunity of choosing; as, to give him his preference. Leave the critics on either side to contend about the preference due to this or that sort of poetry. Dryden. Knowledge o…

To set or appoint beforehand; to settle or establish antecedently. [Obs.] " Prefixed bounds. " Locke. And now he hath to her prefixt a day. Spenser.

A piece of real estate; a building and its adjuncts; as, to lease premises; to trespass on another's premises.

Tending to invite favor; attracting confidence, favor, esteem, or love; attractive; as, a prepossessing manner. -- Pre`pos*sess"ing*ly, adv.

y; noble company. Odmar, of all this presence does contain, Give her your wreath whom you esteem most fair. Dryden.

e official notice (formerly required to be given in court) of the surrender of a copyhold estate. Blackstone. Presentment of a bill of exchange, the offering of a bill to the drawee for acceptance, or to the acceptor for payment. See Bill of exchange, under Bill.

, under Impress. -- Press money, money paid to a man enlisted into public service. See Prest money, under Prest, a.

e or opposing force; a force in the nature of a thrust, distributed over a surface, often estimated with reference to the upon a unit's area. Atmospheric pressure, Center of pressure, etc. See under Atmospheric, Center, etc. -- Back pressure (Steam engine), pressure which resists the motion of the piston, as the press…

paniards. Bacon. Men indulge those opinions and practices that favor their pretensions. L'Estrange.

. They suck the blood of those they depend on, under a pretext of service and kindness. L'Estrange. With how much or how little pretext of reason. Dr. H. More.

Value; estimation; excellence; worth. Her price is far above rubies. Prov. xxxi. 10. New treasures still, of countless price. Keble.

A tailor; -- so called in contempt. [Old slang] L'Estrange.

The quality or state of being proud; inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable conceit of one's own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, rank, etc., which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve, and often in contempt of others. Those that walk in pride he is able to abase. Dan. iv. 37. Pride that dines on v…

first appearance. Prima facie evidence (of a fact) (Law), evidence which is sufficient to establish the fact unless rebutted. Bouvier.

if in possession, and half a year's profits if the land was in reversion expectant on an estate for life; -- now abolished. Blackstone.

The exclusive right of inheritance which belongs to the eldest son. Thus in England the right of inheriting the estate of the father belongs to the eldest son, and in the royal family the eldest son of the sovereign is entitled to the throne by primogeniture. In exceptional cases, among the female children, the crown d…

The jurisdiction, sovereignty, rank, or estate of a prince. Thrones, princedoms, powers, dominions, I reduce. Milton.

ct consistently directing one's actions; as, a person of no principle. All kinds of dishonesty destroy our pretenses to an honest principle of mind. Law.