pryn.¹

Brit.

/prʌɪ/, U.S.

/praɪ/

Forms: 1500s 1900s– prye, 1700s 1900s– pry.

Origin: Of unknown origin.

Etymology: Origin unknown.

Now chiefly English regional (Essex).

More fully pry tree. The small-leaved lime, Tilia cordata.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fruit-tree or -plant > [noun] > tree or plant bearing citrus fruit > lime trees

linda700

bast treea1425

linnc1475

tilleul1530

pry1573

fir-beech1577

linden1577

teil1589

linden-tree1591

tillet1601

bass-wood1670

red lime1709

lime-tree1748

parakeet bur1866

1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 33^v Lop, poppler, and salow, elme, maple & prye.

1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 355 The wild kind [of Lime-tree] bearing a smaller leaf than the other, by which I suppose, he [sc. Evelyn] means the Tree which they call the Pry-tree, which grows the most plentiful in Essex.

1789 R. Gough in tr. W. Camden Britannia II. 69/2 Tilia Europœa..small-leaved Lime or Linden-tree, Baste or Pry; in the hedges frequent.

1923 E. Gepp Essex Dial. Dict. (ed. 2) 89 Pry, the small-leaved Lime.

1986 O. Rackham Hist. Countryside (1997) ix. 183 A remarkable roadside hedge..composed almost entirely of the pry tree (small-leaved lime) with occasional service. Pry and service..are woodland, not hedgerow trees.

1993 R. Fortey Hidden Landscape 236 The wildwood of 4500 years ago was, in the South-east, typified by a variety of lime (prye) woodland which is hard to find in more than small patches today.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

pryn.²

Brit.

/prʌɪ/, U.S.

/praɪ/, Scottish English

/praɪ/

Forms: 1600s–1700s prie, 1600s– prye (now English regional (northern)), 1700s– pry (now English regional (northern)); Scottish 1700s–1800s pry, 1800s prie.

Origin: Of unknown origin.

Etymology: Origin unknown.

Now English regional (northern and north midlands) and Scottish.

More fully pry grass. Any of several coarse grasses or sedges; esp. either of the sedges Carex flacca and C. panicea. Cf. sharp-pry-grass n. at sharp adj. and n.¹ Compounds 2c(a).Recorded earliest in pry ground: an area where pry grass grows.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > sedges

starc1300

carexa1398

float-grassc1440

red sedge1480

sag1531

pry grassa1600

flea-grass1670

star-grass1782

sedge1785

sea sedge1796

sharp-pry-grass1803

blue star grass1807

whip-grass1814

flea-sedge1816

saw-grass1822

mud rush1824

tight-locka1825

nut grass1830

razor grass1834

twig-rush1836

nut rush1843

sand grass1856

mud sedge1859

niggerhead1859

nutsedge1861

pingao1867

sword-rush1875

tupak-grass1884

tussock-sedge1884

sennegrass1897

nigger's-head1921

a1600 MS Marrick 3/1/76 (Brotherton, Leeds Univ.) f. ii^v This grownde is a souer prye grownde and pasture grownde lying on the sowthe side of Ullandes.

1610 W. Folkingham Feudigraphia i. iii. 7 Harsh, reddish, blewish spirie and prie-grass bewray a cold, vnkind..soile.

1777 A. St. Ledger in A. Hunter et al. Georgical Ess. (new ed.) 462 I propose to plow up the field as the Festuca Sylvatica (Prye Grass) has overpowered the grass-seeds originally sown.

1794 R. Lowe Gen. View Agric. Nottingham 43 Some persons ascribe it [sc. a disease of sheep] to different herbs, as a blue spiry grass called here prie grass, which is produced on cold wet land.

1798 R. Douglas Gen. View Agric. Roxburgh & Selkirk 108 Different species of Carex, here called pry, and by Ainsworth interpreted sheer-grass.

1811 J. Farey Gen. View Agric. Derbyshire I. 161 It seems best adapted for Arable land, on acount of its proneness to Shar-grass, Pry grass, or spiked Fescue.

1877 Hist. Berw. Nat. Club (1879) VIII. 454 Prye, Pry, is called ‘the bottom of spret’, which alone is eaten by sheep when the spret gets old and hard. Several plants are included under this term, as:—Poa trivialis.., Holcus lanatus... Carex panicea also is considered a prye grass, as are other species of Carex.

1890 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm (ed. 4) IV. 437/1 In September and October, ‘prie’ and ‘stool-bent’ come up.

1899 J. Shaw Country Schoolmaster ix. 351/2 Pry, the carnation carex; valuable food for hill sheep.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

† pryn.³

Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: pry v.¹

Etymology: < pry v.¹ With sense 2 compare earlier Paul Pry n. Compare spy n. N.E.D. (1909) gives the pronunciation as (prəi) /praɪ/.

Obsolete. rare (chiefly poetic).

1. An act or the action of prying; a prying or inquisitive glance.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > a look or glance > [noun] > peep or keek

peek1636

peep1730

pry1750

keeka1774

deek1833

skeet1844

toot1865

1750 C. Smart Noon-piece 50 Secluded from the teizing pry Of Argus Curiosity.

1817 J. Keats To —— 30 They seldom meet the eye Of the little loves that fly Round about with eager pry.

2. An excessively inquisitive or prying person. Cf. Paul Pry n.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > [noun] > person having

inquisitor?1504

ferret1629

curioso1658

inquisitive1690

numquid1833

pry1837

noser1860

1837 T. Hood Ode R. Wilson vi The spy On fellow souls, a Spiritual Pry.

1874 R. Black tr. F. Guizot Hist. France III. xxix. 152 Froissart is an insatiable pry who revels in all the sights of his day.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2019).

pryn.⁴

Brit.

/prʌɪ/, U.S.

/praɪ/

Forms: 1800s pray, 1800s– pry.

Origin: Apparently formed within English, by back-formation. Etymon: prise n.³

Etymology: Apparently a back-formation < prise n.³, interpreted as plural. Compare slightly later pry v.²For a similar development compare pea n.²

North American and English regional (East Anglian).

An instrument for prising something open; a lever, a crowbar; = prise n.³ 1.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > lever or crowbar > [noun]

lever1297

speke1366

crowa1400

gavelock1497

prisea1500

handspoke1513

porter1538

sway1545

handspike1559

heaver1598

coleweigh1600

handspeek1644

forcer1649

ringer1650

ripping-chisel1659

pinch1685

crow-spike1692

Betty1700

wringer1703

crowbar1748

spike1771

pry1803

jemmy1811

crow-iron1817

dog1825

pinchbar1837

jimmy1848

stick1848

pry bar1872

peiser1873

nail bar1929

cane1930

1803 W. Clark Jrnl. 22 Dec. in Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Exped. (1986) II. 139 I had pries fixed along to Support the boat.

1815 J. Pickering in Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. 3 ii. 534 An English friend..remarks upon the use of a pry, for a lever, which is common among mechanics in this country.

1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words 292 The lever is called a pray or lewer.

a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Prise, a lever used for the purpose of forcing. This instrument is sometimes called a pry.

1872 T. De W. Talmage Serm. 45 The enemies of this book have tried to marshal on their side the astronomer's telescope and geologist's pry.

1955 F. G. Ashbrook Butchering v. 81 Insert the skinning knife..and cut up through the full length of the breastbone as a pry to split the breastbone.

1981 A. MacLeod in Canad. Fiction Mag. No. 40/41 56 It was frozen solidly in a base of ice so I began to look for something that might serve as a pry.

1998 J. Yolen One-armed Queen 211 He took the sword and using it as a pry, stuck it between two of the boards and levered one of them off with a single solid wrenching.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

pryv.¹

Brit.

/prʌɪ/, U.S.

/praɪ/

Forms: Middle English praye (transmission error), Middle English pri, Middle English pryȝede (past tense), Middle English pryhe, Middle English 1600s preye, Middle English–1600s prie, Middle English–1600s prye, 1500s– pry. N.E.D. (1909) also records a form 1500s prien.

Origin: Probably a variant or alteration of another lexical item.

Etymology: Probably the reflex of an unattested Old English verb (compare apparently related Old English beprīwan (also beprēwan ) to wink), of unknown origin. Compare later pire v. and peer v.³

1. intransitive. To look, esp. closely or curiously; to peer inquisitively or intrusively; to seek out secret or private information, to spy. Frequently with adverbial complement.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > be curious, wonder [verb (intransitive)] > pry

prya1350

toot1390

spyc1485

underpry1600

reave1615

nose1648

rave1671

poke1715

snoop1832

Paul-Pry1836

piroot1858

stickybeak1921

prodnose1954

the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (intransitive)] > peep

beak?c1225

toot?c1225

prya1350

peekc1390

touta1400

keekc1405

peepa1500

outpeep1600

twire1602

teet1710

underpeep1827

a1350 ( in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 20 Nou stont þe heued aboue þe tubrugge..After socour of scotlond longe he mowe prye.

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 96 (MED) A litel hole he findes; þere pried he in priuely.

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 5019 (MED) Burgeys with here burdes..weyteden out at windowes..to prie on þe puple þat priked in þe stretes.

c1425 Evangelie (Bodl. Add.) 1646 in Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. (1915) 30 605 (MED) And þei bigan to loke and prye & sye þere no thing but cloþes ly.

a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 114 (MED) Day gan at my wyndowe in to prye.

c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) lxxii (MED) The long day thus gan I prye and pour.

1571 Latimer's Serm. at Stamford 92 b Spying, tooting, and looking, watching & prying [1550 catching], what they might heare or see against the sea of Rome.

1603 T. Dekker et al. Patient Grissill sig. B2^v Women haue eagles eyes, To prie euen to the heart.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 159 Thus..glide obscure, and prie In every Bush and Brake.

a1740 T. Tickell Poet. Wks. (1796) 36 I..went prepared to pry,..Resolv'd to find some fault before unspy'd.

1771 J. Beattie Minstrel: Bk. 1st lx. 31 Still keen to listen and to pry.

1815 W. Wordsworth White Doe of Rylstone i. 19 Friends..; Who,..Perused, with him, the starry sky;—Or in their cells with him did pry For other lore.

1858 J. Doran Hist. Court Fools 71 He went prying about into the corners of the hall.

1908 E. M. Forster Room with View iii. 51 They pry everywhere, they see everything, and they know what we want before we know it ourselves.

1938 M. K. Rawlings Yearling x. 91 ‘I'd not pry on the pore things,’ Penny said.

1993 D. Coyle Hardball iv. iv. 182 He would pry for information, trying to get Bill to tell him whether he planned on marrying Molly.

†2. transitive. To look for or examine closely; to observe or investigate intently or in detail. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (transitive)] > watch or observe

keepc1000

overseeOE

waitc1300

advisec1325

awaita1375

to wait on ——c1384

markc1400

contemplec1429

to keep (also have) an (or one's) eye on (also upon)a1450

to look straitly to?c1450

to wait after ——c1460

vizy1488

contemplatea1533

vise1551

pry?1553

observe1567

eye1592

over-eye?1592

watch1600

outwatch1607

spell1633

superintend1654

under-watch1654

tent1721

evigilate1727

twig1764

stag1796

eye-serve1800

spy1806

deek1825

screw1905

clock1911

?1553 Respublica (1952) iii. iv. 26 What nowe brother honestie? what prye ye this waie? is there eni thing here that ys yours, can ye saie?

1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis iii. 63 I pryed al quarters.

1632 J. Pory Let. 6 Dec. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. III. 276 An horseman of the enemy prying the King steadfastly in the face, said [etc.].

1658 J. Hall Emblems with Elegant Figures 26 Thou never took In hand an harder lesson, then Thou did'st begin Prying the secrets of this book.

Phrasal verbs

PV1. With adverbs in specialized senses. to pry out

intransitive and transitive. To search or find out by prying. Now rare, and difficult to distinguish from pry v.² 2.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > research > find out by investigation [verb (transitive)]

seekc900

seeOE

searcha1382

takea1382

inquire1390

undergrope?a1412

explore1531

to pry out1548

to scan out1548

to hunt out1576

sound1596

exquire1607

pervestigate1610

pump1611

trace1642

probe1649

to hunt up1741

to pick a person's brains (also brain)1770

verify1801

to get a load of1929

sus1966

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. xxxij^v He secretly sent wise espialles..to searche & prye oute of what progeny thys misnamed Rycharde was dissended.

1653 Duchess of Newcastle Poems & Fancies 145 Eyes that pry out, and spie examples good.

1760 W. Dodd Hymn to Good-nature in Poems (1767) 4 Never..to pry out littleness and faults, Where merit claims my praise.

1850 H. Melville White-jacket lxxiii. 357 Bland, the master-at-arms, ravished with their dexterity in prying out offenders, used to call them his two right hands.

1994 S. M. Baxter Ring (1996) xvi. 222 The people of the time tried to pry out the secrets of its intrasystem drive.

PV2. With prepositions in specialized senses. to pry into ——

1. intransitive. To inquire or probe inquisitively or inappropriately into something secret, private, or personal; to investigate in an intrusive manner.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > feel curious about [verb (transitive)] > pry

overpry1566

to pry into ——1581

underfeel1600

to poke (also stick, thrust, etc.) one's nose into (also in)1611

spy1626

the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > close examination, scrutiny > scrutinize [verb (transitive)]

through-seekOE

gropea1250

to search outa1382

ensearch1382

boltc1386

examinea1387

ransackc1390

ripea1400

search1409

overreach?a1425

considerc1425

perquirec1460

examec1480

peruse?1520

grounda1529

study1528

oversearch1532

perscrute1536

scrute1536

to go over ——1537

scan1548

examinate1560

rifle1566

to consider of1569

excuss1570

ripe1573

sift1573

sift1577

to pry into ——1581

dive1582

rub1591

explore1596

pervestigate1610

dissecta1631

profound1643

circumspect1667

scrutinize1671

perscrutatea1679

introspect1683

rummage1690

reconnoitre1740

scrutinate1742

to look through1744

scrutiny1755

parse1788

gun1819

cat-haul1840

vivisect1876

scour1882

microscope1888

tooth-comb1893

X-ray1896

comb1904

fine-tooth comb1949

the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > spy on [verb (transitive)] > pry

spya1325

to pry into ——1581

worm1607

peer1838

1581 P. Wiburn Checke or Reproofe M. Howlets Shreeching f. 83 Wherein you vntruely take to your selues libertie against vs, you so prie into our translations, and translating of the Scriptures, that the least fault must be espied.

a1594 Edmond Ironside (1991) ii. ii. 78 A Redie witt would quickly winde vs out And prie into our secrett trecharies.

1629 H. Burton Truth's Triumph 323 To prye into this Arcanum.

1656 S. Vernon Trepan 4 Mr. Pigeon checking her pragmatick nature, still prying into the secrets of others, diswaded her all he could, but she vowed she would know.

1710 C. Shadwell Fair Quaker of Deal i. i. 9 We..pry into the Rogueries of the Victualling-Office.

1754 T. Sherlock Several Disc. preached at Temple Church I. iii. 114 Not content to know that God is, without knowing what he is, [they] endeavour to pry into the Nature and Manner of the Existence of the Almighty.

1808 W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. 26 111 For the sake of pretending to be useful, these new police-mongers will pry into every peculiarity, and meddle with every amusement of the people.

1861 Amer. Agriculturist Jan. 6/3 The publisher of a certain paper..sneeringly asks: ‘Why does the American Agriculturist go out of its legitimate sphere, to be prying into other people's concerns?’

1915 W. Cather Song of Lark i. iii. 19 She did not pry into their thoughts or nag them.

1969 B. Head When Rain Clouds Gather i. 17 The truck driver was talkative and kept on prying into his personal affairs.

1997 T. Pynchon Mason & Dixon 527 On and on he goes..using these imbalances as a general excuse to pry into the finances of others.

†2. intransitive. gen. To inquire into or study closely. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie ii. viii. 76 To occasion them to prie more narrowlie into these curious and nice manners or bearing, which numbers of men doe sleightlie passe ouer.

1638 Bp. J. Wilkins Discov. New World (1707) i. 9 Not..to be rejected, but rather to be pry'd into with a diligent Enquiry.

1665 R. Boyle Disc. iii. ii, in Occas. Refl. sig. D2 To pry into the innermost Recesses of mysterious Nature.

1713 W. Derham Physico-theol. i. iii. 23 If strictly pried into, will be found owing to natural Causes.

1860 J. L. Motley Hist. Netherlands (1868) I. ii. 54 He pries into all the stratagems of Camillus.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

pryv.²

Brit.

/prʌɪ/, U.S.

/praɪ/

Forms: 1800s pray, 1800s– pry.

Origin: Either (i) formed within English, by back-formation. Or (ii) formed within English, by conversion. Etymons: prise v.; pry n.⁴

Etymology: Either a back-formation < prise v., with the final consonant taken as the -s of the 3rd person singular present, or directly < pry n.⁴In sense 2 perhaps influenced by to pry out at pry v.¹ Phrasal verbs 1.

1. transitive. Originally U.S. and English regional (East Anglian). To raise, move, or force up, out, open, etc., with a lever; = prise v. 1a. Also in extended use.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > raising > make to go up or cause to rise [verb (transitive)] > raise by mechanical instrument > with a lever or pole

prise1574

underspar1577

coleweigh1652

peise1783

pry1806

pike1850

1806 N. Webster Compend. Dict. Eng. Lang. Pry, to raise with a lever.

1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words 292 Pray, or Praise, or Prize, or Pry, to lift any thing with a lever—the lever is called a pray or lewer... To pray a door or lid open, is to open it with a handspike, or lever of any sort.

1839 Southern Literary Messenger 5 378/1 Do let us get some long poles and pry him out.

1858 O. W. Holmes Autocrat of Breakfast-table vi. 143 Boston State-House is the hub of the solar system. You couldn't pry that out of a Boston man, if you had the tire of all creation straightened out for a crow-bar.

1904 N.Y. Evening Post 17 Sept. 4 The Republicans refused to pry up the lid that conceals these iniquities.

1926 Harper's Mag. Feb. 363/1 I stood rooted to the spot and you could not have pried me away.

1968 J. Aiken Whispering Mountain iii. 64 Owen's teeth were pried open and the neck of the bottle forced between them.

1990 Observer 27 May 17/7 They also pried the big bell out of the bell tower and melted it down.

2005 Southern Living Mar. 134 Ours had a decorative front panel along the bottom that we wanted to get rid of, so we pried it off.

2. transitive. To obtain or extract, esp. with difficulty. Usually with out (of).

ΚΠ

1896 C. M. Sheldon His Brother's Keeper iii. 66 We managed to pry out of him that he had seen you and Eric go down the ladders.

1900 G. Ade More Fables 46 Usually, when she wanted any Pin Money, she had to Pry it out of him.

1938 N.Y. Times 23 Sept. 37/2 He had pried it out of Fielding Yost in four hours of pointed questioning and evasive answering.

1976 Time 20 Dec. 1/2 When Watergate raised questions about the integrity of the Executive Branch, Congress appointed an independent prosecutor to pry out all the facts.

2004 M. Flook Lux 128 Alden followed the scanty directions she had pried out of the minimart clerk.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

n.¹1573

n.²a1600

n.³1750

n.⁴1803

v.¹a1350

v.²1806

单词	pry
释义	pryn.¹ Brit. /prʌɪ/, U.S. /praɪ/ Forms: 1500s 1900s– prye, 1700s 1900s– pry. Origin: Of unknown origin. Etymology: Origin unknown. Now chiefly English regional (Essex). More fully pry tree. The small-leaved lime, Tilia cordata. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fruit-tree or -plant > [noun] > tree or plant bearing citrus fruit > lime trees linda700 bast treea1425 linnc1475 tilleul1530 pry1573 fir-beech1577 linden1577 teil1589 linden-tree1591 tillet1601 bass-wood1670 red lime1709 lime-tree1748 parakeet bur1866 1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 33^v Lop, poppler, and salow, elme, maple & prye. 1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 355 The wild kind [of Lime-tree] bearing a smaller leaf than the other, by which I suppose, he [sc. Evelyn] means the Tree which they call the Pry-tree, which grows the most plentiful in Essex. 1789 R. Gough in tr. W. Camden Britannia II. 69/2 Tilia Europœa..small-leaved Lime or Linden-tree, Baste or Pry; in the hedges frequent. 1923 E. Gepp Essex Dial. Dict. (ed. 2) 89 Pry, the small-leaved Lime. 1986 O. Rackham Hist. Countryside (1997) ix. 183 A remarkable roadside hedge..composed almost entirely of the pry tree (small-leaved lime) with occasional service. Pry and service..are woodland, not hedgerow trees. 1993 R. Fortey Hidden Landscape 236 The wildwood of 4500 years ago was, in the South-east, typified by a variety of lime (prye) woodland which is hard to find in more than small patches today. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). pryn.² Brit. /prʌɪ/, U.S. /praɪ/, Scottish English /praɪ/ Forms: 1600s–1700s prie, 1600s– prye (now English regional (northern)), 1700s– pry (now English regional (northern)); Scottish 1700s–1800s pry, 1800s prie. Origin: Of unknown origin. Etymology: Origin unknown. Now English regional (northern and north midlands) and Scottish. More fully pry grass. Any of several coarse grasses or sedges; esp. either of the sedges Carex flacca and C. panicea. Cf. sharp-pry-grass n. at sharp adj. and n.¹ Compounds 2c(a).Recorded earliest in pry ground: an area where pry grass grows. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > sedges starc1300 carexa1398 float-grassc1440 red sedge1480 sag1531 pry grassa1600 flea-grass1670 star-grass1782 sedge1785 sea sedge1796 sharp-pry-grass1803 blue star grass1807 whip-grass1814 flea-sedge1816 saw-grass1822 mud rush1824 tight-locka1825 nut grass1830 razor grass1834 twig-rush1836 nut rush1843 sand grass1856 mud sedge1859 niggerhead1859 nutsedge1861 pingao1867 sword-rush1875 tupak-grass1884 tussock-sedge1884 sennegrass1897 nigger's-head1921 a1600 MS Marrick 3/1/76 (Brotherton, Leeds Univ.) f. ii^v This grownde is a souer prye grownde and pasture grownde lying on the sowthe side of Ullandes. 1610 W. Folkingham Feudigraphia i. iii. 7 Harsh, reddish, blewish spirie and prie-grass bewray a cold, vnkind..soile. 1777 A. St. Ledger in A. Hunter et al. Georgical Ess. (new ed.) 462 I propose to plow up the field as the Festuca Sylvatica (Prye Grass) has overpowered the grass-seeds originally sown. 1794 R. Lowe Gen. View Agric. Nottingham 43 Some persons ascribe it [sc. a disease of sheep] to different herbs, as a blue spiry grass called here prie grass, which is produced on cold wet land. 1798 R. Douglas Gen. View Agric. Roxburgh & Selkirk 108 Different species of Carex, here called pry, and by Ainsworth interpreted sheer-grass. 1811 J. Farey Gen. View Agric. Derbyshire I. 161 It seems best adapted for Arable land, on acount of its proneness to Shar-grass, Pry grass, or spiked Fescue. 1877 Hist. Berw. Nat. Club (1879) VIII. 454 Prye, Pry, is called ‘the bottom of spret’, which alone is eaten by sheep when the spret gets old and hard. Several plants are included under this term, as:—Poa trivialis.., Holcus lanatus... Carex panicea also is considered a prye grass, as are other species of Carex. 1890 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm (ed. 4) IV. 437/1 In September and October, ‘prie’ and ‘stool-bent’ come up. 1899 J. Shaw Country Schoolmaster ix. 351/2 Pry, the carnation carex; valuable food for hill sheep. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022). † pryn.³ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: pry v.¹ Etymology: < pry v.¹ With sense 2 compare earlier Paul Pry n. Compare spy n. N.E.D. (1909) gives the pronunciation as (prəi) /praɪ/. Obsolete. rare (chiefly poetic). 1. An act or the action of prying; a prying or inquisitive glance. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > a look or glance > [noun] > peep or keek peek1636 peep1730 pry1750 keeka1774 deek1833 skeet1844 toot1865 1750 C. Smart Noon-piece 50 Secluded from the teizing pry Of Argus Curiosity. 1817 J. Keats To —— 30 They seldom meet the eye Of the little loves that fly Round about with eager pry. 2. An excessively inquisitive or prying person. Cf. Paul Pry n. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > [noun] > person having inquisitor?1504 ferret1629 curioso1658 inquisitive1690 numquid1833 pry1837 noser1860 1837 T. Hood Ode R. Wilson vi The spy On fellow souls, a Spiritual Pry. 1874 R. Black tr. F. Guizot Hist. France III. xxix. 152 Froissart is an insatiable pry who revels in all the sights of his day. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2019). pryn.⁴ Brit. /prʌɪ/, U.S. /praɪ/ Forms: 1800s pray, 1800s– pry. Origin: Apparently formed within English, by back-formation. Etymon: prise n.³ Etymology: Apparently a back-formation < prise n.³, interpreted as plural. Compare slightly later pry v.²For a similar development compare pea n.² North American and English regional (East Anglian). An instrument for prising something open; a lever, a crowbar; = prise n.³ 1. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > lever or crowbar > [noun] lever1297 speke1366 crowa1400 gavelock1497 prisea1500 handspoke1513 porter1538 sway1545 handspike1559 heaver1598 coleweigh1600 handspeek1644 forcer1649 ringer1650 ripping-chisel1659 pinch1685 crow-spike1692 Betty1700 wringer1703 crowbar1748 spike1771 pry1803 jemmy1811 crow-iron1817 dog1825 pinchbar1837 jimmy1848 stick1848 pry bar1872 peiser1873 nail bar1929 cane1930 1803 W. Clark Jrnl. 22 Dec. in Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Exped. (1986) II. 139 I had pries fixed along to Support the boat. 1815 J. Pickering in Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. 3 ii. 534 An English friend..remarks upon the use of a pry, for a lever, which is common among mechanics in this country. 1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words 292 The lever is called a pray or lewer. a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Prise, a lever used for the purpose of forcing. This instrument is sometimes called a pry. 1872 T. De W. Talmage Serm. 45 The enemies of this book have tried to marshal on their side the astronomer's telescope and geologist's pry. 1955 F. G. Ashbrook Butchering v. 81 Insert the skinning knife..and cut up through the full length of the breastbone as a pry to split the breastbone. 1981 A. MacLeod in Canad. Fiction Mag. No. 40/41 56 It was frozen solidly in a base of ice so I began to look for something that might serve as a pry. 1998 J. Yolen One-armed Queen 211 He took the sword and using it as a pry, stuck it between two of the boards and levered one of them off with a single solid wrenching. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). pryv.¹ Brit. /prʌɪ/, U.S. /praɪ/ Forms: Middle English praye (transmission error), Middle English pri, Middle English pryȝede (past tense), Middle English pryhe, Middle English 1600s preye, Middle English–1600s prie, Middle English–1600s prye, 1500s– pry. N.E.D. (1909) also records a form 1500s prien. Origin: Probably a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymology: Probably the reflex of an unattested Old English verb (compare apparently related Old English beprīwan (also beprēwan ) to wink), of unknown origin. Compare later pire v. and peer v.³ 1. intransitive. To look, esp. closely or curiously; to peer inquisitively or intrusively; to seek out secret or private information, to spy. Frequently with adverbial complement. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > be curious, wonder [verb (intransitive)] > pry prya1350 toot1390 spyc1485 underpry1600 reave1615 nose1648 rave1671 poke1715 snoop1832 Paul-Pry1836 piroot1858 stickybeak1921 prodnose1954 the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (intransitive)] > peep beak?c1225 toot?c1225 prya1350 peekc1390 touta1400 keekc1405 peepa1500 outpeep1600 twire1602 teet1710 underpeep1827 a1350 ( in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 20 Nou stont þe heued aboue þe tubrugge..After socour of scotlond longe he mowe prye. a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 96 (MED) A litel hole he findes; þere pried he in priuely. a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 5019 (MED) Burgeys with here burdes..weyteden out at windowes..to prie on þe puple þat priked in þe stretes. c1425 Evangelie (Bodl. Add.) 1646 in Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. (1915) 30 605 (MED) And þei bigan to loke and prye & sye þere no thing but cloþes ly. a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 114 (MED) Day gan at my wyndowe in to prye. c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) lxxii (MED) The long day thus gan I prye and pour. 1571 Latimer's Serm. at Stamford 92 b Spying, tooting, and looking, watching & prying [1550 catching], what they might heare or see against the sea of Rome. 1603 T. Dekker et al. Patient Grissill sig. B2^v Women haue eagles eyes, To prie euen to the heart. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 159 Thus..glide obscure, and prie In every Bush and Brake. View more context for this quotation a1740 T. Tickell Poet. Wks. (1796) 36 I..went prepared to pry,..Resolv'd to find some fault before unspy'd. 1771 J. Beattie Minstrel: Bk. 1st lx. 31 Still keen to listen and to pry. 1815 W. Wordsworth White Doe of Rylstone i. 19 Friends..; Who,..Perused, with him, the starry sky;—Or in their cells with him did pry For other lore. 1858 J. Doran Hist. Court Fools 71 He went prying about into the corners of the hall. 1908 E. M. Forster Room with View iii. 51 They pry everywhere, they see everything, and they know what we want before we know it ourselves. 1938 M. K. Rawlings Yearling x. 91 ‘I'd not pry on the pore things,’ Penny said. 1993 D. Coyle Hardball iv. iv. 182 He would pry for information, trying to get Bill to tell him whether he planned on marrying Molly. †2. transitive. To look for or examine closely; to observe or investigate intently or in detail. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (transitive)] > watch or observe keepc1000 overseeOE waitc1300 advisec1325 awaita1375 to wait on ——c1384 markc1400 contemplec1429 to keep (also have) an (or one's) eye on (also upon)a1450 to look straitly to?c1450 to wait after ——c1460 vizy1488 contemplatea1533 vise1551 pry?1553 observe1567 eye1592 over-eye?1592 watch1600 outwatch1607 spell1633 superintend1654 under-watch1654 tent1721 evigilate1727 twig1764 stag1796 eye-serve1800 spy1806 deek1825 screw1905 clock1911 ?1553 Respublica (1952) iii. iv. 26 What nowe brother honestie? what prye ye this waie? is there eni thing here that ys yours, can ye saie? 1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis iii. 63 I pryed al quarters. 1632 J. Pory Let. 6 Dec. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. III. 276 An horseman of the enemy prying the King steadfastly in the face, said [etc.]. 1658 J. Hall Emblems with Elegant Figures 26 Thou never took In hand an harder lesson, then Thou did'st begin Prying the secrets of this book. Phrasal verbs PV1. With adverbs in specialized senses. to pry out intransitive and transitive. To search or find out by prying. Now rare, and difficult to distinguish from pry v.² 2. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > research > find out by investigation [verb (transitive)] seekc900 seeOE searcha1382 takea1382 inquire1390 undergrope?a1412 explore1531 to pry out1548 to scan out1548 to hunt out1576 sound1596 exquire1607 pervestigate1610 pump1611 trace1642 probe1649 to hunt up1741 to pick a person's brains (also brain)1770 verify1801 to get a load of1929 sus1966 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. xxxij^v He secretly sent wise espialles..to searche & prye oute of what progeny thys misnamed Rycharde was dissended. 1653 Duchess of Newcastle Poems & Fancies 145 Eyes that pry out, and spie examples good. 1760 W. Dodd Hymn to Good-nature in Poems (1767) 4 Never..to pry out littleness and faults, Where merit claims my praise. 1850 H. Melville White-jacket lxxiii. 357 Bland, the master-at-arms, ravished with their dexterity in prying out offenders, used to call them his two right hands. 1994 S. M. Baxter Ring (1996) xvi. 222 The people of the time tried to pry out the secrets of its intrasystem drive. PV2. With prepositions in specialized senses. to pry into —— 1. intransitive. To inquire or probe inquisitively or inappropriately into something secret, private, or personal; to investigate in an intrusive manner. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > feel curious about [verb (transitive)] > pry overpry1566 to pry into ——1581 underfeel1600 to poke (also stick, thrust, etc.) one's nose into (also in)1611 spy1626 the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > close examination, scrutiny > scrutinize [verb (transitive)] through-seekOE gropea1250 to search outa1382 ensearch1382 boltc1386 examinea1387 ransackc1390 ripea1400 search1409 overreach?a1425 considerc1425 perquirec1460 examec1480 peruse?1520 grounda1529 study1528 oversearch1532 perscrute1536 scrute1536 to go over ——1537 scan1548 examinate1560 rifle1566 to consider of1569 excuss1570 ripe1573 sift1573 sift1577 to pry into ——1581 dive1582 rub1591 explore1596 pervestigate1610 dissecta1631 profound1643 circumspect1667 scrutinize1671 perscrutatea1679 introspect1683 rummage1690 reconnoitre1740 scrutinate1742 to look through1744 scrutiny1755 parse1788 gun1819 cat-haul1840 vivisect1876 scour1882 microscope1888 tooth-comb1893 X-ray1896 comb1904 fine-tooth comb1949 the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > spy on [verb (transitive)] > pry spya1325 to pry into ——1581 worm1607 peer1838 1581 P. Wiburn Checke or Reproofe M. Howlets Shreeching f. 83 Wherein you vntruely take to your selues libertie against vs, you so prie into our translations, and translating of the Scriptures, that the least fault must be espied. a1594 Edmond Ironside (1991) ii. ii. 78 A Redie witt would quickly winde vs out And prie into our secrett trecharies. 1629 H. Burton Truth's Triumph 323 To prye into this Arcanum. 1656 S. Vernon Trepan 4 Mr. Pigeon checking her pragmatick nature, still prying into the secrets of others, diswaded her all he could, but she vowed she would know. 1710 C. Shadwell Fair Quaker of Deal i. i. 9 We..pry into the Rogueries of the Victualling-Office. 1754 T. Sherlock Several Disc. preached at Temple Church I. iii. 114 Not content to know that God is, without knowing what he is, [they] endeavour to pry into the Nature and Manner of the Existence of the Almighty. 1808 W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. 26 111 For the sake of pretending to be useful, these new police-mongers will pry into every peculiarity, and meddle with every amusement of the people. 1861 Amer. Agriculturist Jan. 6/3 The publisher of a certain paper..sneeringly asks: ‘Why does the American Agriculturist go out of its legitimate sphere, to be prying into other people's concerns?’ 1915 W. Cather Song of Lark i. iii. 19 She did not pry into their thoughts or nag them. 1969 B. Head When Rain Clouds Gather i. 17 The truck driver was talkative and kept on prying into his personal affairs. 1997 T. Pynchon Mason & Dixon 527 On and on he goes..using these imbalances as a general excuse to pry into the finances of others. †2. intransitive. gen. To inquire into or study closely. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie ii. viii. 76 To occasion them to prie more narrowlie into these curious and nice manners or bearing, which numbers of men doe sleightlie passe ouer. 1638 Bp. J. Wilkins Discov. New World (1707) i. 9 Not..to be rejected, but rather to be pry'd into with a diligent Enquiry. 1665 R. Boyle Disc. iii. ii, in Occas. Refl. sig. D2 To pry into the innermost Recesses of mysterious Nature. 1713 W. Derham Physico-theol. i. iii. 23 If strictly pried into, will be found owing to natural Causes. 1860 J. L. Motley Hist. Netherlands (1868) I. ii. 54 He pries into all the stratagems of Camillus. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). pryv.² Brit. /prʌɪ/, U.S. /praɪ/ Forms: 1800s pray, 1800s– pry. Origin: Either (i) formed within English, by back-formation. Or (ii) formed within English, by conversion. Etymons: prise v.; pry n.⁴ Etymology: Either a back-formation < prise v., with the final consonant taken as the -s of the 3rd person singular present, or directly < pry n.⁴In sense 2 perhaps influenced by to pry out at pry v.¹ Phrasal verbs 1. 1. transitive. Originally U.S. and English regional (East Anglian). To raise, move, or force up, out, open, etc., with a lever; = prise v. 1a. Also in extended use. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > raising > make to go up or cause to rise [verb (transitive)] > raise by mechanical instrument > with a lever or pole prise1574 underspar1577 coleweigh1652 peise1783 pry1806 pike1850 1806 N. Webster Compend. Dict. Eng. Lang. Pry, to raise with a lever. 1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words 292 Pray, or Praise, or Prize, or Pry, to lift any thing with a lever—the lever is called a pray or lewer... To pray a door or lid open, is to open it with a handspike, or lever of any sort. 1839 Southern Literary Messenger 5 378/1 Do let us get some long poles and pry him out. 1858 O. W. Holmes Autocrat of Breakfast-table vi. 143 Boston State-House is the hub of the solar system. You couldn't pry that out of a Boston man, if you had the tire of all creation straightened out for a crow-bar. 1904 N.Y. Evening Post 17 Sept. 4 The Republicans refused to pry up the lid that conceals these iniquities. 1926 Harper's Mag. Feb. 363/1 I stood rooted to the spot and you could not have pried me away. 1968 J. Aiken Whispering Mountain iii. 64 Owen's teeth were pried open and the neck of the bottle forced between them. 1990 Observer 27 May 17/7 They also pried the big bell out of the bell tower and melted it down. 2005 Southern Living Mar. 134 Ours had a decorative front panel along the bottom that we wanted to get rid of, so we pried it off. 2. transitive. To obtain or extract, esp. with difficulty. Usually with out (of). ΚΠ 1896 C. M. Sheldon His Brother's Keeper iii. 66 We managed to pry out of him that he had seen you and Eric go down the ladders. 1900 G. Ade More Fables 46 Usually, when she wanted any Pin Money, she had to Pry it out of him. 1938 N.Y. Times 23 Sept. 37/2 He had pried it out of Fielding Yost in four hours of pointed questioning and evasive answering. 1976 Time 20 Dec. 1/2 When Watergate raised questions about the integrity of the Executive Branch, Congress appointed an independent prosecutor to pry out all the facts. 2004 M. Flook Lux 128 Alden followed the scanty directions she had pried out of the minimart clerk. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.¹1573n.²a1600n.³1750n.⁴1803v.¹a1350v.²1806
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