586 / 868
p
lt
(
50?
P R
r
pRESENTATION, in Scots law. See L A\\', T i" v. 7.
pRE!:iS,
In
,he
mechanic
ltrlS,
a m::l.chine of wood, or iroo,
lervlng tO Cqu:eze any body very c1oCe, generaJly by
meansofa tClew.
S eeMEcHAÑ ICS .
PRESTER JOHN, or J íAN, an appellalÍon
gjveo
ID Ibe
king of Abyfiinia orEthlOpia .
1 'his o;¡,mc: lS
altogetl~cr
uilknown in
El hiopia
J
wherc
he i. calleo Ihe &"nd N<gus .
PRESTO, in the
h~lian
mu(jck, intim:ues
tO
perform ve·
ry qU Lck. as
prej/iJlilllo
do.. extremely
Co.
PRESTON, a borough.tówn, ·,wen,y miles Couth
01
Lan'
caHer.
whlch
fends
IWQ
ml!n1bers
tO paThamcnt.
PR ESUMPTI ON , in SC015 law See LAW , TIt . xxxi
18.
PRETERITE TEN SE, in &"mmar. See GRAM MAR .
PRETEX
r,
a colour or motIVe, whelher real or feigned,
for doing fomething.
:Toga
PRETEXTA, among ,he ancien' Romans, a long
whltc gown, wlth a border of purple round the edges,
and worn by children of qu.l"y ,iU the age of pub",y,
viz .
by the boyo tiJl Cevenleen. when Ihey changed i, for
.he tOga virilis
i
and
by
,be gids
[iJl
marriage.
PRETOR.
a magtflrate among
,he ancient Romans, not
uohke our lord chitf ju/hces, or lord chancdlor, or hOlQ
jn one : as belng
verted
with the power of diflributing
jufiice among the citizeos, At
nrll
[here was ooly one:
pretor;
bUI
afterwards another being created, the 6dl
0'
chief ene bad the title of pretor
urbaOl.a,
or the city-pre–
tor; 'the other was caBed peregrinus. as belOg judge in
2011
matters
fclati ng
lO
foreigners. But. befides thefe.
[here were afterwards
cre:Hed
many provincial pretors ;
who were nOl only judges, bot al(o allilled lhe. con(uls io
the governrnent of (he provjnces, and cvC!n were
invdled
",ith the government of pro\·jnces
themrdves.
PRETORIAN
GUAROS,
in R oman anl.quily, w.,e lhe
emperor's guards. v.'ho
al
length were increafed to ten
thoue.. nd: rhey had (his denomlnaríon, according
tO
fome,
from lheir being O..ioned al a place in lhe palace ealJed
prztorium: their cornmander was Hiled prz(e{tus pnt'to–
rii. See
P~ErE c T,
PR ETORIUM, among the R omans, denoted lhe hall or
court whercin (he pretor lived, and whereio he admioi·
Oered junice.
PR EVENTION
in Jurifdiflion,
in Seo"
h lV.
See LA"',
Tit. ii 5
PRIAP ISM . io medicio', a eonlÍoual and painful eretlion
of
the penis.
PRI APUS
in medicine, denotes
the geniTal
parts
in
m~n
h
alfo denores in antiquity. a fabu lous deuy, partí
eularly , dored
al
L amCpacus, .he place ofhis binh, who
was rt:\'cred very much for the eXtraOrdloary fi ze of his
parts.
PRIEST. a perron Cel apan (or lhcpérforming of (acri6ce
and
oth~r
oRiees of rellgion.
P RIEST . 10 lhe ChraHian ehu rch, is a perfoD invefied with
holy orders
~
in virtue whereof J!e has a power
tO
preaeh
J
pray, admmifler the rderamenlS,
f:Jr.
P R IMiE v.
lE.
amonu phyficians, deno,e lhe whole ali.
mentary duél: includlDg the re(ollhagus llomach
and
intelline" ......tth the:r
:4 ppend~oes'
,
J
,
PRIMAG E . in commerce, a C,;',ali dUlyal the water fide,
ufually abollt t\\felve pcnce per tuo, or fix peoce a baJe,
due lo lhe maner aod mariners of •.(hip.
PRIMJ\TE. iD cll\,'ch.poli.y, an arehbi(
r.op, v.oho is
in·
vd led wuh a jurifd'l9.ien over othe r bifhops.
PEIME,
an appellation gil'en
tO
wh'l.leycr is
lidl
in order,
degrce, or digni()', among {( veral th ings of {he {ame or
likt kind: .hus we Cay lhe prime mir.ilJer. prime c'oll,
&c.
PRIM IPILUS, in anllquity, the cenrur!oo of ,he
fi.t¡
cohort of a
l(gi~.RJ
\vho
had charge of the Roman eacle:
PRIMITIJE. ,he fi rn frui" galhered of ,he earlh, whercor
the ancients made prerents to the gods.
PRIMITIVE, in grammar, is a roo. qr origin.1 word in
a
language, in contradiflintl:ioo tO
derivadve
: lhus,
Cod
is
aprimitive,
godly
a drrivative, and
god.IiAt
a compound .
l'R1MULA, ia boiany, a genu, of the penl.ndria monogy·
nía elals. The tube of the corolh i5 cylindrical, with
an open mocth . There are eight fpecirs, three of thcm
nati"es ofBrilaio,
viz,
tbe vulgar:s, or common primrofe;
(he veris, or cows·lips; and the farinofa , or birds.eye.
PRlNCE, in poli.y. a perron iovefled ",ilh lhe Cupreme
command of
a
flate, iodependen(
of
any
oth~r,
Prince alfo deDotes a perron who i5 a fO\lereign in bis
owo terrilories ..
y.etholds o(
fomeolcer
as his fuperior;
fuch are
die
princes 01 Germaoy.
PRINC~PA L,
lhe chief aod mon necerrary par< ofa thing.
PRINCIPATE, a provine< of the kingdom of Napl<s, fitua.
red
00
lhe Mediterranean, bclween (he province5 of Luoro
and Calabria and divided ialo lhe Hllher aad Funher
Principate, Wilh reCpetl
'0
lhe eily of Naples.
PRlNCIPLE, in general, is o(ed for lbe caúCe, (ooree,
or'origlO of any thing
P"N C'PL E, is al(o (omelime. uCed in a Cynooymou, feoCe
Wllh "Xlom
or maxim .
PRINOS, ia botany,
a
genu. of lhe hexa.dría monogyoi.
ela(s. The calix confiOs of fix Cegmen", "-lId lhe eo·
rolla of ene
rotated
petal ; aod the berry contains
lis:
fceds. There are l\VO fpeeies, both natives of Ame,rica.,
PRINT , lhe imprrffioo taken from a copperplate. Se<
Ro/ling.p,.,p
P R'NT' NG .
P R INTER, a perCon l"ho compoCes and takes imprdlions
from moveable charaéten raoged in order, or front
pi
ates
eograveo, by means of ink, and a pref5 ; or from bJocks
of wood ellt
10
Bowers.
Oc
and takeo off in variou, oo·
Jours
OD
calicoes,
liDtilS,
Glks,
rbc.
The moíl eorious of theCe am, aod lh" which dererv..
the
mon
panicular explication, is
the 6rfi;
for
to
the
printers of books are chief1y owing our de¡iveranee
from
ignoraoce anei error, the progrefs of learning, the reviva!
of the {eienees, 2nd numherlers improvements in artS,
wbich. without this oobleinvention. wouldhave bceoeitoer
Ion to
mtDkind ,
or'
coo'ined tO the ko('\wledgc
'Of
a few,
T he
lidl
prIRters \Vere Guuc:mberg,
Fon .
Seboeffer,
M<ntel, and Koller ; and the 6rn wbo pratliféd this an
in E nRJand was Frrd Cor(eiJles, who brought irover
from H..r1em, in the reign of king Henry
vr.
The g. e"
primers famous for the' correélnefs and elegaDce of their
works. were Aldus, 2nd Paulos M3.nutlus; the tWO
Badii : Vi"iJli, m and . rederic Morel; Opotin; f robe–
nius; Roben, Henry, and Charl.. Stephen,; G ryphius,
T u'rnebus, T orres,
CommeJin,
Piando, Raphdeagius.
V1{fcofan, Bleau. Cnfpin, :lind the
1\1.'0
Elzevirs; and
2monR
thefe,
lhe learned
pristeu \/Jere the
Manutii , the
S"phenC", lhe Bod,i. T urn. bas, Morel,
(:;c.
Plan,in
bad lbe tide of archilypogri phus, or arch' priD,er, given
hila