a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
sing someone's praises, to praise someone publicly and enthusiastically: He is always singing his wife's praises.
Origin: 1175–1225; (v.) Middle Englishpreisen < Old Frenchpreisier to value, prize < Late Latinpretiāre, derivative of Latinpretiumprice, worth, reward; (noun) Middle English, derivative of the v.; see prize2
Related forms
praise·ful, adjective
praise·ful·ly, adverb
praise·less, adjective
prais·er, noun
half-praised, adjective
half-prais·ing, adjective
out·praise, verb (used with object), out·praised, out·prais·ing.
re·praise, verb (used with object), re·praised, re·prais·ing.
self-praise, noun
self-prais·ing, adjective
su·per·praise, noun, verb (used with object), su·per·praised, su·per·prais·ing.
early 13c., from O.Fr. preisier "to praise, value," from L.L. preciare, earlier pretiare (c.550; see price). Replaced O.E. lof, hreþ. The noun is attested from early 15c., not common until 16c. Now a verb in most Gmc. languages (Ger. preis, Dan. pris, etc.), but only
in English is it differentiated in form from cognate price. Praiseworthy is first recorded 1530s.