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pre ys

 - 3 dictionary results
Pre
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prey

  [prey]
Use pre ys in a Sentence
–noun
1. an animal hunted or seized for food, esp. by a carnivorous animal.
2. a person or thing that is the victim of an enemy, a swindler, a disease, etc.; gull.
3. the action or habit of preying: a beast of prey.
4. Archaic. booty or plunder.
–verb (used without object)
5. to seize and devour prey, as an animal does (usually fol. by on or upon): Foxes prey on rabbits.
6. to make raids or attacks for booty or plunder: The Vikings preyed on coastal settlements.
7. to exert a harmful or destructive influence: His worries preyed upon his mind.
8. to victimize another or others (usually fol. by on or upon): loan sharks that prey upon the poor.
Origin:
1200–50; ME preye < OF < L praeda booty, prey; akin to prehendere to grasp, seize (see prehension )

Related forms:
preyer, noun

Synonyms:
2. dupe, target.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Pre
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prey   (prā)   
n.  

  1. An animal hunted or caught for food; quarry.

  2. One that is defenseless, especially in the face of attack; a victim.

  3. The act or practice of preying.

intr.v.   preyed, prey·ing, preys

  1. To hunt, catch, or eat as prey: Owls prey on mice.

  2. To victimize or make a profit at someone else's expense.

  3. To plunder or pillage.

  4. To exert a baneful or injurious effect: Remorse preyed on his mind.


[Middle English preie, from Old French, from Latin praeda, booty, prey; see ghend- in Indo-European roots.]
prey'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

prey  (n.)
1240, "animal hunted for food," from O.Fr. preie "booty, animal taken in the chase" (1140), from L. præda "booty, plunder, game hunted," earlier præheda, related to prehendere "to grasp, seize" (see prehensile). The verb meaning "to plunder, pillage, ravage" is attested from 1297, from O.Fr. preer, earlier preder (c.1040), from L.L. prædare. Its sense of "to kill and devour" is attested from c.1340.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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