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Definition of prorogue - 4 dictionary results

pro⋅rogue

  [proh-rohg]
Use prorogue in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -rogued, -ro⋅guing.
1. to discontinue a session of (the British Parliament or a similar body).
2. to defer; postpone.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME proroge < L prōrogāre to prolong, protract, defer, lit., to ask publicly, equiv. to prō- pro- 1 + rogāre to ask, propose

Related forms:
pro⋅ro⋅ga⋅tion  [proh-ruh-gey-shuhn] , noun

Synonyms:
1. suspend.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pro·rogue   (prō-rōg')   
tr.v.   pro·rogued, pro·rogu·ing, pro·rogues
  1. To discontinue a session of (a parliament, for example).
  2. To postpone; defer.

[Middle English prorogen, from Old French proroguer, to postpone, from Latin prōrogāre : pro-, forward; see pro-1 + rogāre, to ask; see reg- in Indo-European roots.]
pro'ro·ga'tion 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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Prorogue

Pro*rogue"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Prorogued; p. pr. & vb. n. Proroguing.] [F. proroger, L. prorogare, prorogatum; pro forward + rogare to ask, to ask one for his opinion or vote, or about a law. See Rogation.]

1. To protract; to prolong; to extend. [Obs.]

He prorogued his government. --Dryden.

2. To defer; to delay; to postpone; as, to proroguedeath; to prorogue a marriage. --Shak.

3. To end the session of a parliament by an order of the sovereign, thus deferring its business.

Parliament was prorogued to [meet at] Westminster. --Bp. Hall.

The Parliament was again prorogued to a distant day. --Macaulay.

Syn: To adjourn; postpone; defer. See Adjourn.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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prorogue 
1425, "to prolong, extend," from O.Fr. proroger (14c.), from L. prorogare, lit. "to ask publicly," from pro "before" + rogare "to ask" (see rogation). Perhaps the original sense in L. was "to ask for public assent to extending someone's term in office." Meaning "to discontinue temporarily" is attested from 1455.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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