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Definition of prude - 4 dictionary results
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Prude
Prude\, n. [F., prudish, originally, discreet, modest; shortened from OF. prudefeme, preudefeme, a discreet or excellent woman; OF. preu, prou, excellent, brave + de of + fete woman. See Prow, a., Prowess.] A woman of affected modesty, reserve, or coyness; one who is overscrupulous or sensitive; one who affects extraordinary prudence in conduct and speech. Less modest than the speech of prudes. --Swift.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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prude
1704, from Fr. prude "excessively prim or demure woman" (also an adj.), first recorded in Molière, from O.Fr. preude "good, virtuous, modest," perhaps an ellipsis of preudefemme "a discreet, modest woman," from O.Fr. prou de femme, fem. equivalent of prud-homme "a brave man" (see proud). First record of prudish is from 1717. Prudery first recorded 1709.
"The peculiarity of prudery is to multiply sentinels, in proportion as the fortress is less threatened." [Victor Hugo]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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