Nearby Words

prune

[proon] Example Sentences Origin

prune

1[proon]
noun
1.
a variety of plum that dries without spoiling.
2.
such a plum when dried.
3.
any plum.

Origin:
1300–50; late Middle English < Middle French < Latin prūna, plural (taken as feminine singular) of prūnum plum < Greek proû(m)non plum1

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Prune is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Example Sentences
  • Prune has limitations and frustrations, none of them insignificant.
  • Of those who prune the trees and take out the trash, who cook and toil for the good of others.
  • Struggling publications found plenty of branches to prune.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

prune

2[proon]
verb (used with object), pruned, prun·ing.
1.
to cut or lop off (twigs, branches, or roots).
2.
to cut or lop superfluous or undesired twigs, branches, or roots from; trim.
3.
to rid or clear of (anything superfluous or undesirable).
4.
to remove (anything considered superfluous or undesirable).

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English prouynen < Middle French proognier to prune (vines), variant of provigner, derivative of provain scion (< Latin propāgin-, stem of propāgō; see propagate)

prun·a·ble, adjective
prun·a·bil·i·ty, noun
prun·er, noun
un·prun·a·ble, adjective

prune

3[proon]
verb (used with object), pruned, prun·ing.
Archaic. to preen.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English prunen, pruynen, proy(g)nen < Old French poroign-, present stem of poroindre, equivalent to por- (< Latin pro- pro-1) + oindre to anoint (< Latin unguere); see preen1

prun·a·ble, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To prune
Collins
World English Dictionary
prune1 (pruːn)
 
n
1.  a purplish-black partially dried fruit of any of several varieties of plum tree
2.  slang chiefly (Brit) a dull, uninteresting, or foolish person
 
[C14: from Old French prune, from Latin prūnum plum, from Greek prounon]

prune2 (pruːn)
 
vb
1.  to remove (dead or superfluous twigs, branches, etc) from (a tree, shrub, etc), esp by cutting off
2.  to remove (anything undesirable or superfluous) from (a book, etc)
 
[C15: from Old French proignier to clip, probably from provigner to prune vines, from provain layer (of a plant), from Latin propāgo a cutting]
 
'prunable2
 
adj
 
'pruner2
 
n

prune3 (pruːn)
 
vb
an archaic word for preen

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Main Entry:  prune
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  See dried plum
Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Copyright © 2003-2012 Dictionary.com, LLC
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

prune
1345, from O.Fr. pronne "plum" (13c.), from V.L. *pruna, fem. sing. formed from L. pruna, neut. pl. of prunum "plum," by dissimilation from Gk. proumnon, from a language of Asia Minor. Slang meaning "disagreeable or disliked person" is from 1895.
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prune
early 15c., prouyne, from O.Fr. proignier "cut back (vines), prune," of unknown origin, perhaps from Gallo-Romance *pro-retundiare "cut in a rounded shape in front," from pro- "forth" + *retundiare "round off," from L. rotundus (see round). The M.E. word may be via falconry
term proinen "trim the feather with the beak" (late 14c.), Related to preen (q.v.). Related: Pruned; pruning.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

prune

see full of beans, def. 2.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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