Prize PRIZE, n. 1. That which is taken from an enemy in war;
any species of goods or property seized by force as spoil or plunder;
or that which is taken in combat, particularly a ship. A privateer takes
an enemy's ship as a prize. They make prize of all the property of the
enemy. 2. That which is taken from another; that which is deemed
a valuable acquisition. Then prostrate falls, and begs with ardent
eyes, Soon to obtain and long possess the prize. 3. That which is
obtained or offered as the reward of contest. --I will never wrestle
for prize. I fought and conquer'd, yet have lost the prize.
4. The reward gained by any performance. 5. In colloquial language,
any valuable thing gained. 6. The money drawn by a lottery ticket;
opposed to blank. PRIZE, v.t. [L. pretium.] 1. To set
or estimate the value of; to rate; as, to prize the goods specified
in an invoice. Life I prize not a straw. 2. To value highly;
to estimate to be of great worth; to esteem. I prize your person,
but your crown disdain. 3. To raise with a lever. [See Pry.]
prize
adj 1: of superior grade; "choice wines"; "prime beef"; "prize
carnations"; "quality paper"; "select peaches" [syn:
choice, prime(a), prize, quality, select]
n 1: something given for victory or superiority in a contest or
competition or for winning a lottery; "the prize was a free
trip to Europe" [syn: prize, award]
2: goods or money obtained illegally [syn: loot, booty,
pillage, plunder, prize, swag, dirty money]
3: something given as a token of victory [syn: trophy,
prize]
v 1: hold dear; "I prize these old photographs" [syn: prize,
value, treasure, appreciate]
2: to move or force, especially in an effort to get something
open; "The burglar jimmied the lock": "Raccoons managed to
pry the lid off the garbage pail" [syn: pry, prise,
prize, lever, jimmy]
3: regard highly; think much of; "I respect his judgement"; "We
prize his creativity" [syn: respect, esteem, value,
prize, prise] [ant: disesteem, disrespect]
prize I. nounEtymology: Middle English pris prize, price — more at priceDate: 14th century 1. something offered or striven for in
competition or in contests of chance; alsopremium 1d 2.
something exceptionally desirable 3.archaic a contest for
a reward ;competitionII. adjectiveDate: 1803 1.a. awarded or worthy of a prize b. awarded as a prize
c. entered for the sake of a prize <a prize drawing>
2. outstanding of a kind <raised prize hogs>
III. transitive verb (prized; prizing)
Etymology: Middle English prisen, from Anglo-French priser,
preiser to appraise, esteem, from Late Latin pretiare, from
Latin pretium price, value — more at priceDate: 14th
century 1. to estimate the value of ;rate2.
to value highly ;esteem <a prized possession>
Synonyms:seeappreciateIV. nounEtymology: Middle English prise, from
Anglo-French, taking, seizure, from prendre to take, from Latin
prehendere — more at getDate: 14th century 1.
something taken by force, stratagem, or threat; especially property
lawfully captured at sea in time of war 2. an act of capturing or
taking; especially the wartime capture of a ship and its cargo at
sea Synonyms:seespoilV. transitive verb (prized; prizing)
Etymology:prize lever Date: 1686
to press, force, or move with a lever ;pry
prize 1. n. & v. --n. 1 something that can be won in a competition or lottery etc. 2 a reward given as a symbol of victory or superiority. 3 something striven for or worth
striving for (missed all the great prizes of life). 4 (attrib.) a to which a prize is awarded (a prize bull; a prize poem). b supremely excellent or outstanding of its kind. --v.tr. value highly
(a much prized possession). Phrases and idioms: prize-giving an award of prizes, esp. formally at a school etc. prize-money money offered as a prize. prize-ring 1 an enclosed area (now
usu. a square) for prizefighting. 2 the practice of prizefighting. Etymology: (n.) ME, var. of PRICE: (v.) ME f. OF pris- stem of preisier PRAISE 2. n. & v. --n. 1 a
ship or property captured in naval warfare. 2 a find or windfall. --v.tr. make a prize of. Phrases and idioms: prize-court a department of an admiralty court concerned with
prizes. Etymology: ME f. OF prise taking, booty, fem. past part. of prendre f. L prehendere prehens- seize: later identified with PRIZE(1) 3. var. of PRISE.
prize
(prizes, prizing, prized)Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.Note: The spelling 'prise' is also used in British English for meanings 5 and 6.
1. A prize is money or something valuable that is given to someone who has the best
results in a competition or game, or as a reward for doing good work.
You must claim your prize by telephoning our claims line...He won first prize at the Leeds Piano Competition...They were going all out for the prize-money, £6,500 for the winning team.N-COUNT
2. You use prize to describe things that are of such good quality that they win prizes
or deserve to win prizes.
...a prize bull....prize blooms.ADJ: ADJ n
3. You can refer to someone or something as a prize when people consider them to be of
great value or importance.
With no lands of his own, he was no great matrimonial prize.N-COUNT
4. Something that is prized is wanted and admired because it is considered to be very
valuable or very good quality.
Military figures, made out of lead are prized by collectors...One of the gallery's most prized possessions is the portrait of Ginevra da Vinci.VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed
5. If you prize something open or prize it away from a surface, you force it to
open or force it to come away from the surface. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use pry)
He tried to prize the dog's mouth open...I prised off the metal rim surrounding one of the dials...He held on tight but she prised it from his fingers.VERB: V n with adj, V n with adv, V n out of/from n
6. If you prize something such as information out of someone, you persuade them
to tell you although they may be very unwilling to. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use pry)
Alison and I had to prize conversation out of him.VERB: V n out of n, also V n with out
Prize \Prize\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Prized; p. pr. & vb. n.
Prizing.] [F. priser, OF. prisier, preisier, fr. L.
pretiare, fr. pretium worth, value, price. See Price, and
cf. Praise.] [Formerly written also prise. ]
1. To set or estimate the value of; to appraise; to price; to
rate.
A goodly price that I was prized at. --Zech. xi.
13.
I prize it [life] not a straw, but for mine honor.
--Shak.
2. To value highly; to estimate to be of great worth; to
esteem. ``[I] do love, prize, honor you. '' --Shak.
I prized your person, but your crown disdain.
--Dryden.
Prize \Prize\, n. [F. prise a seizing, hold, grasp, fr. pris, p.
p. of prendre to take, L. prendere, prehendere; in some
senses, as 2
(b), either from, or influenced by, F. prix price. See
Prison, Prehensile, and cf. Pry, and also Price.]
1. That which is taken from another; something captured; a
thing seized by force, stratagem, or superior power.
I will depart my pris, or may prey, by deliberation.
--Chaucer.
His own prize, Whom formerly he had in battle won.
--Spenser.
2. Hence, specifically;
(a) (Law) Anything captured by a belligerent using the
rights of war; esp., property captured at sea in
virtue of the rights of war, as a vessel. --Kent.
--Brande & C.
(b) An honor or reward striven for in a competitive
contest; anything offered to be competed for, or as an
inducement to, or reward of, effort.
I'll never wrestle for prize more. --Shak.
I fought and conquered, yet have lost the prize.
--Dryden.
(c) That which may be won by chance, as in a lottery.
3. Anything worth striving for; a valuable possession held or
in prospect.
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus. --Phil. iii.
14.
4. A contest for a reward; competition. [Obs.] --Shak.
5. A lever; a pry; also, the hold of a lever. [Written also
prise.]
Prize court, a court having jurisdiction of all captures
made in war on the high seas. --Bouvier.
Prize fight, an exhibition contest, esp. one of pugilists,
for a stake or wager.
Prize fighter, one who fights publicly for a reward; --
applied esp. to a professional boxer or pugilist. --Pope.
Prize fighting, fighting, especially boxing, in public for
a reward or wager.
Prize master, an officer put in charge or command of a
captured vessel.
Prize medal, a medal given as a prize.
Prize money, a dividend from the proceeds of a captured
vessel, etc., paid to the captors.
Prize ring, the ring or inclosure for a prize fight; the
system and practice of prize fighting.
To make prize of, to capture. --Hawthorne.
PRIZE
priz: Two Greek words are so rendered in English Versions of the Bible:
(1) brabeion, the award to the victor in the Greek games, consisting
of a garland of bay, olive, or pine; so called because it was given by
the brabeus, the adjudicator who assigned the prize at the games (Vulgate
bravium, from which may be derived the English "brave" = originally gaily
dressed, handsome). Used literally in 1Co 9:24, and figuratively of
the heavenly reward for Christian character in Php 3:14.
(2) harpagmos, in the English Revised Version of Php 2:6, "counted
it not a prize to be on an equality with God." The termination -uos, -mos,
would lead us to expect the active sense: "an act of grasping," "plundering"
(the King James Version "robbery"), which would imply that Christ did not
deem it an act of usurpation to claim equality with God, for such equality
was His inherent right. But the context demands a reference "not to the
right which He claimed, but to the dignity which He renounced" (Lightfoot);
hence, the majority of modern expositors take the word in a passive sense (=
harpagma): "a thing to be seized, prized, retained at all costs as a booty"
(the English Revised Version "a prize," the American Standard Revised Version
"a thing to be grasped"), implying that Christ did not regard equality with
God as a thing to be clutched greedily, but waived His rights (see Lightfoot
on Php 2:6). The verb "to prize" occurs only in Zec 11:13.
See GRASP; HUMILIATION OF CHRIST; KENOSIS.
D. Miall Edwards
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