prick song

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noun Archaic.

written music.

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Origin of prick song

1400–50; late Middle English, short for pricked song

Words nearby prick song

prickly ash, prickly heat, prickly pear, prickly poppy, prick-post, prick song, prickspur, prick up one's ears, pricky, pricy, pride

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use prick song in a sentence

The point was that it should be extempore; if written down it ceased to be true descant, and was then called 'prick-song.'
Shakespeare and Music|Edward W. Naylor
Any song which was printed in various parts was called a prick-song, to distinguish it from one sung extemporaneously or by ear.
Sabbath in Puritan New England|Alice Morse Earle
The word prick-song occurs not only in all the musical books, but in the literature of the time, and in Shakespeare.
Sabbath in Puritan New England|Alice Morse Earle
Well said, wench; and the prick-song we use shall be our husbands.
The Works of John Marston|John Marston

Prick-Song, music pricked or noted down, full of flourish and variety.
A History of the Cries of London|Charles Hindley

British Dictionary definitions for prick song

prick song

noun

obsolete

a piece of written vocal music
vocal music sung from a copy

Word Origin for prick song

C16: from pricked song, prickt song, from prick (in the sense: to mark out, notate)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012