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Priscian

[prish-ee-uh n, prish-uh n]
noun
  1. flourished a.d. c500, Latin grammarian.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for priscian

Historical Examples

  • Regere, a mediaeval term not used in this sense by Priscian.

    The Mediaeval Mind (Volume II of II)

    Henry Osborn Taylor

  • May Priscian himself be my enemy if what I am now going to say be not exactly true.

    In Praise of Folly

    Desiderius Erasmus

  • How do they break their own pates to salve that of Priscian!

  • On the right of the cartoon is the figure of grammar; beneath is Priscian.

  • He returned with these high honors, and was esteemed in grammar a Priscian, in poetry an Ovid, and in physic equal to Galen.

    Bibliomania in the Middle Ages

    Frederick Somner Merryweather

British Dictionary definitions for priscian

Priscian

noun
  1. Latin name Priscianus Caesariensis. 6th century ad, Latin grammarian
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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

Word Origin and History for priscian

Priscian

n.

Latin Priscianus, name of a celebrated Roman grammarian (c.500-530); hence to break Priscian's head (1520s) "to violate rules of grammar" (Latin diminuere Prisciani caput). Cf. Priscilla.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper