Priscian

[ prish-ee-uh n, prish-uh n ]

/ ˈprɪʃ i ən, ˈprɪʃ ən /

noun

flourished a.d. c500, Latin grammarian.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for priscian

Priscian was a leading text-book on the subject, and it was supported by a short manual compiled from Donatus.
Old English Libraries|Ernest Savage
Alfred had taught himself Latin by translating: there were few vocabularies, and only the crabbed grammar of old Priscian.
Edwy the Fair or the First Chronicle of Aescendune|A. D. Crake
He devoted special attention to the early Latin writers, and is highly spoken of by Priscian.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 3|Various
He may have had a glimmering that some of them were absurd; and that Priscian with his reference to the Greek was a safer guide.
The Age of Erasmus|P. S. Allen

Another work, equally unknown to the present generation, but frequently quoted by Dicuil, is the Periegesis of Priscian.
Insula Sanctorum et Doctorum|John Healy

British Dictionary definitions for priscian

Priscian

/ (ˈprɪʃɪən) /

noun

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

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

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.