prong

[prawng, prong]

See more synonyms for prong on Thesaurus.com

noun

one of the pointed tines of a fork.
any pointed, projecting part, as of an antler.
a branch of a stream.

Jewelry. a tapering metal projection, usually heavier than a claw, rising from the base of a jewelry setting and used to hold a stone in position as needed.Compare claw(def 7).

verb (used with object)

to pierce or stab with or as if with a prong.
to supply with prongs.

Origin of prong

1400–50; late Middle English pronge, prange pain, affliction, pointed instrument; akin to Old Swedish prang gorge, narrow street, Middle Low German prange stake, prangen to press, Gothic anaprangan to oppress

Synonyms for prong

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2. hook, tooth, spur.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for prong

fork, point, spine, hook, tine, spur, nib, horn

Examples from the Web for prong

Contemporary Examples of prong

But more telling than this is the second prong of the Eastern Lyme Offensive.
Mitt’s Bizarre Lyme Disease Offensive
Kent Sepkowitz
October 2, 2012

Historical Examples of prong

In other cases a hook or prong is bent to change the spring tension.
The Automobile Storage Battery
O. A. Witte
Old muskets fired by a fusee, with a prong to rest the barrel on.
An Explorer's Adventures in Tibet
A. Henry Savage Landor
Then one man has a rake too heavy for him, and another a prong too light.
The Toilers of the Field
Richard Jefferies
Had we turned up the other prong we would have frozen to death.
Life and Adventures of 'Billy' Dixon
Billy Dixon
With one prong of a compass in the centre of Hudson Bay, describe a circle.
The Story of the Trapper
A. C. Laut

British Dictionary definitions for prong

prong

noun

a sharply pointed end of an instrument, such as on a fork
any pointed projecting part

verb

(tr) to prick or spear with or as if with a prong

Derived Formspronged, adjective

Word Origin for prong

C15: related to Middle Low German prange a stake, Gothic anaprangan to afflict

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 prong

early 15c., prange "pointed instrument;" mid-15c., pronge "pain," from Anglo-Latin pronga "prong, pointed tool," of unknown origin, perhaps related to Middle Low German prange "stick, restraining device," prangen "to press, pinch." See also prod, which might be related. Prong-horned antelope is from 1815 (short form pronghorn attested from 1826).