prong
[prawng, prong]
- 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).
Show More
- to pierce or stab with or as if with a prong.
- to supply with prongs.
Show More
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
See more synonyms for prong on Thesaurus.com2. hook, tooth, spur.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for prong
Contemporary Examples
But more telling than this is the second prong of the Eastern Lyme Offensive.
Historical Examples
In other cases a hook or prong is bent to change the spring tension.
The Automobile Storage BatteryO. A. Witte
Old muskets fired by a fusee, with a prong to rest the barrel on.
An Explorer's Adventures in TibetA. Henry Savage Landor
Then one man has a rake too heavy for him, and another a prong too light.
The Toilers of the FieldRichard Jefferies
Had we turned up the other prong we would have frozen to death.
Life and Adventures of 'Billy' DixonBilly Dixon
With one prong of a compass in the centre of Hudson Bay, describe a circle.
The Story of the TrapperA. C. Laut
prong
- a sharply pointed end of an instrument, such as on a fork
- any pointed projecting part
Show More
- (tr) to prick or spear with or as if with a prong
Show More
Word Origin
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
n.
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).
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper