propine
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
Etymology
Origin of propine
First recorded in 1400–50; Late Middle English propinen, from Middle French propiner “to give to drink, drink to one's health,” from Latin propīnāre, from Greek propī́nein “to drink up, drink to one's health,” equivalent to pro- + pī́nein “to drink”; see origin at pro- 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"And if I were thine, and in thy propine, O what wad ye do to me?"
From English and Scottish Ballads, Volume II (of 8) by Various
“I’ll hold my hand,” the Friar said, “Since that is your propine, But, an you sound your bugle-horn, I’ll even blow on mine!”
From The Bon Gaultier Ballads by Doyle, Richard
I think there be none in the whole Clan Quhele, save those which I myself gave to Gilchrist MacIan, whom God assoilzie, who esteemed them a choice propine.
From The Fair Maid of Perth Or, St. Valentine's Day by Scott, Walter, Sir
"Oh! we maun send the Queen a stag, And grouse for her propine, And we'll send her a cask o' the usquebaugh, And a butt o' the red French wine!"
From New Collected Rhymes by Lang, Andrew
The King has gi'en the Queen a gift, For her May-day's propine, He's gi'en her a band o' the diamond-stane, Set in the siller fine.
From Sir Walter Scott and the Border Minstrelsy by Lang, Andrew
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
