prune

¹

[proon]

noun

1. a variety of plum that dries without spoiling.

2. such a plum when dried.

3. any plum.

prune

²

[proon]

verb (used with object)

pruned, pruning 

1. to cut or lop off (twigs, branches, or roots).

2. to cut or lop superfluous or undesired twigs, branches, or roots from; trim.

3. to rid or clear of (anything superfluous or undesirable).

4. to remove (anything considered superfluous or undesirable).

prune

³

[proon]

verb (used with object)

pruned, pruning 

1. Archaic.,  to preen.

prune

¹

/ pruːn /

noun

1. a purplish-black partially dried fruit of any of several varieties of plum tree

2. slang,  a dull, uninteresting, or foolish person

prune

²

/ pruːn /

verb

1. to remove (dead or superfluous twigs, branches, etc) from (a tree, shrub, etc), esp by cutting off

2. to remove (anything undesirable or superfluous) from (a book, etc)

prune

³

/ pruːn /

verb

1. an archaic word for preen 1

Other Word Forms

• prunable adjective
• prunability noun
• pruner noun
• unprunable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of prune¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English prune, pruna, prum “plum, dried plum, prune,” from Old French prune, pronne, prume, from unrecorded Vulgar Latin prūna, neuter plural (taken as feminine singular) of Latin prūnum “plum,” from Greek proû(m)non, from a language of ancient Anatolia, where the tree and its fruit originated; plum

Origin of prune²

First recorded in 1400–50; from Middle English prouynen, from Middle French prougner, from Old French prooignier, proignier, poroindre “to cut back (vines); prune”; further origin uncertain; perhaps from unrecorded Vulgar Latin prōrotundiāre “to make round, cut in a rounded shape”; perhaps a variant of French provigner “to layer vines,” a derivative of provain “scion,” from Latin propāgin-, stem of propāgō; propagate; rotund ( def. )

Origin of prune³

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English prunen, pruynen, proy(g)nen, from Old French poroign-, present stem of poroindre, equivalent to por- (from Latin pro-) + oindre “to anoint”; pro- ¹, unguent; preen ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of prune¹

C14: from Old French prune, from Latin prūnum plum, from Greek prounon

Origin of prune²

C15: from Old French proignier to clip, probably from provigner to prune vines, from provain layer (of a plant), from Latin propāgo a cutting

Idioms and Phrases

see full of beans, def. 2.

Example Sentences

As guardian of the occupied West Bank's oldest olive tree, Salah Abu Ali prunes its branches and gathers its fruit even as violence plagues the Palestinian territory during this year's harvest.

Read more on Barron's

Earlier studies have found that it can reduce inflammation in brain cells and affect synaptic pruning -- a normal developmental process in which the brain trims and strengthens neural connections.

Read more on Science Daily

Halyna, selling dried prunes and mushrooms, told me she saw little cause for optimism.

Read more on BBC

"Then, the cell quickly prunes and filters many of those loops out when it enters G1."

Read more on Science Daily

A recent revision of history textbooks has pruned chapters on the Mughal era, the Muslim dynasty that came from central Asia and ruled swaths of northern India for centuries.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cut back 
• shave 
• shear 
• shorten 
• snip