prune

[ proon ]

See synonyms for: prune pruning pruner on Thesaurus.com

noun

a variety of plum that dries without spoiling.
such a plum when dried.

any plum.

Origin of prune

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; see also plum

Other definitions for prune (2 of 3)

prune²

[ proon ]

verb (used with object),pruned, prun·ing.

to cut or lop off (twigs, branches, or roots).
to cut or lop superfluous or undesired twigs, branches, or roots from; trim.

to rid or clear of (anything superfluous or undesirable).
to remove (anything considered superfluous or undesirable).

Origin of prune

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; see origin at propagate;see also rotund

Other words from prune

prun·a·ble, adjective
prun·a·bil·i·ty [proo-nuh-bil-i-tee], /ˌpru nəˈbɪl ɪ ti/, noun
prun·er, noun
un·prun·a·ble, adjective

Other definitions for prune (3 of 3)

prune³

[ proon ]

verb (used with object),pruned, prun·ing.

Archaic. to preen.

Origin of prune

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”; see origin at pro-¹, unguent;see also preen¹

Other words from prune

prun·a·ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use prune in a sentence

He sent his family photos of his food, and made special requests of the hospital staff, asking for buttered sourdough toast and prune juice with breakfast.
Dying on the Waitlist | by David Armstrong and Marshall Allen | February 18, 2021 | ProPublica
In fact, he only encountered one paella master who used the pruned branches as cooking fuel.
These oranges are for a lot more than juicing | By Carlos C. Olaechea/Saveur | February 15, 2021 | Popular-Science
You’ve spent the day pruning bushes, cutting branches, and trimming hedges, and now you’re left with a huge pile of lawn waste.
Wood chippers to keep your property looking great | PopSci Commerce Team | February 9, 2021 | Popular-Science
Every year researchers prune the catalog of who is missing and who is dead.
Is It Too Late for the Southern Resident Orcas? | Catherine DeNardo | February 3, 2021 | Outside Online
Larry grew a full beard, but that was a smidge too country—“I looked like an Oak Ridge Boy”—so he pruned it down into a goatee.
What Does a Goatee Say About You? | Bryan Curtis | November 12, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST

But here vegetation is so luxuriant, that even the pruned and grafted tree springs up like the native of the forest.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil | Maria Graham
He stretched out a hand and there before our eyes the handkerchief hung limp over the pruned top of a standard rose.
Jaffery | William J. Locke
Having pruned it roughly, he placed the butt end in warm ashes, night after night, to season.
McClure's Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 2, July, 1893 | Various
For this Siena was lopped like a lily on her hills, and Lucca pruned like her own olive trees, and Pistoia gathered in the plain.
Florence and Northern Tuscany with Genoa | Edward Hutton
They had been allowed to grow like weeds as far as their imagination was concerned, and she had been religiously pruned.
The Butterfly House | Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

British Dictionary definitions for prune (1 of 3)

prune¹

/ (pruːn) /

noun

a purplish-black partially dried fruit of any of several varieties of plum tree
slang, mainly British a dull, uninteresting, or foolish person

Origin of prune

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

British Dictionary definitions for prune (2 of 3)

prune²

/ (pruːn) /

verb

to remove (dead or superfluous twigs, branches, etc) from (a tree, shrub, etc), esp by cutting off
to remove (anything undesirable or superfluous) from (a book, etc)

Origin of prune

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

Derived forms of prune

prunable, adjective
pruner, noun

British Dictionary definitions for prune (3 of 3)

prune³

/ (pruːn) /

verb

an archaic word for preen 1

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with prune

prune

see full of beans, def. 2.

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