Prussian
[pruhsh-uh n]
- of or relating to Prussia or its inhabitants.
- characterized by, exemplifying, or resembling Prussianism.
Show More
- a native or inhabitant of Prussia.
- (originally) one of a Lettic people formerly inhabiting territory along and near the coast at the southeastern corner of the Baltic Sea.
- a Baltic language formerly spoken in Prussia; Old Prussian. Abbreviation: Pruss
Show More
Origin of Prussian
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for prussian
Contemporary Examples
The whole purpose was to create this idea that there was this Prussian juggernaut.
How The Cold War Endgame Played Out In The Rubble Of The Berlin WallWilliam O’Connor
November 9, 2014
Supposedly, he and his troops drank it after defeating the Prussian army in 1809.
Prussian militarism was unlovely, to be sure, but the Kaiser was no Führer.
They contained photographs and portraits of all the military leaders of the Prussian state from the Soldier King to Hitler.
Historical Examples
He it was who had put into the hands of Prussian soldiers the weapon that won Kniggrtz.
Camps, Quarters and Casual PlacesArchibald Forbes
For the matter of that, the Prussian helmet makes the fact patent.
In the Heart of VosgesMatilda Betham-Edwards
I set off with all speed, and when I arrived there was a Prussian patrol at the cottage.
A Comedy of Marriage and Other TalesGuy De Maupassant
Now the Prussian staff had taken up its quarters in this farmhouse.
A Comedy of Marriage and Other TalesGuy De Maupassant
"Very good wine, I think," swore the Prussian, taking the bottle.
Vivian GreyEarl of Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli
Prussian
- of, relating to, or characteristic of Prussia or its people, esp of the Junkers and their formal military tradition
Show More
- a German native or inhabitant of Prussia
- a member of a Baltic people formerly inhabiting the coastal area of the SE Baltic
- See Old Prussian
Show More
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 prussian
Prussian
1550s (n.), 1560s (adj.), from Prussia + -an. Prussian blue pigment (1724) came to English from French bleu de Prusse, so called for being discovered in Berlin, the Prussian capital.
All in all, it seems that Prussian blue was synthesised for the first time around 1706 by the Swiss immigrant Johann Jacob Diesbach in Berlin. [Jens Bartoll and Bärbel Jackisch, "Prussian Blue: A Chronology of the Early Years," "Zeitschrift für Kunsttechnologie und Konservierung" 24, No. 1, 2010]
Early German sources refer to it as Preußisches Ultra-Marin and berliner blau. Prussic acid (1790), is from French acide prussique, so called in reference to prussian blue pigment, to which it is chemically related.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper