Part 501

Pres"by*ter*y (?), n.; pl. Presbyteries (#). [L. presbyterium, Gr. &?;. See Presbyter, and cf. Presbyterium.]

1. A body of elders in the early Christian church.

2. (Presbyterian Ch.) A judicatory consisting of all the ministers within a certain district, and one layman, who is a ruling elder, from each parish or church, commissioned to represent the church in conjunction with the pastor. This body has a general jurisdiction over the churches under its care, and next below the provincial synod in authority.

3. The Presbyterian religion of polity. [R.] Tatler.

4. (a) (Arch.) That part of the church reserved for the officiating priest. (b) The residence of a priest or clergyman. Gwilt.

||Pres*byt"i*a (?), n. [NL. See Presbyte.] (Med.) Presbyopia.

Pres*byt"ic (?), a. (Med.) Same as Presbyopic.

Pres"byt*ism (?), n. Presbyopia.

||Pre*scap"u*la (?), n. [NL.] (Anat.) The part of the scapula in front ||of, or above, the spine, or mesoscapula.

Pre*scap"u*lar (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the prescapula; supraspinous.

Pre"sci*ence (pr"sh*ens or - shens; 277), n. [F. prescience, L. praescientia. See Prescient.] Knowledge of events before they take place; foresight.

God's certain prescience of the volitions of moral agents.

J. Edwards.

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Pre"sci*ent (pr"sh*ent or - shent), a. [L. praesciens, - entis, p. pr. of praescire to foreknow; prae before + scire to know: cf. F. prescient. See Science.] Having knowledge of coming events; foreseeing; conscious beforehand. Pope.

Henry . . . had shown himself sensible, and almost prescient, of this event.

Bacon.

Pre"sci*ent*ly, adv. With prescience or foresight.

Pre*scind" (pr*snd"), v. t. [L. praescindere to cut off in front; prae before + scindere to cut asunder: cf. F. prescinder.]

1. To cut off; to abstract. [Obs.] Norris.

2. (Metaph.) To consider by a separate act of attention or analysis. Sir W. Hamilton.

Pre*scind"ent (?), a. [L. praescius; prae before + scius knowing, fr. scire to know.] Cutting off; abstracting. [R.] Cheyne.

Pre"scious (pr"shs), a. [L. praescius; prae before + scius knowing, fr. scire to know.] Foreknowing; having foreknowledge; as, prescious of ills. [R.] Dryden.

Pre*scribe" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Prescribed (?); p. pr & vb. n. Prescribing.] [L. praescribere, praescriptum; prae before + scriebe to write. See Scribe.]

1. To lay down authoritatively as a guide, direction, or rule of action; to impose as a peremptory order; to dictate; to appoint; to direct.

Prescribe not us our duties.

Shak.

Let streams prescribe their fountains where to run.