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2. To deserve; to procure by merit. [Obs.] Davenant.

||Prom"e*rops (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; before + &?; bee-eater.] ||(Zoˆl.) Any one of several species of very brilliant birds belonging ||to Promerops, Epimarchus, and allied genera, closely related to the ||paradise birds, and mostly native of New Guinea. They have a long ||curved beak and a long graduated tail.

||Pro*me"the*a (?), n. [NL. See Prometheus.] (Zoˆl.) A large American ||bombycid moth (Callosamia promethea). Its larva feeds on the ||sassafras, wild cherry, and other trees, and suspends its cocoon from ||a branch by a silken band.

Pro*me"the*an (?), a. [L. Prometh&?;us: cf. F. promÈthÈen.]

1. Of or pertaining to Prometheus. See Prometheus. "Promethean fire." Shak.

2. Having a life-giving quality; inspiring.

Pro*me"the*an (?), n. (Old Chem.) (a) An apparatus for automatic ignition. (b) A kind of lucifer match.

Pro*me"the*us (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;, from &?; to have forethought for.] (Class. Myth.) The son of Iapetus (one of the Titans) and Clymene, fabled by the poets to have surpassed all mankind in knowledge, and to have formed men of clay to whom he gave life by means of fire stolen from heaven. Jupiter, being angry at this, sent Mercury to bind Prometheus to Mount Caucasus, where a vulture preyed upon his liver.

{ Prom"i*nence (?), Prom"i*nen*cy (?), } n. [L. prominentia: cf. F. prominence. See Prominent. ]

1. The quality or state of being prominent; a standing out from something; conspicuousness.

2. That which is prominent; a protuberance.

Solar prominences. (Astron.) See Solar Protuberances, under Protuberance.

Prom"i*nent (?), a. [L. prominens, -entis, p. pr. of prominere to jut out, to project; pro before, forward + minere (in comp.) to jut, project: cf. F. prominent. See Imminent, Eminent.]

1. Standing out, or projecting, beyond the line surface of something; jutting; protuberant; in high relief; as, a prominent figure on a vase.

2. Hence; Distinctly manifest; likely to attract attention from its size or position; conspicuous; as, a prominent feature of the face; a prominent building.

3. Eminent; distinguished above others; as, a prominent character.

Prominent' moth (Zoˆl.), any moth of the family NotodontidÊ; a notodontian; -- so called because the larva has a hump or prominence on its back. Several of the species are injurious to fruit trees.

Prom"i*nent*ly, adv. In a prominent manner.

Pro`mis*cu"i*ty (?), n. Promiscuousness; confusion. H. Spencer.

Pro*mis"cu*ous (?), a. [L. promiscuus; pro before, in place of, for + miscere to mix. See Mix. ]

1. Consisting of individuals united in a body or mass without order; mingled; confused; undistinguished; as, a promiscuous crowd or mass.

A wild, where weeds and flowers promiscuous shoot.

Pope.

2. Distributed or applied without order or discrimination; not restricted to an individual; common; indiscriminate; as, promiscuous love or intercourse.

Pro*mis"cu*ous*ly, adv. In a promiscuous manner.

Pro*mis"cu*ous*ness, n. The quality or state of being promiscuous.

Prom"ise (?), a. [F. promesse, L. promissum, fr. promittere, promissum, to put forth, foretell, promise; pro forward, for + mittere to send. See Mission. ]

1. In general, a declaration, written or verbal, made by one person to another, which binds the person who makes it to do, or to forbear to do, a specified act; a declaration which gives to the person to whom it is made a right to expect or to claim the performance or forbearance of a specified act.