Part 614

A greater prostration of reason than of body.

Shak.

3. The condition of being prostrate; great depression; lowness; dejection; as, a postration of spirits. "A sudden prostration of strength." Arbuthnot.

4. (Med.) A latent, not an exhausted, state of the vital energies; great oppression of natural strength and vigor.

Prostration, in its medical use, is analogous to the state of a spring lying under such a weight that it is incapable of action; while exhaustion is analogous to the state of a spring deprived of its elastic powers. The word, however, is often used to denote any great depression of the vital powers.

Pro"style (?), a. [L. prostylus, Gr. &?;; &?; before + &?; pillar, column: cf. F. prostyle.] (Arch.) Having columns in front. -- n. A prostyle portico or building.

Pros"y (?), a. [Compar. Prosier (?); superl. Prosiest.]

1. Of or pertaining to prose; like prose.

2. Dull and tedious in discourse or writing; prosaic.

Pro*sy"lo*gism (?), n. [Pref. pro- + syllogism.] (Logic) A syllogism preliminary or logically essential to another syllogism; the conclusion of such a syllogism, which becomes a premise of the following syllogism.

Pro*tac"tic (?), a. [Gr. &?; placing or placed before, fr. &?; to place in front; &?; before + &?; to arrange.] Giving a previous narrative or explanation, as of the plot or personages of a play; introductory.

Pro"ta*gon (?), n. [Proto- + Gr. &?; a contest. See. Protagonist. So called because it was the first definitely ascertained principle of the brain.] (Physiol. Chem.) A nitrogenous phosphorized principle found in brain tissue. By decomposition it yields neurine, fatty acids, and other bodies.

Pro*tag"o*nist (?), n. [Gr. &?;; prw^tos first + &?; an actor, combatant, fr. &?; a contest.] One who takes the leading part in a drama; hence, one who takes lead in some great scene, enterprise, conflict, or the like.

Shakespeare, the protagonist on the great of modern poetry.

De Quincey.

Pro"ta*min (?), n. [Gr. prw^tos first.] (Physiol. Chem.) An amorphous nitrogenous substance found in the spermatic fluid of salmon. It is soluble in water, which an alkaline reaction, and unites with acids and metallic bases.

Pro*tan"dric (?), a. [Proto- + Gr. &?;, &?;, a man.] (Zoˆl.) Having male sexual organs while young, and female organs later in life. -- Pro*tan"trism (#), n.

Pro*tan"drous (?), a. (Bot.) Proterandrous.

||Prot"a*sis (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to stretch before, ||forward; &?; before + &?; to stretch.] 1. A proposition; a maxim. ||Johnson.

2. (Gram.) The introductory or subordinate member of a sentence, generally of a conditional sentence; -- opposed to apodosis. See Apodosis.

3. The first part of a drama, of a poem, or the like; the introduction; opposed to epitasis. B. Jonson.

Pro*tat"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?;: cf. L. protaticus, F. protatique.] Of or pertaining to the protasis of an ancient play; introductory.

Pro`te*a"ceous (?), a. [From Proteus.] (Bot.) Of or pertaining to the ProteaceÊ, an order of apetalous evergreen shrubs, mostly natives of the Cape of Good Hope or of Australia.

Pro"te*an (?), a. 1. Of or pertaining to Proteus; characteristic of Proteus. " Protean transformations." Cudworth.

2. Exceedingly variable; readily assuming different shapes or forms; as, an amúba is a protean animalcule.

Pro"te*an*ly, adv. In a protean manner. Cudworth.

Pro*tect" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Protected; p. pr. & vb. n. Protecting.] [L. protectus, p. p. of protegere, literally, to cover in front; pro before + tegere to cover. See Tegument.] To cover or shield from danger or injury; to defend; to guard; to preserve in safety; as, a father protects his children.

The gods of Greece protect you!