Part 636

Watch thou and wake when others be asleep, To pry into the secrets of the state.

Shak.

Pry, n. Curious inspection; impertinent peeping.

Pry"an (?), n. (Mining) See Prian.

Pry"ing, a. Inspecting closely or impertinently.

Syn. -- Inquisitive; curious. See Inquisitive.

Pry"ing*ly, adv. In a prying manner.

||Pryt`a*ne"um (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;, fr. &?; prytanis.] (Gr. ||Antiq.) A public building in certain Greek cities; especially, a ||public hall in Athens regarded as the home of the community, in which ||official hospitality was extended to distinguished citizens and ||strangers.

||Pryt"a*nis (?), n.; pl. Prytanes (#). [L., fr. Gr. &?;.] (Gr. Antiq.) ||A member of one of the ten sections into which the Athenian senate of ||five hundred was divided, and to each of which belonged the ||presidency of the senate for about one tenth of the year.

Pryt"a*ny (?), n. [Gr. &?;.] (Gr. Antiq.) The period during which the presidency of the senate belonged to the prytanes of the section.

Pryth"ee (?), interj. See Prithee.

Psalm (?), n. [OE. psalm, salm, AS. sealm, L. psalmus, psalma, fr. Gr. &?;, &?;, fr. &?; to pull, twitch, to play upon a stringed instrument, to sing to the harp: cf. OF. psalme, salme, F. psaume.] 1. A sacred song; a poetical composition for use in the praise or worship of God.

Humus devout and holy psalms Singing everlastingly.

Milton.

2. Especially, one of the hymns by David and others, collected into one book of the Old Testament, or a modern metrical version of such a hymn for public worship.

Psalm, v. t. To extol in psalms; to sing; as, psalming his praises. Sylvester.

Psalm"ist (?), n. [L. psalmista, Gr. &?;: cf. F. psalmiste. See Psalm.] 1. A writer or composer of sacred songs; -- a title particularly applied to David and the other authors of the Scriptural psalms.

2. (R. C. Ch.) A clerk, precentor, singer, or leader of music, in the church.

Psalm"ist*ry (?), n. The use of psalms in devotion; psalmody.

{ Psal*mod"ic (?), Psal*mod"ic*al (?), } a. [Cf. F. psalmodique.] Relating to psalmody.

Psal"mo*dist (?), n. One who sings sacred songs; a psalmist.

Psal"mo*dize (?), v. i. To practice psalmody. " The psalmodizing art." J. G. Cooper.

Psal"mo*dy (?), n. [Gr. &?;; &?; psalm + &?; a song, an ode: cf. F. psalmodie, LL. psalmodia. See Psalm, and Ode.] The act, practice, or art of singing psalms or sacred songs; also, psalms collectively, or a collection of psalms.

Psal"mo*graph (?), n. [See Psalmographer.] A writer of psalms; a psalmographer.

{ Psal*mog"ra*pher (?), Psal*mog"ra*phist (?), } n. [L. psalmographus, Gr. &?;; &?; a psalm + &?; to write.] A writer of psalms, or sacred songs and hymns.

Psal*mog"ra*phy (?), n. [Cf. F. psalmographie.] The act or practice of writing psalms, or sacred songs.

Psal"ter (?), n. [OE. psauter, sauter, OF. sautier, psaltier, F. psautier, from L. psalterium. See Psaltery.] 1. The Book of Psalms; -- often applied to a book containing the Psalms separately printed.

2. Specifically, the Book of Psalms as printed in the Book of Common Prayer; among the Roman Catholics, the part of the Breviary which contains the Psalms arranged for each day of the week.