prest

See also: Prest

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛst
• IPA^(key): /prɛst/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Etymology 1

Verb

prest

1. (archaic) simple past and past participle of press
   • 1850, Lydia Sigourney, Return to Native Land from Poems for the Sea, page 80:

     And when loftier mansions prest/Lure of pleasure on their guest

Etymology 2

From Middle English prest, from Old French prest.

Noun

prest (plural prests)

1. (rare) A payment of wages in advance
2. A loan or advance (of money)
   • 1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban [i.e. Francis Bacon], The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret, →OCLC:

     Requiring of the city a prest of six thousand marks.

3. A tax or duty
4. (obsolete) A sum of money paid to a soldier or sailor upon enlistment
5. (law) A duty in money formerly paid by the sheriff on his account in the exchequer, or for money left or remaining in his hands.
   • 1548, King Edward VI, Act 2:

     the same tayles soe hereafter there to be levyed and striken, shalbe delyvered unto everye of the same Sheriffes […] without prest or other chardge to be sett upon them for the same.

Derived terms

• prest money

Etymology 3

From Middle English prest, borrowed from Old French prester, from Latin praesto, praestare.

Verb

prest (third-person singular simple present prests, present participle presting, simple past and past participle prested)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To give as a loan; to lend.
   • 1550, Edward Hall, Chronicle:

     a greate part of our armie already prested, and in our wages to go forward

Adjective

prest (comparative more prest, superlative most prest)

1. (obsolete) Ready; prompt; prepared.
2. (obsolete) Neat; tidy; proper.
   • 1557 February 13 (Gregorian calendar), Thomas Tusser, A Hundreth Good Pointes of Husbandrie, London: […] Richard Tottel, →OCLC; republished London: […] Robert Triphook, […], and William Sancho, […], 1810, →OCLC:

     False knave ready prest,
     All safe is the best

3. (obsolete) Quick, brisk.
   • c. 1503–1512, John Skelton, Ware the Hauke; republished in John Scattergood, editor, John Skelton: The Complete English Poems, 1983, →OCLC, page 63, lines 71–74:

     The fauconer then was prest,
     Came runnynge with a dow,
     And cryed, ‘Stow, stow, stow!’
     But she wold not bow.

References

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “prest, adj., adv.”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.
• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “prest, pp.”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.
• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “prest, v.”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.
• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “prest, v.”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.
• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “prest, v.”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

Anagrams

• 'terps, terps, perst, strep, perts, TrEPS, Terps

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Late Latin praestus, from the Latin adverb praestō. Compare French prêt, Italian and Spanish presto.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈpɾɛst]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈpɾəst]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈpɾest]

Adverb

prest

1. soon

   Synonym: aviat

Adjective

prest (feminine presta, masculine plural prests or prestos, feminine plural prestes)

1. quick

   Synonyms: prompte, ràpid

2. ready

   Synonyms: disposat, preparat

Further reading

• “prest”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “prest”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “prest” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “prest” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Icelandic

Noun

prest

1. indefinite accusative singular of prestur

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old French prest.

Alternative forms

• preste

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /prɛːst/, /prɛst/
• Rhymes: -ɛːst, -ɛst

Noun

prest (plural prests)

1. loan, borrowing
2. tax, fee, levy
3. advance payment

Descendants

• English: prest

References

• “prē̆st, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2 April 2018.
• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “prest, n.”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

Etymology 2

From Old English prēost, from Late Latin presbyter, from Ancient Greek πρεσβύτερος (presbúteros).

Alternative forms

• preest, preost, prist
• prost, proest (Early Middle English); preeste, preste, preyst, priest, pryste (Late Middle English)
• preist (Northern); pruest, prust (south West Midland)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /preːst/
• IPA^(key): /prøːst/ (West Midland)

Noun

prest (plural prestes)

1. A member of the Christian clergy:
   1. A parish priest (subordinate to a bishop)
2. A non-Christian priest or religious head.

Declension

Declension of prest

	singular	plural
(nominative/accusative)	prest	prestes
genitive	prestes	prestes, prestene
dative	preste1	—

¹Optional; mostly fossilised after Early Middle English.

Derived terms

• parissh prest
• presthode
• prestly

Descendants

• English: priest
• Scots: preest, priest
• Yola: priesth, vrieste

References

• “prẹ̄st, n.(3).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2 April 2018.
• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “prest, n.”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

Etymology 3

From Old French prest, a form of prés, from Latin pressus.

Alternative forms

• prist, preist, preste, pyrst

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /prɛst/
• Rhymes: -ɛst

Adjective

prest

1. willing, enthusiastic
3. prompt, alert, attentive
4. ready, set up, useable
   • c. 13th century, Robert of Gloucester, Chronicles

     He sende word , þat al prest to such batayle he was

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

5. bold, daring
6. nearby, close

Derived terms

• prestly

Descendants

• English: prest (obsolete)

References

• “prest, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2 April 2018.

Adverb

prest

1. quickly, speedily, hastily
2. enthusiastically, readily
3. totally

References

• “prest, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2 April 2018.

Middle French

Noun

prest m (plural prests)

1. loan

Related terms

• prester (verb)

Descendants

• French: prêt

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

prest m (definite singular presten, indefinite plural prester, definite plural prestene)

1. a priest, minister (etc.)

Derived terms

• feltprest
• jesuittprest
• prestebolig
• prestegard
• prestegjeld
• prestegård
• presteskap
• prestinne
• sjømannsprest
• sogneprest

References

• “prest” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

prest m (definite singular presten, indefinite plural prestar, definite plural prestane)

1. a priest, minister (etc.)

Derived terms

• feltprest
• jesuittprest
• prestegard
• prestegjeld
• presteskap
• prestinne
• sjømannsprest

References

• “prest” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old French

Noun

prest oblique singular, m (oblique plural prez or pretz, nominative singular prez or pretz, nominative plural prest)

1. loan
2. monetary gift

References

• prest on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub

Old Norse

Noun

prest

1. indefinite accusative singular of prestr

Swedish

Noun

prest ?

1. obsolete spelling of präst