prod
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Etymology 1
Alteration of earlier brod (perhaps through influence of poke; compare prog), from Middle English brodden (“to goad, incite, urge; to sprout”), from brod (“goad, nail; shoot, sprout”), from Old Norse broddr (“shaft, spike, thorn”), from Proto-Germanic *bruzdaz. Cognate with Icelandic broddur, Danish brod. Doublet of brad.[1] Or, from or influenced by sound symbolism.[2]
Pronunciation
Verb
prod (third-person singular simple present prods, present participle prodding, simple past and past participle prodded)
- (transitive) To poke, to push, to touch.
- (transitive, informal) To encourage, to prompt.
- 2012 January, Michael Riordan, “Tackling Infinity”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 30 April 2013, page 86:
- Some of the most beautiful and thus appealing physical theories, including quantum electrodynamics and quantum gravity, have been dogged for decades by infinities that erupt when theorists try to prod their calculations into new domains. Getting rid of these nagging infinities has probably occupied far more effort than was spent in originating the theories.
- (transitive) To prick with a goad.
Translations
to poke
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to encourage
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Noun
prod (plural prods)
- A device (now often electrical) used to goad livestock into moving.
- A prick or stab with such a pointed instrument.
- A poke.
- "It's your turn," she reminded me, giving me a prod on the shoulder.
- A light kind of crossbow; a prodd.
- 1983, Popular Mechanics:
- The 125-pound prod (bow) drives bolt at 250 feet per second.
Derived terms
Translations
device used to goad livestock into moving
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Further reading
Cattle prod on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
References
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “prod”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
Etymology 2
Shortened from production.
Noun
prod (countable and uncountable, plural prods)
- (programming, slang, uncountable) Short for production (“the live environment”).
- We've hit ten million users in prod today.
- (demoscene, slang, countable) A production; a created work.
- Check our BBS for the latest prods.
Etymology 3
Noun
prod (plural prods)
- (Ireland, UK, slang, sometimes derogatory) Alternative letter-case form of Prod.