| 释义 |
▪ I. prop, n.1|prɒp|
Also 5–6 proppe.
[Not known before 1440; = MDu. and early mod.Du. proppe a vine-prop, a support (‘pedamen, fulcimentum, fulcrum, sustentaculum’ Kilian); ulterior history uncertain. Wedgwood compares ‘Piedmontese broba, bropa, a vine-prop, Wallachian proptea a prop, propte to prop, lean on’. Irish propa, Gael. prop are from English.
MDu. proppe is in form identical with, and by Kilian treated as the same word as, proppe ‘une broche de fer’ (Plantin), ‘obturamentum oblongum, veruculum’ (Kilian), mod.Du. prop, MLG. proppe, LG. propp, Da. prop, Sw. propp, Ger. pfropf, -en a plug, stopper, stopple, bung; but the connexion of sense is not clear. The same is true of MDu. and early mod.Du. proppen to prop, stay, bear up, compared with Du. proppen to cram, stuff full, fill up, MLG. and LG. proppen, Ger. pfropfen, Da. proppe, Sw. proppa. With this latter group cf. also OHG. pfroffo, pfropfo a sucker, slip, shoot, and Ger. propfen to graft, which are referred to L. propāgo a set, layer, slip, or shoot. It is thus certain that prop n. and vb. have cognates in Dutch; but the connexion of the two Du. words for ‘prop’ and ‘plug’, and of the latter of these with the Ger. word for ‘graft’ is uncertain. See Franck and Kluge. Cf. prop n.2]
1. a. A stick, rod, pole, stake, beam, or other rigid support, used to sustain an incumbent weight; esp. when such an appliance is auxiliary, or does not form a structural part of the thing supported. Often in comb. as clothes-prop.
c1440Promp. Parv. 415/1 Proppe, longe (S. staffe), contus. 1483Cath. Angl. 292/2 A Prope (A. Proppe), ceruus, destina.., fulcimen, fulcimentum. 1530Palsgr. 259/1 Proppe to underset any thyng, estaye. 1535Coverdale 1 Kings vii. 34 The foure proppes vpon the foure corners of euery seate were harde on the seate. 1555Eden Decades 226 Theyr houses are..buylded aboue the grownde vppon proppes & pyles. 1573–80Baret Alv. P 784 The vine must be set vp with props. c1623in Swayne Sarum Churchw. Acc. (1896) 177 To make A proppe to supporte the Roofe. 1645in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. iv. 636 The propps and standerdes upon which the Town Hall did stand. 1785Martyn Rousseau's Bot. xxxi. (1794) 484 What he [Linnæus] calls Fulcra, props or supports of the plant. 1870Bryant Iliad II. xiii. 8 Mighty rains Have worn away the props that held it fast.
b. spec. in Coal-mining: A piece of timber set upright to support the roof or keep up the strata. (Also pit-prop.)
1756–7tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) IV. 236 A fragment of a prop of fir, which had been used in a shaft in the forest of Hartz. 1851Greenwell Coal-trade Terms Northumb. & Durh. 40 Prop, a piece of wood, cut 2½ or 3 inches shorter than the thickness of the seam of coal, and set upright beneath the end of a crowntree, or under a headtree, for the support of the roof. 1857J. Stewart Sk. Sc. Charac. 91 Cut up in lengths for coal-pit praps. 1885Law Times LXXIX. 176/1 Timber props for regulating the ventilation.
c. In a vehicle: see quot. 1875.
1875Knight Dict. Mech., Prop.., a stem fastened to the carriage bow for the attachment of the stretcher-piece, known as the prop-joint, and upon which the bows rest when down.
d. pl. Entom. See quot. 1826.
1826Kirby & Sp. Entomol. IV. 353 Prop (Ereisma), a bipartite retractile glutinous organ exerted from between the legs of the genus Sminthurus Latr., and employed by the animal to support itself when its legs fail it.
e. dial. or slang. The leg; also, the arm extended in boxing; hence, a straight hit. (Usu. in pl.)
1793Carlop Green ii. xxvii, Wi' his stiff shank..As thick again 's his soople prop. 1828Craven Gloss. (ed. 2), Props, legs. 1869Temple Bar Mag. XXVI. 74 You take off your coat and put up your ‘props’ to him. 1887Lic. Vict. Gaz. 2 Dec. 358/3 Ned met each rush of his enemy with straight props. 1891Sportsman 20 Apr. 3/2 There are those..who assert that with such ‘props’ he will never successfully negociate the Epsom gradients.
f. fig. Any person or thing that serves as a support or stay; esp. one who upholds some institution.
1571Golding Calvin on Ps. xxxvii. 17 To leane unto the prop of God's blessing. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. ii. ii. 70 The boy was the verie staffe of my age, my verie prop. 1650T. Hubbert Pill Formality 41 The wicked prophane Priest was a prop to the Bishops Kingdom. 1766Fordyce Serm. Yng. Wom. (1767) I. i. 15 You shall live to be the prop..of her age. 1849Robertson Serm. Ser. i. xii. (1866) 211 He needs no props..to support his faith.
g. Rugby Football. One of two outside front-row forwards who support the hooker in a scrummage.
1950B. H. Travers Let's talk Rugger iii. 50 In a 3-4-1 scrum the wing forwards have to push the front-row props towards the hooker all the time. 1959Sunday Times 15 Mar. 40/7 Later in the half, Wood the Irish prop, was hauled back for a five-yard scrum when many people thought he had forced his way over for a try. 1960E. S. & W. J. Higham High Speed Rugby 154 In order to achieve a well-balanced and fairly comfortable scrum, it is desirable to pair off the two props and the two locks so that they are, as nearly as possible, of the same length of body and the same length of leg. 1971[see lock n.2 11 c]. 1977Western Morning News 1 Sept. 10/7 Perhaps the most significant move, however, is the inclusion of Nigel Redgrave, another to rejoin Albion..at loose head prop.
†2.
a. A pole or stake, e.g. a boundary stake: cf. prop v.1 3. Also
b. A butt for shooting at.
1456Reg. Aberbrothoc (Bann. Cl.) II. 89 The sowthe syde of the myre sal ly in commoun pasture..as the proppis ar sett fra the est to the west apon the northe syde throuout the myre linialy... And frae the west cors sowthe as it is proppit.
b.1496Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 273 Giffin to the King himself to schute at the prop with James Mersar,..x s. 1503Ibid. II. 401 Item, in Strethbogy, to the King to play at the prop, ij s. iiij. d. 1505–6Ibid. III. 179 Item, to the King quhilk he tynt at the prop with George Campbell, vj Franch crownis.
3. [f. prop v.1 4.] A sudden stop made by a horse when going at speed. Australian.
1881A. C. Grant Bush Life Queensland I. xiv. 201 A sudden fierce prop, and Roaney has shot behind Sam's horse. 1884‘R. Boldrewood’ Melbourne Mem. xvi. 115 The ‘touchy’ mare gave so sudden a ‘prop’, accompanied by a desperate plunge, that he was thrown.
4. attrib. and Comb., as prop-iron, prop-wood; prop-crib, -joint, -maul, -stay: see quots.; prop-foot, -leg (of a caterpillar) = pro-leg; prop forward Rugby Football, = sense 1 g above; prop-free front Coal-mining (see quot. 1967); prop-man, a man who places and attends to the props in a coal-mine; prop-root [tr. G. stützwurzel (K. Goebel Organographie der Pflanzen (1901) II. 479)], a root springing from the base of a plant above ground level, providing extra support; prop-word (see quot. 1892).
1881Raymond Mining Gloss., *Prop-crib timbering, shaft timbering with cribs kept at the proper distance apart by means of props.
1890J. P. Ballard Among Moths & Butterfl. 88 The hinder *prop-feet were a dark brown.
1951Sport 30 Mar.–5 Apr. 6/3 The greatest surprise of the whole 26 is the omission of Bill Hopper, the young Leeds *prop forward. 1978Rugby World Apr. 33/2 Mayer belonged to a by-gone age in that, despite his size, he always was scrupulously fair on the field, and the revolution in prop-forward scrummage techniques over the past few years, to some extent, passed him by.
1956F. S. Atkinson in D. L. Linton Sheffield xiv. 270 Much pioneer work has been done in the coalfield to the north⁓east of Sheffield and in Nottinghamshire to develop a new method of mining at the coalface, known as the ‘*prop-free front’ system. With this method a strong, flexible scraper-chain conveyor, called an armoured conveyor, is installed in the space between the nearest roof supports and the face of coal being worked... To maintain intact the roof between the vertical supports and the wall of coal, cantilever bars are used which are supported by the props behind the conveyor. 1967Gloss. Mining Terms (B.S.I.) xi. 11 Prop-free front, a system of supports in a longwall face in which props are not normally set between the conveyor and the coal. The roof above and in advance of the conveyor is supported by cantilever bars set on props on the goaf side of the conveyor.
1895Westm. Gaz. 29 Mar. 2/1 Step and *prop-iron, bolt and screw.
1875Knight Dict. Mech., *Prop-joint.., the jointed bar which spreads the bows of a calash-top.
1869Packard Guide Stud. Insects (1872) 21 These ‘false’ or ‘*prop-legs’ are soft and fleshy, and without articulations. 1880Libr. Univ. Knowl. (U.S.) III. 388 The [canker-worm] has six legs forward, and four stout prop-legs behind.
1888Times 27 Sept. 3/3, 30 men, chiefly *propmen, continued to descend into the pit to keep the workings open and in repair.
1851Greenwell Coal-trade Terms Northumb. & Durh. 40 *Prop-maul, an iron maul, with a handle 3 feet long, used by the deputies in drawing props.
1905I. B. Balfour tr. Goebel's Organogr. Plants II. 277 A series of transitions..leads us from the soil-roots to those which spring from the base of the stem of many Monocotyledones, and which soon entering the soil serve as *prop-roots. 1938Fritsch & Salisbury Plant Form & Function x. 109 These prop-roots serve the purpose of augmenting the somewhat feeble primary root-system. 1953K. Esau Plant Anat. xvii. 474 Others [sc. roots] serve mainly as supporting organs, such as the prop roots in the mangrove plants and, on a smaller scale, in the grasses and sedges. 1976Norstog & Long Plant Biol. vi. 165 A conspicuous feature of the majority of the trees [of the tropical rain forest]..is their smooth, thin, lichen-covered bark and their flaring buttresses or, in the case of some smaller trees, stilt-like prop roots.
1875Knight Dict. Mech., *Prop-stay, a transverse water-tube crossing a boiler-flue..increasing the flue-surface by the exposure of its exterior surface to the heated current.
1839Ure Dict. Arts 978 Columns of *prop-wood are erected betwixt the pavement and the roof.
1892H. Sweet New Eng. Gram. I. 66 Another way of using the adjective without its noun in English is to substitute the unmeaning noun-pronoun one for the noun, the inflection of the noun being transferred to the *prop-word, as we may call it. 1914O. Jespersen Mod. Eng. Gram. II. 248 The reason why the word one has been chosen to fulfil the role of a prop-word is chiefly to be sought in the frequent and quite natural use of one (by itself) to take the place of a substantive just mentioned. 1934Language X. 370 We call drinking in one employment a participle, in another a gerund, one now a numeral, now a prop-word, now a pronoun. 1965Eng. Stud. XLVI. 59 A careful survey of the propword ‘one’ question.
▪ II. prop, n.2|prɒp|
[= MDu. proppe, Du. prop broach, skewer, plug, stopple. As to etym., see prec.]
†1. A plug; a wedge. Sc. Obs. rare. Cf. prop v.2
1513Douglas æneis xi. iii. 86 The mekill syllis of the warryn tre Wyth wedgis and with proppis bene devyd.
2. a. A scarf-pin. Thieves' Cant, Slang.
(App. a slang application of ‘broach’, ‘skewer’.)
1850Dickens Artful Touch in Repr. Pieces (1866) 210 In his shirt-front there's a beautiful diamond prop,..a very handsome pin indeed. 1891Sporting Times 11 Apr. 1/2 He is proudest..of the pin,..presented to him by the Heir to the Throne... John was wearing this prop in the Paddock at Epsom.
b. A diamond; a valuable piece of jewellery. Criminals' slang.
1914Jackson & Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 66 Prop... General circulation amongst pickpockets and looters. A diamond stud originally, now comprehending diamonds in any sense... Example: ‘Any heel gun can get a breech poke, but it takes an A1 claw to grab a prop.’ 1925Flynn's Mag. 7 Mar. 191 Prop, a large diamond. 1931[see groin n.2 4]. 1971S. Houghton Current Prison Slang (MS.) 17 Prop, nice piece of jewellery.
3. Comb. (all ? Obs.), as prop-getter, man, -nailer Criminals' slang, one who steals props (sense 2); a pickpocket.
1901‘J. Flynt’ World of Graft 220/2 Prop-getters, thieves who make a specialty of ‘lifting’ scarf-pins. 1931Police Jrnl. Oct. 505 A prop getter, a thief who steals scarf-pins. 1935Amer. Speech X. 19/2 Prop man, a pickpocket or snatcher who lifts stickpins containing valuable stones.
1862H. Mayhew London Labour Extra vol. 25 ‘Prop-nailers’, those who steal pins and brooches. 1886H. Baumann Londinismen 146/1 Prop-nailer.
▪ III. prop, n.3 colloq. or School slang.|prɒp|
Short for proposition n.
[1737Gentl. Mag. VII. 343/2 This Author shews by way of Corollary from the preceding Prop. that [etc.]. ]1871‘M. Legrand’ Cambr. Freshm. 212 To demonstrate the props of Euclid by cutting them out in note paper, and carefully piecing them together.
▪ IV. prop, n.4 U.S.
[Derivation unknown.]
Usually in pl. props: A name given to cowrie shells, used in a gambling game, and hence to the game itself, in vogue in New England chiefly from c 1830 to the beginning of the Civil War.
The convex backs of the shells were ground down, and the hollows thus made filled up flat with red sealing-wax. Four of the shells were shaken in the hand or in a box, and thrown after the manner of dice on a table, the stake being won or lost according to the number of white or red sides coming up. When two or four shells turned up alike, it was called a ‘nick’ and won; any other combination was an ‘out’ and lost. dead props were loaded shells used in cheating. Hence in Comb. prop-box, prop-house, prop-table.
1833W. J. Snelling Expose Gaming Massach. 11 We advanced to the prop table and held forth our hand for the props between two infamous blackguards. Ibid. 25 About fifty persons were shaking props... The Box eventually won the greater part of the money, by means of loaded props. 1868How Gamblers Win (N.Y.) 97 It is said that there is not a prop-house in the city of New York. Ibid. 99 The professional provides himself with what are called dead props, with which he can throw ‘nicks’ or ‘outs’ at pleasure. Ibid., A pastime so stupid and monotonous as Props. 1905Boston Even. Transcript 14 Jan., When I was a boy, knowing people said prop-au. But we boys scorned this.
▪ V. prop, n.5
Abbrev. of proprietor.
1880in W. Whitman Daybks. & Notebks. (1978) I. 157 Herman Beckurts—prop: Denver Tribune. 1913W. T. Rogers Dict. Abbrev. 157/1 Prop..., proprietor. 1956H. Gold Man who was not with It iii. xxviii. 264 The prop. on this busy corner was with it and for it. 1974A. Ross Bradford Business 15 A painted board..said Redlands Hotel—props. K. & G. Lyall. 1980Guardian 25 July 12/8 At Porters..(the Viscount Newport prop.—and head waiter on a busy Thursday evening).
▪ VI. prop, n.6 colloq.
[f. propeller.]
1. A propeller, esp. on an aircraft.
1914Flight 10 Jan. 43/2 He made a fine glide from 650ft., making a perfect landing with the ‘prop’ stationary. 1918E. M. Roberts Flying Fighter 239, I crashed into a hedge, smashed my prop to bits, and then the machine landed on its nose in the next field. 1931Daily Express 13 Oct. 15/3 A smiling young man jumped back from the roaring prop. 1935C. S. Forester Afr. Queen viii. 139 Must 'a' just 'it a rock with the tip of the prop. 1969G. Macbeth War Quartet 33 We ran, Clumsy in fleece and leather, to the field, Hearing the props whirl. 1974L. Deighton Spy Story xix. 202 The propellers came to a standstill... For a moment the sub became unstable... Then the props picked up speed.
2. attrib. and Comb.
a. Simple attrib., as prop swinger; in the sense ‘propeller-driven’, as prop bomber, prop plane, prop trainer.
1975New Yorker 8 Sept. 25/2 Man's most sophisticated machines of war were sent to hover..over the towns and villages of the Plain of Jars: light spotter planes at 2,000 feet; prop bombers, gunships, and flareships at 5,000 feet; [etc.].
1965J. V. Pacilio Discovering Aerospace 50 The aircraft engineer would say that a prop plane ‘loses its efficiency’ at this speed. 1973Black Panther 13 Oct. 14/2 All prop planes were.. supposed to land on Runway 31-Right.
1936F. Clune Roaming round Darling xiii. 117 The quartet of ‘prop swingers’ and ‘contracters’ departed hopefully for the aerodrome. 1974Daily Tel. (Colour Suppl.) 19 Apr. 15 They make jet trainers and prop trainers.
b. Special Combs.: prop-fan, (an aircraft engine incorporating) an airscrew having broad blades swept back from a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis; prop-jet = turboprop; prop-shaft, a propeller shaft, esp. of a motor vehicle; prop wash, a surge or wash of air created by the action of a propeller; also transf.
1970Metzger & Ganger Results of Initial Prop-Fan Model Acoustic Testing I (NASA N 71-25785) 1 In order to explore the low noise potential of a Prop-Fan as an aircraft propulsion system, a noise survey was conducted. Ibid. 3 The test item consisted of a 21-inch diameter, 12-bladed, manually adjustable pitch, shrouded Prop-Fan model with 22 fixed pitch recovering vanes. 1977Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts CXXV. 352/1 Propeller developments in the guise of so-called prop fans are being studied in the USA. Uninstalled performances as good as those for low pressure ratio fans are estimated at high subsonic speeds. 1977New Scientist 1 Dec. 567/1 The propfan..has eight thin, swept-back blades which allow it to turn at high speeds without encountering the compressibility problems associated with conventional propellers. Ibid. 567/2 On a flight from New York to Miami the propfan airliner would take several minutes less than its turbofan counterpart, because of reduced climb and descent times.
1946P. H. Wilkinson Aircraft Engines of World ii. 264 Most of the atmospheric jet engines now in production or under development for use in piloted aircraft are turbojets or propjets. 1963Engineering 1 Nov. 560/3 The Dart was the first propjet engine to go into commercial service. 1971Flying Apr. 2/1 (Advt.), The MU-2F and MU-2G outperform competitive prop-jets simply because they are the only propjets in their category designed to utilize a low-drag high-speed wing. 1972Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 5 Mar. 16/1 The pilot of a Mohawk Airlines propjet which crashed..apparently knew he would not make it to the airport runway.
1964C. Barber Ling. Change Present-Day Eng. iv. 87 Prop-shaft..‘propellor shaft’. 1965Listener 17 June 914/3 Telemetering devices which can measure the vibration in a wheel or a prop-shaft. 1976Drive Jan.–Feb. 78/1 Propshaft vibration is an occasional nuisance cured only by diligent garage detective work.
1941Amer. Speech XVI. 168/1 Prop wash, an expression of disbelief. (Air Corps.) 1944U.S. Air Services May 16/1 All we could feel was the breathing of tightly packed men..and the animal shudder of the glider as it swung into the prop wash and swung out again. 1958L. Wolff Low Level Mission 19 The prop-wash blasts of the four engines would interfere with other planes to the rear. 1977Observer 28 Aug. 21/4 The pilot climbed aboard... The diminutive figure..waved bravely in the prop-wash.
▪ VII. prop, n.7 Criminals' slang.
Abbrev. of property n. used in Comb., as prop game, the practice of defrauding householders into paying exorbitant prices for unnecessary house repairs; prop man, one who perpetrates such a fraud. (See also props n. pl.)
1966Evening Echo (Bournemouth) 20 Apr. 15/1 The ‘prop game’ appeared to be..unique to Leeds, something that has cropped up in the last two and a half years. 1966Guardian 13 Dec. 5/4 Gangs operating from Leeds are known as ‘the prop men’ because the racket began in Leeds when so-called property repairers made exorbitant charges after the gales of February, 1961. 1967N. Lucas CID viii. 97 The ‘prop game’..was a method by which men obtained money from old people by posing as officials.
▪ VIII. prop, v.1|prɒp|
Also 6 proppe.
[Known from 15th c.; app. directly f. prop n.1; cf. obs. Du. proppen ‘fulcire, suffulcire’ (Kilian), ‘to prop, stay or bear up’ (Hexham).]
1. a. trans. To support or keep from falling by or as by means of a prop; to hold up: said both of the prop or support itself and of the person who places it. Also with up.
1492–3[see propping vbl. n. 1]. 1538Elyot, Statumino, nare, to proppe vp, to vnderset, to make sure... Suffulcio..to proppe vp. 1582Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 51 Thee wheels wee prop with a number Of beams and sliders. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 263 To prop the Ruins, lest the Fabrick fall. 1726Pope Odyss. xvii. 228 Propt on a staff, a beggar old and bare. 1878Browning Poets Croisic Ep. 1 Your shoulder propped my head. 1886Besant Childr. Gibeon ii. i, Valentine made Lotty lie down..and propped her up with pillows.
b. In various humorous and ironic phrases. Usu. with up.
1908Wodehouse & Westbrook Globe By The Way Bk. 34 As regards Boarding-The-'Bus and Propping-The-Public-House-Wall, the issue is perhaps more open. But here again I look to see the representatives of the old country well to the fore. 1938G. Heyer Blunt Instrument x. 196 There's a couple propping the wall up at the end of the street. You know the style: kissing and canoodling for the past hour. 1950‘J. Tey’ To love & be Wise xi. 133 You'll find him propping up the counter of the post-office. 1965Listener 7 Oct. 539/1 He was to be seen almost every night propping up the left end of the bar in the Wheatsheaf. 1973J. Pattinson Search Warrant ii. 37 A solitary man was propping up the bar. 1978B. Priestley Island Emperor iii. 25, I lay in the sun and..I propped up Niki's bar.
2. fig. To support, sustain: esp. used in relation to some weak or failing cause or institution.
1549[implied in propper]. a1586Sidney Ps. xx. ii, With heavnly strength, thy early strength to prop. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, i. i. 59 Being not propt by Auncestry, whose grace Chalkes Successors their way. 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 191 Propped by these Persuasions, the Women freely Sacrifice themselves. 1763J. Brown Poetry & Mus. v. 52 An ingenious Writer toiling..to prop a mistaken Principle. 1843E. Miall in Nonconf. III. 209 Justice should not be propped up by injustice, disinterestedness by rapacity.
†3. To mark out with posts, cairns, or other erections: cf. prop n.1 2. Sc. Obs.
1456[see prop n.1 2]. 1540in 5th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. 609/1 Meithis and merchis..begynnand..in the myddis of the resk..as is proppit be us. Ibid., Ascendand up the hill carne be carne as we haif proppit to the heid of the said hill.
4. intr. Of a horse: To stop suddenly when going at speed. orig. Austral. Also transf.
1870E. B. Kennedy Four Yrs. Queensland xi. 194 When almost against it, the animal would stop in his stride (or prop), when the rider vaulted lightly over his head on to the verandah. 1882Daily News 3 June 6/4 Another horse propped suddenly at the water-jump hurdle, and sent his rider over into the very middle of the pool. 1890‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer i. (1891) 8, I didn't think he'd ha' propped like that. 1928‘Brent of Bin Bin’ Up Country 171 How they raced and propped and wheeled on desperate courses bristling with pitfalls. 1946Sun (Baltimore) 4 Oct. 16/4 Tacato Briar was unprepared for break and propped coming out of gate. 1954Ibid. 10 July 9/3 Sans Egal went to the front at once and opened a lead of some six lengths along the backstretch. However, when he entered the final straightaway, he attempted to ‘prop’ and lost much of his lead. 1969T. Keneally Survivor 70 Seconds later a university sedan, driven by George the university guard, wheeled fast in through the gate and propped at the front of the house. 1970P. White Vivisector 602 The present mob might have trampled Rhoda underfoot if it hadn't suddenly realized she was something beyond its experience, so it propped, and divided.
5. trans. To hit straight; to knock down. slang.
1851Mayhew Lond. Labour (1861) III. 387/1 If we met an ‘old bloke’ (man) we ‘propped him’ (knocked him down) and robbed him. 1892Nat. Observer 27 Feb. 378/1 Give me a snug little set-to down in Whitechapel: Nobody there that can prop you in the eye!
▪ IX. † prop, v.2 Sc. Obs. rare—1.
[app. a. MDu., MLG. proppen to cram, stuff full: cf. prop n.2, and note in etymology of prop n.1]
trans. To cram, stuff, load.
a1568King Berdok 38 in Bannatyne Poems (Hunter. Cl.) 406 Thay stellit gunis to the killogy laich, And proppit gunis with bulettis of raw daich [= dough].
▪ X. † prop, v.3 Obs.
[app. a variant of dial. brob vb.: see Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v. brob.]
intr. To probe (for minerals).
1747Hooson Miner's Dict. E ij, When a Miner discovers any Signs of a Vein by Proping, he falls to cutting a Square Hole, about a Yard every way. Ibid. H ij, The Person who owns the Land where the Miner Props and makes search for Ore. Ibid. P iv b, If one Miner went by himself, he took nothing but his Proping Spade, if two went together they would take a Hack and Spade to Cast with. [1748Articles for High Peak Hundred in Hardy Miner's Guide 22 If any Miner within the King's Field, do brob or make any Holes for the finding of any Vein or Rake.] |