/pɹɒŋ/, /pɹɔŋ/, /pɹɑŋ/
OriginFrom Middle English pronge, perhaps from Middle Low German prange (“stick, restraining device”), from prangen (“to press, pinch”), from Old Saxon *prangan, from Proto-West Germanic *prangan, from Proto-Germanic *pranganą (“to press”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)preng- (“to wrap up, constrict”).
Akin to Lithuanian spriñgti (“to choke, become choked or obstructed”), Latvian sprañgât (“cord, constrict”), Ancient Greek σπαργανόω (sparganóō, “to swaddle”), σπάργανον (spárganon, “swaddling cloth”). See also prank, prance, prink.
- A thin, pointed, projecting part, as of an antler or a fork or similar tool.
“a pitchfork with four prongs”
- figuratively, sometimesA branch; a fork.
“the two prongs of a river”
“the second prong of the argument”
- CornwallA fork (agricultural tool).
“[…] a tradition is recorded that a man called 'Ralph' resided in this cavern for many years, and, with a prong as his weapon, successively kept the bailiffs at bay.”
- colloquialThe penis.
“One look at that lifeguard's prong gave me a throbber like a baseball bat — not quite that big, of course, but at least that hard!”
“2008, Andy Zaltzman on The Bugle podcast, episode 34, You Will Know Us By Our Knobbly Fruit.
Hang on... That looks like... No, it can't be. Is that my wang!? Micky Paintbrush, have you painted my papa”
- To pierce or poke with, or as if with, a prong.
“He uncovered the fragrant eggs and b., and I pronged a moody forkful.”
Formsprongs(plural) · prongs(present, singular, third-person) · pronging(participle, present) · pronged(participle, past) · pronged(past)