pry

verbnounnounverbattested in dialogue

//pɹaɪ//

To peer closely and curiously, especially at something closed or not public.

verb

1
To peer closely and curiously, especially at something closed or not public.
[W]omen haue eagles eyes, / To prie euen to the heart, and why not you?
[…] to elude, thus wrapt in miſt / Of midnight vapor glide obſcure, and prie / In every Buſh and brake, where hap may finde / The Serpent ſleeping, […]
And choice of studious friends had he / Of Bolton's dear fraternity: / […] / [I]n their cells with him did pry / For other lore,—through strong desire / Searching the earth with chemic fire: […]
2
figurativeTo inquire into something that does not concern one; to be nosy; to snoop.
Watch thou, and wake when others be aſleepe, / To prie into the ſecrets of the State, […]
We literary hacks are shameless creatures. I believe there's no secret of the human heart into which we wouldn't pry.
I don't mean to pry, but could you tell me where you got that scarf?
to pry into someone's affairs
3
obsoleteTo peer at (something) closely; also, to look into (a matter, etc.) thoroughly.
The two ship's corporals went among the sailors by the names of Leggs and Pounce; […] Bland, the master-at-arms, ravished with their dexterity in prying out offenders, used to call them his two right hands.

Etymology

The verb is inherited from Middle English prien, pryen (“to look closely, peer into, pry, spy”) [and other forms], from Old English *prīwan, *prēowian (“to look narrowly, to squint at”), attested by Old English beprīwan, beprēwan (“to wink”); further etymology unknown, but probably akin to Old English *prēowot (“closing of the eyes”), attested only in combination – compare prēowthwīl (“blink or twinkling of an eye, moment”), princ (“a wink”): see prink. The noun is derived from the verb.

noun

1
An act of prying; a close and curious look.
With those beauties, scarce discern'd, / Kept with such sweet privacy, / That they seldom meet the eye / Of the little loves that fly / Round about with eager pry.
2
A person who is very inquisitive or nosy; a busybody, a nosey parker.

noun

1
A tool for levering; a crowbar, a lever.

Etymology

The noun is probably a back-formation from prise, prize (“tool for levering, lever”), construed as the plural of pry. The verb is either derived from the noun, or is a back-formation from prise (“to force open with a lever”), construed as pries, the third-person singular present form of pry.

verb

1
To use leverage to open, raise, or widen (something); to prise or prize.
"Oh! he's going home to Down East," said another; "so far eastward, you know, shippy, that they have to pry up the sun with a handspike."
2
figurativeUsually followed by out (of): to draw out or get (information, etc.) with effort.

Forms

plural: pries
past tense: pried
past participle: pried
present participle: prying
third person singular: pries

prudent · Sagacious in adapting means to ends; circumspect in action,…Prue · A female given name.prune · The dried, wrinkled fruit of certain species of plum.

pry · To peer closely and curiously, especially at something closed or not public.

Pry · A surname.prying · The act of one who pries.PS · Initialism of a number of proto-languages' names:…

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