Unnumbered source etymology · variant 1/2
Original entry ↗To perform a practical joke on; to trick and make a fool of someone. · To make a prank call to (someone). · To call someone's phone and hang up before they answer, so as to send them a notification (of a missed call) without incurring fees. · To adorn in a showy manner; to dress or equip ostentatiously.
Origin uncertain. Perhaps from Middle English pranken (“to adorn, arrange one's attire”), probably from Middle Dutch pronken, proncken (“to flaunt, make a show, arrange one's attire”), related to German prangen (“to make a show, be resplendent”), Dutch prangen (“to squeeze, press”), Danish pragt (“pomp, splendor”), all from Proto-Germanic *pranganą, *prangijaną, *prag- (“to press, squeeze, thring”), from Proto-Indo-European *brengʰ- (“to press, squeeze”). Or, perhaps ultimately related to Proto-Germanic *brahtaz, similar to Dutch pracht (“splendor”), Swedish prakt (“glory, pomp”) (loaned from Low German). Cognate with Middle Low German prunken (“to flaunt”), German prunken (“to flaunt”), Danish prunke (“to make a show, prank”). Sense of "mischievous act" from earlier verbal sense of "to be crafty or subtle, set in order, adjust". See also prink, prance, prong.
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
- Inherited-form mentionprankenenm · to adorn, arrange one's attire
- Derivation mentionpronkendum
- Cognate mentionprangende
- Cognate mentionprangennl
- Cognate mentionpragtda
- Derivation mention*pranganągem-pro
- Derivation mention*brengʰ-ine-pro
- Cognate mention*brahtazgem-pro
- Cognate mentionprachtnl · splendor
- Cognate mentionpraktsv · glory, pomp
- Cognate mentionprunkengml
- Cognate mentionprunkende
- Cognate mentionprunkeda
This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
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"4": "to make a show, prank"
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"pranken",
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"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/prangijaną"
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"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/prag-"
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"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/brengʰ-"
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"prunken",
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"prunke",
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"prink",
"prink#English"
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"prance",
"prance#English"
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[
"prong",
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"descendants": [
{
"lang": "Welsh",
"lang_code": "cy",
"word": "prancio",
"raw_tags": [
"borrowed"
],
"sense": "to prance"
}
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{
"pos": "verb",
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"To perform a practical joke on; to trick and make a fool of someone.",
"To make a prank call to (someone).",
"To call someone's phone and hang up before they answer, so as to send them a notification (of a missed call) without incurring fees.",
"To adorn in a showy manner; to dress or equip ostentatiously."
],
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