pricking noun.
['prɪkɪŋ] OE.[from PRICK verb + -ING1.]1. The action of
PRICK verb; an instance of this.
OE.pricking of one's thumbs,
pricking in one's thumbs an intuitive feeling, a premonition, a foreboding (with allus. to Shakes.
Macb.).
2. A series of pricks or marks used for ornamentation or as a pattern or guide;
spec. (a) Lace-making a pattern transferred by means of pricks on to a template, a template used in this;
(b) Palaeography a series of holes on a leaf as a guide for ruling lines.
E16.
Comb.:
pricking-iron Saddlery an implement used to make regular points for stitching;
pricking-up Basket-making the action of turning up (esp. willow) stakes after insertion in the base of a basket.
[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲