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Prank
Definitions
- 1 A practical joke or mischievous trick.
"play a prank"
- 2 a ludicrous or grotesque act done for fun and amusement wordnet
- 3 An evil deed; a malicious trick, an act of cruel deception. obsolete
"She played a cruel prank on him."
- 4 acting like a clown or buffoon wordnet
- 1 To perform a practical joke on; to trick and make a fool of someone. transitive
"“If someone’s pranking me,” Rowlands remembered thinking, “they’re going to great lengths to make it work.”"
- 2 dress up showily wordnet
- 3 To perform a practical joke on; to trick and make a fool of someone.; To make a prank call to (someone). transitive
- 4 dress or decorate showily or gaudily wordnet
- 5 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. slang, transitive
"Hey man, prank me when you wanna get picked up."
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- 6 To adorn in a showy manner; to dress or equip ostentatiously. archaic, transitive
"In sumptuous tire she ioyd her selfe to prancke"
- 7 To make an ostentatious show. intransitive
"White houses prank where once were huts."
Etymology
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 *brAngh- (“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.
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 *brAngh- (“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.
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