prize

See also: příze

English

Etymology 1

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English prise, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French prise (“a taking, capture, a seizure, a thing seized, a prize, booty, also hold, purchase”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] French prise, from pris, past participle of prendre (“to take, to capture”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin prendere (“to take, seize”); see prehend. Compare prison, apprise, comprise, enterprise, purprise, reprisal, surprise, etc.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɹaɪz/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

  • Rhymes: -aɪz
• Homophones: pries, prise

Noun

prize (plural prizes)

1. That which is taken from another; something captured; a thing seized by force, stratagem, or superior power.
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, London: William Ponsonbie, Book 4, Canto 4, p. 54,^[1]

     […] wherefore he now begunne

     To challenge her anew, as his owne prize,

     Whom formerly he had in battell wonne,

2. (military, nautical) Anything captured by a belligerent using the rights of war; especially, property captured at sea in virtue of the rights of war, as a vessel.
   • 1724, Charles Johnson [pseudonym], “Of Captain Avery, and His Crew”, in A General History of the Pyrates, […], 2nd edition, London: Printed for, and sold by T. Warner, […], →OCLC, page 51:

     Having taken all the Treasure on Board their own Ships, and plundered their Prize of every Thing elſe they either wanted or liked, they let her go; ſhe not being able to continue her Voyage, returned back: […]

3. An honour or reward striven for in a competitive contest; anything offered to be competed for, or as an inducement to, or reward of, effort.
   • 1676, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe, London: Henry Herringman, Act 5, p. 73,^[2]

     I fought and conquer’d, yet have lost the prize.

4. That which may be won by chance, as in a lottery.
   • 1928, Weston Jarvis, Jottings from an Active Life, London: Heath Cranton, p. 256,^[3]

     Cecil Rhodes […] was never tired of impressing upon one that the fact of being an Englishman was “the greatest prize in the lottery of life,” and that it was that thought which always sustained him when he was troubled.

5. Anything worth striving for; a valuable possession held or in prospect.
   • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Philippians 3.14,^[4]

     I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

6. (obsolete) A contest for a reward; competition.
   • c. 1596 William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act III, Scene 2,^[5]

     Like one of two contending in a prize,

     That thinks he hath done well in people's eyes […]

7. A lever; a pry; also, the hold of a lever.

   Synonym: prise

Usage notes

Do not confuse with price.

Derived terms

Terms derived from prize

• blanks and prizes
• booby prize
• consolation prize
• door prize
• eyes on the prize
• grand prize
• Nobel Prize
• no prize for guessing
• prize crew
• prize draw
• prizefighter
• prizegiver
• prizegiving
• prizeless
• prizelike
• prizeman
• prize money
• prize pool
• prize-taking
• prizewinner, prize winner
• prize-winning
• prizeworthy
• Pulitzer Prize
• spot prize

 

Translations

something captured

• Catalan: botí (ca) m
• Danish: bytte (da) n
• Dutch: buit (nl) f
• Japanese: 捕獲物 (ほかくぶつ, hokaku-butsu)
• Kyrgyz: сыйлык (ky) (sıylık)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: трофе́й (ru) m (troféj), добы́ча (ru) f (dobýča)
• Spanish: botín (es) m
• Swedish: pris (sv), trofé (sv) c
• Turkish: ganimet (tr)

anything captured using the rights of war

• Danish: prise c
• Dutch: buit (nl) f
• Hindi: लूट (hi) f (lūṭ)
• Japanese: 戦利品 (ja) (せんりひん, senri-hin)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: трофе́й (ru) m (troféj)
• Swedish: pris (sv), trofé (sv) c
• Turkish: ganimet (tr)

honor or reward striven for in a competitive contest

• Arabic: جَائِزَة f (jāʔiza)
• Assamese: বঁটা (bõta)
• Burmese: ဆု (my) (hcu.)
• Catalan: premi (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 獎品／奖品 (zh) (jiǎngpǐn), 奖品 (zh) (jiǎngpǐn), 獎金／奖金 (zh) (jiǎngjīn), 奖金 (zh) (jiǎngjīn)

• Czech: cena (cs), ocenění
• Danish: præmie c
• Dutch: prijs (nl) m, beloning (nl) f, premie (nl) f
• Estonian: auhind
• Finnish: palkinto (fi)
• French: prix (fr) m
• German: Preis (de) m
• Greek: βραβείο (el) n (vraveío)

  Ancient: βραβεῖον n (brabeîon), ἆθλον n (âthlon)

• Hebrew: פרס (he) m (pras)
• Hindi: इनाम (hi) m (inām)
• Hungarian: díj (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: duais f
• Italian: premio (it) m
• Japanese: 賞 (ja) (しょう, shō)
• Kazakh: жүлде (kk) (jülde), марапат (marapat)
• Korean: 상 (ko) (sang) (賞)
• Latgalian: duovaņs, prizs
• Latin: praemium n
• Latvian: balva
• Low German: Pries (nds)
• Portuguese: (Brazil) prêmio (pt) m, (Portugal) prémio (pt) m
• Romanian: premiu (ro) n
• Russian: пре́мия (ru) f (prémija), приз (ru) m (priz)
• Sanskrit: मीढ (sa) n (mīḍha)
• Spanish: premio (es) m
• Swedish: pris (sv) n, vinst (sv) c
• Tatar: бүләк (tt) (büläk)
• Turkish: ödül (tr), mükafat (tr)
• Welsh: gwobr (cy) f
• Yiddish: פּרײַז m (prayz), פּרעמיע f (premye), פּריז m (priz)

that which may be won by chance

• Burmese: ဆု (my) (hcu.)
• Catalan: premi (ca) m
• Danish: gevinst (da) c
• Dutch: prijs (nl) m
• Estonian: võit
• French: prix (fr) m
• German: Preis (de) m
• Irish: duais f
• Italian: premio (it) m
• Japanese: 賞 (ja) (しょう, shō)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: praemium n
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: gevinst m

  Nynorsk: gevinst m

• Portuguese: prêmio (pt) m
• Romanian: premiu (ro) n
• Spanish: premio (es) m
• Swedish: pris (sv) n
• Turkish: ikramiye (tr)

anything worth striving for

• Estonian: tasu
• Japanese: 珠玉 (しゅぎょく, shugyoku)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Swedish: pris (sv) n, lön (sv) c

competition

• Dutch: prijs (nl) m
• Estonian: võistlus
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 賞 (ja) (しょう, shō)
• Swedish: pris (sv), vinst (sv) c

lever

• Dutch: hendel (nl) m
• Japanese: てこ (teko); (archaic, not jōyō kanji) 梃 (ja) (てこ, teko), 梃子 (てこ, teko)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Turkish: manivela (tr), kaldıraç (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Latin: ^{(please verify)} praemium
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

See also

• prise
• price

Etymology 2

From Middle English prysen, borrowed from Old French priser (“to set a price or value on, esteem, value”), from pris (“price”), from Latin pretium (“price, value”), whence price; see also praise, a doublet. Compare appraise, apprize.

Verb

1. To consider highly valuable; to esteem.
   • c. 1611 William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act III, Scene 1,^[6]

     […] I

     Beyond all limit of what else i’ the world

     Do love, prize, honour you.

   • 1676, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe, London: Henry Herringman, Act V, p. 83,^[7]

     I pris’d your Person, but your Crown disdain.

   • 2013, J. M. Coetzee, The Childhood of Jesus, London: Harvill Secker, Chapter 20, p. 167,^[8]

     ‘ […] An old broken cup has no value. No one prizes it.’

     ‘I prize it. It’s my museum, not yours.’

2. (obsolete) To set or estimate the value of; to appraise; to price; to rate.
   • c. 1610 William Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale, Act III, Scene 2,^[9]

     […] no life,

     I prize it not a straw, but for mine honour,

   • 1611 King James Version of the Bible, Zechariah 11.13,^[10]

     […] a goodly price that I was prized at.

3. To move with a lever; to force up or open; to prise or pry.
4. (obsolete) To compete in a prizefight.

Derived terms

• foreprize
• outprize
• overprize
• prizable
• prizer
• underprize
• unprizable
• unprized

Translations

to consider something highly valuable

• Dutch: prijzen (nl), schatten (nl)
• Estonian: väärtustama
• French: estimer (fr)
• Ido: prizar (io)
• Japanese: 重んじる (おもんじる, omonjiru)
• Latin: pretio
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: matapopore, kaingākau, kaingākaunui
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: pris (no) m

• Spanish: apreciar (es)
• Swedish: prisa (sv)
• Turkish: değer vermek (tr)

to move with a lever; to force up or open; to pry

• Dutch: wrikken (nl), openwrikken
• Finnish: kangeta (fi), vääntää (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: こじ開ける (こじあける, kojiakeru)
• Maori: whakatiriwhana

Etymology 3

Adjective

prize (not comparable)

1. Having won a prize; award-winning.

   a prize vegetable

2. first-rate; exceptional

   He was a prize fool.

Further reading

• “prize”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “prize”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• pizer, rezip