prod
noun
- act of poking to induce motion or other response
verb
- to urge on, metaphorically or literally poking
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /pɹɑd/ / /pɹɒd/ / /pɹɔd/
noun
Etymology: Clipping of Protestant, as pronounced in an accent with flapping.
- A Protestant, (as termed by Roman Catholics), that is in the context of their religious beliefs, or those who have been born in the Protestant tradition, or sometimes those implied to be Protestant by their political ideology of Irish unionism or Ulster loyalism.
“"I don't want my daughter marrying a dirty Prod," he said.”
“'Could be a lot of things,' McCormack said. 'Still, it narrows things down. Probably a Prod […]'.”
verb
Etymology: Alteration of earlier brod (perhaps through influence of poke; compare prog), from Middle English brodden (“to goad, incite, urge; to sprout”), from brod (“goad, nail; shoot, sprout”), from Old Norse broddr (“shaft, spike, thorn”), from Proto-Germanic *bruzdaz. Cognate with Icelandic broddur, Danish brod. Doublet of brad. Or, from or influenced by sound symbolism.
- To poke, to push, to touch.
- To encourage, to prompt.
“Some of the most beautiful and thus appealing physical theories, including quantum electrodynamics and quantum gravity, have been dogged for decades by infinities that erupt when theorists try to prod their calculations into new domains. Getting rid of these nagging infinities has probably occupied far more effort than was spent in originating the theories.”
- To prick with a goad.