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fong, and 18 ^ broad; bounded on the N. and E. by Massachu-setts, S. by Kent county, and W. by Connecticut .
Providence , a large, flourishing, and commercial town, capi-tal of the above county, 44 miles S. by W. of boston , and 30N. \V. of Newport. Eon. 71.21. W. Lat. 41.51. N.
Providence, a river of the United States, which rises in Mas-sachusetts , and falls into N'arraganset Bay, on the W. side ofRhode Island .
Providence, an island of the Atlantic, in the W. part of theCaribbean Sea; formerly possessed and fortified by the English Buccaniers against the Spanish guarda-costas. It is about 150miles from the coast of Honduras, and 150 E. of Nicaragua .Lon. 80. 44. W. Lat. 13. 25. N.
PROVINCE, in geography, is a division of a kingdom or state,comprising several cities, towns, &c. all under the same govern-ment, and usually distinguished by the extent either of the civil orecclesiastical jurisdiction. The church distinguishes its provincesby archbishoprics; in which sense, England is divided into twoprovinces, Canterbury and York.
PROVINCIAL, [ provincialis , Lat.j relating to a province.It also denotes, in Romish countries, a person who has the(direction of the several convents of a province.
PROVINE, a branch of a vine laid in the ground to fake rootand propagate.
PROVINS, a town of France, in the department of the Seine and Marne, and late province of the Isle of France , 30 milesS. E. of Meaux,and 47 S. E. of Paris . Lon. 3. 22. E. Lat. 4S.34. N.
PROVISION, in the canon law’, denotes the title or instrument,by virtue whereof an incumbent holds a benefice, bishopric, &c.Provisions by prevention, called also gratia; expectativic et man-data de providendo. See Premunire.
PROVISO, inlaw, a condition inserted in a deed, upon theobservance whereof the validity of the deed depends.
PROVISO!!, in general, denotes one who has the care of pro-viding things necessary, being the same with purveyor.
Provisor, in our statutes, also denotes a person w ho sued tothe court of Rome for a provision or expectative grace. SeePremunire.
PRO VOC ATIVE, in physic, a medicine which is supposed tostrengthen nature, and incites to venery.
PROVOST, \_pmfast, Sax. prtepositus, Lat.] the chief muni-cipal magistrate in several trading cities, particularly Edinburgh ,Paris , &c. being much the same with mayor in other places. liepresides in city-courts ; and, together wfith the bailies, who are hisdeputies, determines in all differences that arise among citizens.
Provost, or Prevot, in the king’s stables ; his office is to at-tend at court, and hold the king’s stirrup when he mounts hishorse. There are four of them, each of whom attends in his turn,monthly.
Provost, or Prevot Royal, a sort of inferior judge, formerlyestablished throughout France , to take cognizance of all civil, per-sonal, real, and mixed causes, among the people only.
Provost, Grand, of France , or of the Household, hadjurisdiction in the king’s house, and over the officers therein;looked to the policy thereof, the regulation of provisions, &e.
Provost, Grand, of the Constable, a judge who managesprocesses against the soldiers in the army who have committedany crime. He lias four lieutenants distributed through the army,called provosts of the army, and particularly provosts in the seve-ral regiments.
Provost Marshal of an Army , is an officer appointed toseize and secure deserters, and all other criminals. lie is to hin-der soldiers from pillaging, to indict offenders, and see the sen-tence passed on them executed, lie also regulates the weightsand measures, and the price of provisions, &c. in the army.
Provost-Marshal, in the navy, has charge over prison-ers, See.
Provost of the Marshals, was a kind of lieutenant of (liemarshals of France ; of these there were 180 seats in France ; theirchief jurisdiction regarded highwaymen, footpads, house-break-ers, &c.
Provost of the Mint, a particular judge instituted for theapprehending and prosecuting of false coineis.
the President of a College in the United Slates; analogous to thatof Principal in Scotland .
PROW , [ prora , Lat.] in navigation, denotes the head or fore-part of a ship, particularly in a galley, being that which is oppositeto the poop or stern. See Ship. In the middle of the prow isthe beak that cuts the water, on the top of which is commonlysome figure or hieroglyphic. The prow is lower than the poop,and contains fewer decks.
PROXENETA, or PROXENETES, a kind of broker oragent, who transacts between two persons.
'"PROXIMITY, [ proximitas , Lat.] the relation of nearness,either in respect of place, blood, or alliance.
PROXY, [ procurator , Lat.] a person who officiates as a de-puty in the room of another.
PltUCK, a town of Austria, 22 miles S. W. of Presburg , ami22 S. E. of Vienna . Lon. 16. 58. E. Lat. 48. 5. N.
Pruck, a tow n of Germany , in Stiria, on the Muelir, 66 milesS. W. of Vienna . Lon. 15. 25. E. Lat. 47. 24. N.
PRUDENCE, in ethics, the ability of judging what is best, inthe choice both of ends and means.
PRUDENCE, in geography, an island near the coast of theUnited States , in N'arraganset Bay, N. of Canonnicut, belongingto Rhode Island .
PRUM, a late principality and abbey in the electorate ofTreves.
PRUNELLA, Self-heal ; in botany, a genus of the gymnos-permia order, and didynamia class of plants; natural order, Ver-ticillals-. Filaments bifurcated, with an unthcru only on onepoint; stigma bifid. It lias three species.
PRUNELL.E SAL, in pharmacy, a preparation of purifiedsaltpetre.
PRUNES, in commerce, are plums dried in the sunshine, orin an oven.
PRUNTFEROUS TREES, those with pretty large and fleshyfruit, with a nucleus in the middle, and called by botanists a drupe.See Drupe.
PRUNING, in gardening and agriculture, is the lopping offthe superfluous branches of trees, in order to make them bear bet-ter fruit, grow higher, or appear more regular. See Gardening,and Fruit-Trees .
PR UN US , in botany, a genus of the monogynia order, andicosandria class of plants; natural order Pomaceie. Calyx five-cleft, inferior; petals five ; drupe with a nut, having the suturesprominent. There are thirty-three species.
P. Akmeniaca, or Apricot-Tree , grows twenty feet high,with a large spreading head, having reddish shoots, large, nearlyheart-shaped leaves, and close-sitting pale red flowers rising allalong the sides of the young brandies ; succeeded by large roundishfruit of a yellow and reddish colour in different varieties. Thefruit and the kernels of the Primus Siberica, when eaten, excite acontinued headach : the kernels, infused in brandy, communicatean agreeable flavour.
P. Avium , the Great Wild Cherry-Tree, grows forty orfifty feet high, having oval, spear-shaped leaves, downy under-neath, with umbellate sessile clusters of white flowers, succeededby small round fruit of different properties in the varieties.
PRUSA, in ancient geography, a town situated at MountOlympus in Mysia, now called Bursa or Prusa, capital of Bitby-nia, in Asia Minor . Lon. 29. 5. E. Lat. 39. 22. N.
PRUSSIA, a kingdom of Europe , whose monarch, along withPrussia Proper, possesses also the electorate of Brandenburg, andsome other territories of considerable extent. The district pro-perly called Prussia is of great extent, and divided into the Ducalami Regal Prussia, the latter belonging to the republic of Poland ,till the late partition of the Polish territories. Both together an;of great extent; bounded on the N. by the Baltic, on the S. byPoland and the duchy of Masovia, on the W. by Pomerania , andon the E. by Lithuania and Samogitia. The name is by some de-rived from Ilorussi, a tribe of the Sarmalians, w ho, migrating fromthe foot of the Ripluean mountains, were tempted by the beautyand fertility of the country to settle there. Others think it pro-perly Porussia ; Po in the language of the natives signifying near,and Porussia signitying near Russia . To the latter etymology fticking of Prussia himself assents in his Memoirs of the House ofBrandenburg. The ancient state of Prussia is almost entirely un-known.