Prompt (pr&obreve;mt; 215), a.
[Compar. Prompter (?);
superl. Promptest.] [F. prompt, L.
promptus, properly, brought forth (to light or view), hence,
visible, evident, at hand, ready, quick, -- p. p. of promere to
take or bring forth; pro forth + emere to take. See
Redeem. ]
1. Ready and quick to act as occasion demands;
meeting requirements readily; not slow, dilatory, or hesitating in
decision or action; responding on the instant; immediate; as,
prompt in obedience or compliance; -- said of
persons.
Very discerning and prompt in giving
orders.
Clarendon.
Tell him I am prompt
To lay my crown at's feet.
Shak.
And you, perhaps, too prompt in your
replies.
Dryden.
2. Done or rendered quickly, readily, or
immediately; given without delay or hesitation; -- said of conduct;
as, prompt assistance.
When Washington heard the voice of his country in
distress,
his obedience was prompt.
Ames.
3. Easy; unobstructed. [Obs.]
The reception of the light into the body of the
building was very prompt.
Sir H.
Wotton.
Syn. -- Ready; expeditious; quick; agile; alert; brisk;
nimble. -- Prompt, Ready, Expeditious. One who
is ready is prepared to act at the moment. One who is
prompt acts at the moment. One who is expeditious
carries through an undertaking with constant promptness.
Prompt, n. (Com.) A limit of
time given for payment of an account for produce purchased, this limit
varying with different goods. See Prompt-note.
To cover any probable difference of price which might
arise before the expiration of the prompt, which for this
article [tea] is three months.
J. S. Mill.
Prompt, v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Prompted; p. pr. & vb. n.
Prompting.]
1. To assist or induce the action of; to move
to action; to instigate; to incite.
God first . . . prompted on the infirmities of
the infant world by temporal prosperity.
Jer.
Taylor.
2. To suggest; to dictate.
And whispering angles prompt her golden
dreams.
Pope.
3. To remind, as an actor or an orator, of
words or topics forgotten.
