prong

Meanings

Noun

• A thin, pointed, projecting part, as of an antler or a fork or similar tool. A tine.
• A branch; a fork.
• The penis.

Verb

• To pierce or poke with, or as if with, a prong.

Origin

• From Middle English pronge, perhaps from Middle Low German prange ("stick, restraining device"), from prangen, from Old Saxon *prangan, from Proto-West Germanic *prangan, from Proto-Germanic *pranganą, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)preng- ("to wrap up, constrict").
• Akin to Lithuanian springstù ("to choke, become choked or obstructed"), Latvian sprañgât ("cord, constrict"), Ancient Greek σπαργανόω ("to swaddle"), σπάργανον. See also prank, prance, prink.