pry

Meanings

Verb

• To peer at (something) closely; also, to look into (a matter, etc.) thoroughly.
• To use leverage to open, raise, or widen (something); to prise or prize.
• Usually followed by out (of): to draw out or get (information, etc.) with effort.

Noun

• An act of prying; a close and curious look.
• A person who is very inquisitive or nosy; a busybody, a nosey parker.
• A tool for levering; a crowbar, a lever.

Origin

• The verb is inherited from Middle English prien, pryen, from Old English *prīwan, *prēowian, attested by Old English beprīwan, beprēwan; further etymology unknown, but probably akin to Old English *prēowot, attested only in combination – compare prēowthwīl, princ: see prink.
• The noun is derived from the verb.
• The noun is probably a , prize, construed as the plural of pry.
• The verb is either derived from the noun, or is a , construed as pries, the third-person singular present form of pry.