Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To pledge in drinking; drink to; wish for in behalf of some one while drinking to him.
  • To present; offer; guarantee.
  • noun Money given as drink-money, or any gift, favor, or loving pledge.
  • noun The power of giving.
  • noun Same as allylene.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Obs. or Scot. A pledge.
  • noun Obs or Scot. A gift; esp., drink money.
  • noun (Chem.) Same as allylene.
  • transitive verb obsolete To pledge; to offer as a toast or a health in the manner of drinking, that is, by drinking first and passing the cup.
  • transitive verb obsolete Hence, to give in token of friendship.
  • transitive verb obsolete To give, or deliver; to subject.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Alternative form of propyne.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • I think there be none in the whole Clan Quhele, save those which I myself gave to Gilchrist MacIan, whom God assoilzie, who esteemed them a choice propine.

    The Fair Maid of Perth 2008

  • And she is to send you doun a pound of her hie-dried, and some other tobaka, and we maun think of some propine for her, since her kindness hath been great.

    The Heart of Mid-Lothian 2007

  • And she is to send you doun a pound of her hie-dried, and some other tobaka, and we maun think of some propine for her, since her kindness hath been great.

    Sir Walter Scott Hutton, Richard 1878

  • "Dinna ye ken, Nelly woman, his presence will vex you no longer? you're at liberty to go your own gate, and be as you have been -- that was his propine," whispered Lady Staneholme, in sorrowful perplexity, but without rousing Nelly from her stupor.

    Girlhood and Womanhood The Story of some Fortunes and Misfortunes Sarah Tytler 1870

  • And she is to send you doun a pound of her hie-dried, and some other tobaka, and we maun think of some propine for her, since her kindness hath been great.

    Sir Walter Scott (English Men of Letters Series) Richard Holt Hutton 1861

  • But surely there was never sic a braw propine as this sent to a yerl by an auld fishwife, and through the hands of a gaberlunzie beggar. ''

    The Antiquary 1845

  • And she is to send you doun a pound of her hie-dried, and some other tobaka, and we maun think of some propine for her, since her kindness hath been great.

    The Heart of Mid-Lothian 1822

  • Clan Quhele, save those which I myself gave to Gilchrist MacIan, whom God assoilzie, who esteemed them a choice propine.

    The Fair Maid of Perth St. Valentine's Day Walter Scott 1801

  • And she is to send you doun a pound of her hie-dried, and some other tobaka, and we maun think of some propine for her, since her kindness hath been great.

    The Heart of Mid-Lothian, Complete Walter Scott 1801

  • "Ay, ay," answered Ailsie, with a bitter grin; "and Sir William Ashton promised me a bonny red gown to the boot o 'that -- a stake, and a chain, and a tar-barrel, lass! what think ye o' that for a propine?

    The Bride of Lammermoor Walter Scott 1801

Comments

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  • a qua(o)ffer!

    September 20, 2009

  • I had to do a little research to come up with the pronunciation of this word, which is not surprising since it has probably never been heard out of earshot of a Walter Scott novel read aloud. Curiously, while the first definition is for a verb, all the examples I can find use it as a noun. Should one say, “The merry band then propined”? Or, “I propine the generosity of our noble host?” Don’t know and can’t find out.

    Another curiosity is the value of the cluster “ine” at the end of a word. This is impressively flexible: alpine, gasoline, determine, aborigine. I wonder if there is any other three-letter cluster that can be so variously pronounced. Also, is “aborigine” a unique instance of that pronunciation? I cannot think of any other naturally-occurring word with its final syllable so spelled and so said.

    I warn you be wary of Scottish propine
    For sharing the cup cannot be clean.
    As noun its clear drift
    Is good-natured gift;
    As verb it prescribes some risky hygiene.

    February 18, 2015