Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Money paid to men when they enlist in the British service: so called because it binds those who receive it to be prest or ready at all times appointed. Also
press-money .
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word prest-money.
Examples
-
Even in Pepys 'time men were pressed "without money," and in none of the accounts of expenses incurred in pressing during the century which followed, excepting only a very few of the earlier ones, can any such item as the king's shilling or prest-money be discovered.
-
John was obliged to admonish the sailor in order to induce him to take his prest-money; and Edward III., referring to his attitude in the fourteenth century, is said to have summed up the situation in the pregnant words: "There is navy enough in England, were there only the will."
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.