prose

³prose

verb \ˈprōz\

prosedpros·ing

Definition of PROSE

intransitive verb

1

: to write prose

2

: to write or speak in a dull or ordinary manner

Examples of PROSE

1. ‘In the meantime,’ said Traddles, coming back to his chair; ‘and this is the end of my prosing about myself, I get on as well as I can. I don't make much, but I don't spend much…’ —Charles Dickens, David Copperfield, 1850

Origin of PROSE

(see ¹prose)

First Known Use: 1642

Other Literature Terms

apophasis, bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy, prosody