(Noun 1). Pejorative slang for a despicable or contemptible person, used exactly as Dick or Knob (UK). The American definition in this context is slightly different. In the USA, Merriam Webster1 defines it as “a spiteful or contemptible man often having some authority”. So, it appears to be used in the USA on people with some status, for instance “Donald Trump is a total Prick“. Like the synonyms, Prick can also be used to imply stupidity.
(Noun 2). British slang for the penis (again, much as Dick and Knob (UK))
The word comes from the Middle English prikke, which originates in the Old English, prica meaning point, puncture, particle, or a small portion of space or time. The meaning of prick as a ‘pointed weapon’ or ‘dagger’ is recorded in the 16th century. Prick as a verb for sexual intercourse can be seen as early as the 14th century, in Geoffrey Chaucer’s ‘Canturbury Tales‘. It appears to have changed from the act of intercourse to the phallus by the 17th century.
Similar meaning: Dick, Knob (UK), Plonker (UK)
Merriam Webster: The recognised primary dictionary of American English. It was Noah Webster, its founder, that published his first An American Dictionary of the English Language in 1825 that created most of the new American spellings that we are now so familiar with (colour changed to color and so on). I will add an article on ‘The Man Who Stole the Vowels’ at some point in the future ↩
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