n.
- a short spine or pointed outgrowth on the surface of a plant or on the skin of an animal.
- a tingling or mildly painful sensation on the skin.
v.
- experience or produce a prickle.
▸cause such a sensation in.
- react defensively or angrily.
Etymology
OE pricel ‘instrument for pricking, sensation of being pricked’; from the Gmc base of prick; the verb is partly a dimin. of prick.
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