See Also: prude(medicine)
prude(1)(dictionary)
prude(2)(dictionary)
prude(dictionary)

prude(1) (iou)



prude adjective & noun. [pru:d] Freq. derog. E18.
[French adjective & noun, back-form. from prudefemme fem. corresp. to prud'homme PRUDHOMME taken as adjective & noun.]
A. adjective. Behaving like a prude; prudish. Now rare. E18.
H. G. Graham The prudest might..enjoy Vanbrugh's Provoked Husband.
b. noun. A person, esp. a woman, having or affecting an attitude of extreme propriety or modesty, esp. in sexual matters; an excessively prim person, a prudish person. E18.
P. H. Gibbs I'm not a prude..but I don't want to meet your friend's mistress. P. P. Read We can't keep our conversation clean just for a prude.
prudelike adjective (rare) resembling (that of) a prude E18.