different between cynosure vs prey

English

Etymology

From French cynosure (“Ursa Minor; Polaris”), from Latin Cynos?ra (“Ursa Minor”), from Ancient Greek ????????? (Kunósoura, “Ursa Minor”, literally “dog’s tail”), from ????? (kunós, “dog's”) + ???? (ourá, “tail”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?s?n?zj??/, /-sj??/, /-???/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?sa?n????/, /?s?n-/, /-??/

Noun

cynosure (plural cynosures)

1. (usually capitalized) Ursa Minor or Polaris, the North Star, used as a guide by navigators.
2. (figuratively) That which serves to guide or direct; a guiding star.

3. (figuratively) Something that is the center of attention; an object that serves as a focal point of attraction and admiration.

Derived terms

• cynosural

Translations

Further reading

• Cynosure in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• rounceys

English

Etymology

From Middle English preye, prei, prey?e, borrowed from Anglo-Norman and Old French preie, one of the variants of proie, from Latin praeda. Compare predator.

Pronunciation

• enPR: pr?, IPA^(key): /p?e?/
• Rhymes: -e?
• Homophone: pray

Noun

prey (countable and uncountable, plural preys)

1. (archaic) Anything, such as goods, etc., taken or got by violence; something taken by force from an enemy in war

   Synonyms: spoil, booty, plunder
2. That which is or may be seized by animals or birds to be devoured

   • Already sees herself the monster's prey.

3. A person or thing given up as a victim.
4. A living thing that is eaten by another living thing.

5. (archaic) The act of devouring other creatures; ravage.
6. The victim of a disease.

Translations

Verb

prey (third-person singular simple present preys, present participle preying, simple past and past participle preyed)

1. (intransitive) To act as a predator.
   • 2001, Karen Harden McCracken, The Life History of a Texas Birdwatcher (page 278)

     The ridge had been a haven for birds and small earth creatures, creeping, crawling, and hopping in a little world of balanced ecology where wild things preyed and were preyed upon […]

Related terms

• prey on

References

• prey in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Anagrams

• pyre, rype