v.
    - press briefly or puncture with a sharp point. 
▸
(prick something out)
 draw or decorate by making small holes in a surface.
 - feel a sensation as though a sharp point were sticking into one. 
▸cause mental or emotional discomfort to.
 - 
(often prick up)
 (chiefly of a horse or dog) make (the ears) stand erect when on the alert.
 - 
(prick something out)
 plant seedlings in small holes made in the earth.
 
n.
   - an act of pricking something. 
▸a small hole or mark made by pricking.
 - a sharp pain caused by being pierced with a fine point. 
▸a sudden feeling of distress, anxiety, etc.
 ▸archaic a goad for oxen.
 - vulgar slang a man's penis. 
▸a stupid, unpleasant, or contemptible man.
 
 
  Phrase
  
    
      - kick against the pricks
 hurt oneself by persisting in useless resistance or protest. 
[with biblical allusion to Acts 9:5.]
 
    
   
  Derivative
  
  Etymology
  OE pricca (n.), prician (v.), prob. of W. Gmc origin.