The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Prompt \Prompt\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Prompted; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Prompting.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. To assist or induce the action of; to move to action; to
      instigate; to incite.
      [1913 Webster]

            God first . . . prompted on the infirmities of the
            infant world by temporal prosperity.  --Jer. Taylor.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To suggest; to dictate.
      [1913 Webster]

            And whispering angles prompt her golden dreams.
                                                  --Pope.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To remind, as an actor or an orator, of words or topics
      forgotten.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

prompting
    n 1: persuasion formulated as a suggestion [syn: suggestion,
         prompting]
    2: a cue given to a performer (usually the beginning of the next
       line to be spoken); "the audience could hear his prompting"
       [syn: prompt, prompting]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

21 Moby Thesaurus words for "prompting":
   actuation, aide-memoire, animation, cue, direction, flapper, hint,
   influence, inner-direction, jogger, memorandum, motivation, moving,
   other-direction, prompt, prompter, remembrance, remembrancer,
   reminder, stimulation, tickler