prest

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

past tense & past participle of Press.

Origin: OF. prest, F. prêt, fr. L. praestus ready. Cf. Presto.

1. Ready; prompt; prepared. obsolete

All prest to such battle he was.— Robert of Gloucester

2. Neat; tidy; proper. obsolete Thomas Tusser

Prest money, money formerly paid to men when they enlisted into the British service; — so called because it bound those that received it to be ready for service when called upon.

Origin: OF. prest, F. prêt, fr. OF. prester to lend, F. prêter, fr. L. praestare to stand before, to become surety for, to fulfill, offer, supply; prae before + stare to stand. See Pre-, and Stand, and cf. Press to force into service.

1. Ready money; a loan of money. obsolete

Requiring of the city a prest of six thousand marks.— Francis, Baron Verulam Bacon

2. Law A duty in money formerly paid by the sheriff on his account in the exchequer, or for money left or remaining in his hands. John Cowell

To give as a loan; to lend. obsolete

Sums of money... prested out in loan.— Edward Hall

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54