Hypertext Webster Gateway: "prop"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Prop \Prop\, n. [Akin to LG., D., & Dan. prop stopple, stopper,
cork, Sw. propp, G. pfropf. See {Prop}, v.]
That which sustains an incumbent weight; that on which
anything rests or leans for support; a support; a stay; as, a
prop for a building. ``Two props of virtue.'' --Shak.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Prop \Prop\, n.
A shell, used as a die. See {Props}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Prop \Prop\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Propped}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Propping}.] [Akin to LG. & D. proppen to cram, stuff, thrust
into, stop, G. pfropfen, Dan. proppe, Sw. proppa; of
uncertain origin, cf. G. pfropfen to graft, fr. L. propago
set, layer of a plant, slip, shoot. Cf. 3d. {Prop},
{Propagate}.]
To support, or prevent from falling, by placing something
under or against; as, to prop up a fence or an old building;
(Fig.) to sustain; to maintain; as, to prop a declining
state. --Shak.
Till the bright mountains prop the incumbent sky.
--Pope.
For being not propp'd by ancestry. --Shak.
I prop myself upon those few supports that are left me.
--Pope.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
prop
n 1: a support placed beneath or against something to keep it
from shaking or falling
2: any movable articles or objects used on the set of a play or
movie; "before every scene he ran down his checklist of
props" [syn: {property}]
3: a propeller that rotates to push against air [syn: {airplane
propeller}, {airscrew}]
v : support by placing against something solid or rigid; "shore
and buttress an old building" [syn: {prop up}, {shore up},
{shore}]
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