Pronged

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Featuring multiple sharp extensions or points radiating from a central axis
2. Describing an object designed with branched tips to enhance functionality in various contexts
3. Having several pointed tips or projections extending outward from a main body

Etymology: "Pronged" is simply "prong" with the suffix "-ed" added, and that suffix has a long pedigree of its own. The "-ed" ending traces back through Old English "-ed" and "-od" to a Proto-Germanic ending "-ōdaz," which in turn descends from an ancient Indo-European suffix used to form adjectives meaning "having" or "provided with" something. So a pronged object is, quite literally, one that has prongs. The base word "prong" is the more mysterious half of the pair, and it entered English relatively late, as a term for a pointed projecting tip, most familiarly the tines of a fork. Adding "-ed" to a noun like this is one of the most productive habits of English, which is why we can describe a horned animal, a flowered shrub, or a pronged antler with the same grammatical tool.

Synonyms: tined