Prompt, a. [Compar. Prompter; superl. Promptest.]
Etymology: [F. prompt, L. promptus, properly, brought forth (to light or view), hence, visible, evident, at hand, ready, quick, -- p. p. of promere to take or bring forth; pro forth + emere to take. See Redeem. ]
1. Ready and quick to act as occasion demands; meeting requirements readily; not slow, dilatory, or hesitating in decision or action; responding on the instant; immediate; as, prompt in obedience or compliance; -- said of persons. Very discerning and prompt in giving orders. Clarendon. Tell him I am prompt To lay my crown at's feet. Shak. Any you, perhaps, too prompt in your replies. Dryden.
2. Done or rendered quickly, readily, or immediately; given without delay or hesitation; -- said of conduct; as, prompt assistance. When Washington heard the voice of his country in distress, his obedience was prompt. Ames.
3. Easy; unobstructed. [Obs.] The reception of the light into the body of the building was very prompt. Sir H. Wotton.
Syn. -- Ready; expeditious; quick; agile; alert; brisk; nimble. -- Prompt, Ready, Expeditious. One who is ready is prepared to act at the moment. One who is prompt acts at the moment. One who is expeditious carries through an undertaking with constant promptness.
2 other Webster entries under this spelling
Prompt, n. (Com.)
A limit of time given for payment of an account for produce purchased, this limit varying with different goods. See Prompt-note. To cover any probable difference of price which might arise before the expiration of the prompt, which for this article [tea] is three months. J. S. Mill.
Prompt, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Prompted; p. pr. & vb. n. Prompting.]
1. To assist or induce the action of; to move to action; to instigate; to incite. God first . . . prompted on the infirmities of the infant world by temporal prosperity. Jer. Taylor.
2. To suggest; to dictate. And whispering angles prompt her golden dreams. Pope.
3. To remind, as an actor or an orator, of words or topics forgotten.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for prompt; he lists it under active, alert, influence, nimble.
Where he writes about it:
Prompt expresses readiness for appointment or demand at the required moment. — from alert
The good general is ready for emergencies, alert to perceive opportunity or peril, prompt to seize occasion. — from alert
Prompt and stir are words of mere suggestion toward some course of action; dispose, draw, incline, influence, and lead refer to the use of mild means to awaken in another a purpose or disposition to act. — from influence