Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Prompt

Prompt (promt; 215) , adjective

[French prompt, Latin promptus, properly, brought forth (to light or view), hence, visible, evident, at hand, ready, quick, -- past participle 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. — Shakespeare
And 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. [Obsolete]
The reception of the light into the body of the building was very prompt. — Sir H. Wotton

Prompt , noun

(Commerce) 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 , transitive verb

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.