prick
n. countablen. a very rude or annoying man who treats other people badly. It is a strong, mean word that you should use carefully because it can offend people.
n. a highly offensive term for a man perceived as contemptible, arrogant, or unpleasant. Vulgar in register; used as a pejorative to express strong dislike or social disapproval.
He was being a real prick at the party last night.
I decided to quit my job because my boss was such a prick to everyone in the office.
The protagonist's transformation from a self-absorbed prick into a sympathetic figure provides the emotional core of the novel's second act.
From Middle English prik, prikke, from Old English prica, pricu (“a sharp point, minute mark, spot, dot, small portion, prick”), from Proto-West Germanic prikō, priku, from Proto-Germanic prikô, prikō (“a prick, point”), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *breyǵ- (“to scrape, scratch, rub, prickle, chap”). Cognate with West Frisian prik (“small hole”), West Frisian prikke (“penis”), Dutch prik (“point, small stick", also "penis”), Danish prik (“dot”), Icelandic prik (“dot, small stick”).
From Middle English prikken, from Old English prician, priccan (“to prick”), from Proto-Germanic prikōną, prikjaną (“to pierce, prick”), of uncertain origin; perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *breyǵ- (“to scrape, scratch, rub, prickle, chap”). Cognate with dialectal English pritch, Dutch prikken (“to prick, sting”), Middle High German pfrecken (“to prick”), Swedish pricka (“to dot, prick”), and possibly to Lithuanian įbrėžti (“to scrape, scratch, carve, inscribe, strike”).
Used as a derogatory label for a person; highly informal and potentially offensive in most social contexts.