prod

Etymology 1

Alteration of earlier brod (perhaps through influence of poke; compare prog), from Middle English brodden (“to goad, incite, urge; to sprout”), from brod (“goad, nail; shoot, sprout”), from Old Norse broddr (“shaft, spike, thorn”), from Proto-Germanic *bruzdaz. Cognate with Icelandic broddur, Danish brod. Doublet of brad. Or, from or influenced by sound symbolism.

verb

1. (transitive) To poke, to push, to touch.
2. (transitive, informal) To encourage, to prompt.
   Some of the most beautiful and thus appealing physical theories, including quantum electrodynamics and quantum gravity, have been dogged for decades by infinities that erupt when theorists try to prod their calculations into new domains. Getting rid of these nagging infinities has probably occupied far more effort than was spent in originating the theories. 2012-01, Michael Riordan, “Tackling Infinity”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 2013-04-30, page 86
3. (transitive) To prick with a goad.

noun

1. A device (now often electrical) used to goad livestock into moving.
2. A prick or stab with such a pointed instrument.
3. A poke.
   "It's your turn," she reminded me, giving me a prod on the shoulder.
4. A light kind of crossbow; a prodd.
   The 125-pound prod (bow) drives bolt at 250 feet per second. 1983, Popular Mechanics

Etymology 2

Shortened from production.

noun

1. (programming, slang, uncountable) Short for production (“the live environment”).
   We've hit ten million users in prod today.
2. (demoscene, slang, countable) A production; a created work.
   Check our BBS for the latest prods.

Etymology 3

noun

1. (Ireland, UK, slang, sometimes derogatory) Alternative letter-case form of Prod.