Asked or looked into something private or secret without permission; opened something with a tool by applying force.
From Middle English 'prien,' possibly from Old French 'prier.' The modern sense of 'pry' (to inquire nosily) became dominant in the 1600s, while the mechanical sense (to lever open) developed alongside it.
The word 'pry' has a sneaky duality—it can mean both nosing into someone's business AND physically forcing something open, which is why a crowbar is called a 'pry bar.' Both meanings involve forcing your way into something that's closed off.
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