entreaty

Etymology

It is formed from English entreat + -y, on the pattern of treaty.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Merriam-Webster gives the older form as entrety, from entreten.^[7] The verb is from Anglo-Norman entraiter, also Middle French entraitier,^[2][7][8] from en- (“to make, cause”) and traitier (“to treat”).^[8][7][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Negotiation, the discussion of terms: 1447, in the Letters & Papers of John Shillingford,^[2] 1448 in Barnhart.^[8] Etymonline dates the senses "treatment" and "negotiation" together to the mid-15th century.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The word first followed the older meanings of its verb: negotiation (until 1608), the treatment of a person, usually good or ill (1525 to 1670), the reception of guests (before 1569 to 1616), and the discussion of a subject (before 1538 to 1626).^[2] All of them have died out.^[2][6] The surviving sense, an earnest request, appears before 1530 in T. Lupset,^[2] although Barnhart and Etymonline first find it in the 1570s.^[8][9] It had grown up in the verb, which took the sense "implore" from treat, used in that way.^[4] Johnson (1755) gave only this meaning, quoting Shakespeare's Richard III: "Obdurate to entreaties".^[10] The word was formerly also spelled intreaty.^[3][6]

Timeline

• 1447 – negotiation (obsolete by 1608).^[2][8]
• 1525 – treatment of someone (obsolete by 1670).^[2]
• before 1530 – an earnest request.^[2] Barnhart dates it to 1573.^[8]
• before 1538 – discussion of a subject (obsolete by 1626).^[2]
• before 1569 – reception of guests (obsolete by 1616).^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. An earnest request or plea; the act of making one: He ignored his daughter's entreaties to stay.^[11][7][2]
2. (obsolete, 1525–1670) Treatment of a person.^[2][7][6]
3. (obsolete, before 1569–1616) The reception or entertainment of guests.^[2][7]
4. (obsolete, 1447–1608) Negotiation.^[2][6]
5. (obsolete, before 1538–1626) Discussion of a subject.^[2][6]

Related words

• entreat
• treaty
• treat

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
9. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins