pray

Pronunciation

• IPA: /preɪ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English preien, borrowed from Old French preier (modern French prier),^[2][3][4] from Vulgar Latin *precāre, an alteration of precārī (“to ask earnestly, beg, entreat”),^[2][5][4] from prex (“prayer, request”),^[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *prek- (“to ask, request”).^[2] Latin prex is cognate with Sanskrit pṛccháti “asks” and German fragen “to ask”.^[3][6] It is related to precarious and prayer.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To ask earnestly, to beg someone: before 1225 in King Horn according to Barnhart, the early 13th century in Etymonline.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The religious sense, to pray to God or a saint, is from about 1300.^[2][3] In the early 14th century it also meant to invite, a sense now obsolete.^[2][7] The polite phrase I pray you, “please”, is from the late 14th century, and I pray thee from about 1300; in the 16th century it was shortened to pray, as in pray tell.^[2] The rare noun, an act of praying, is from about 1325.^[7]

Timeline

• before 1225 – to ask earnestly.^[3]
• c. 1300 – to pray to God.^[2]
• early 14th century – to invite.^[2]
• late 14th century – I pray you.^[2]
• 16th century – pray, please.^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To speak to God or a god, to give thanks or ask for help.
2. To hope very much for something: we're praying for good weather.
3. (formal) To ask someone earnestly; to beg.

Adverb

1. (archaic) Please, if you will: pray be seated.

Word family

• prayingly
• unpraying
• outpray
• prayer
• prithee
• praying mantis

Related words

• precarious
• imprecation
• deprecate

Usage notes

In Surrey dialect a pray was a narrow footbridge of a plank and a rail, usually over a ford.^[8] The prey of a hunting animal is a different word, from Latin praeda.^[9]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press