Etymologically
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pray

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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
  • 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