prayer

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /preə/, US /prer/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English preiere, borrowed from Old French preiere, prier,^[2][3][4] from Medieval Latin precaria (“petition, prayer”), a noun use of the feminine of Latin precārius “obtained by prayer, given as a favour”,^[2][4] from precārī (“to ask, beg, pray”) and prex (“prayer”),^[2][4] from Proto-Indo-European *prek- (“to ask, entreat”).^[2] It is related to pray and precarious.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A solemn request to God, and the practice of praying: before 1300 in the OED, about 1300 in Etymonline, where the first sense is an earnest request or entreaty.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

A devout petition to God, the Lord's Prayer and the practice of praying are all from the mid-14th century,^[2] an entreaty to a person from about 1350,^[5] and a set form of words used in praying from 1389.^[5] Prayers as earnest good wishes for someone are from 1597.^[5] Not have a prayer, to have no chance, is from 1941.^[2][5]

Timeline

• a. 1300 – a request to God.^[5]
• c. 1350 – an entreaty to a person.^[5]
• 1389 – a set form of prayer.^[5]
• 1941 – not have a prayer.^[2][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A request or words of thanks or praise addressed to God or a god.
2. The act of praying.
3. A set form of words used in praying: the Lord's Prayer.
4. An earnest hope or request.
5. (prayers) A religious service of prayer.

Word family

• prayerless
• prayerlessly
• prayerlessness
• prayerful
• evening prayer
• house of prayer
• morning prayer
• prayer beads

Related words

• pray
• precarious
• deprecate
• imprecation

Usage notes

Prayer, one who prays, from about 1440, is a different word, an agent noun from the verb pray, pronounced as two syllables.^[5][2][1]

References

1. ^ a b 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press