Etymologically
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precor

Etymology and origin of the Latin word precor

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Livius Andronicus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*preḱ-)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈprɛ.kɔr][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈprɛː.kor][1]

Forms

precor (present infinitive precārī, perfect active precātus sum); first conjugation, deponent[1]

Etymology

It is from prex “prayer”, a root noun of Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- (“to ask”), the root of poscō and procus.[2][3][1] Cognate with Sanskrit पृच्छति (pṛccháti, “asks”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌽𐌰𐌽 (fraihnan, “to ask”) and German fragen (“to ask”).[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Livius Andronicus, who has someone pray for the riches he seeks.[2][4] Köbler dates Livius Andronicus 280/260–before 200 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to ask or pray for something, beg, implore, often in religious language, and to pray to or beseech a god, as Ennius' prayer to Venus born of the sea.[4] With two accusatives it meant to beg something of someone, and absolutely to pray.[4] It could wish good or evil on someone, and precor in parenthesis meant “I pray you”, as Virgil's Faune, precor, miserēre.[4][6] Döderlein says rogō and ōrō are requests between equals, while precārī is the request of an inferior, a prayer.[7]

It survives in Italian pregare and French prier.[1] Through Vulgar Latin *precāre and Old French preier it is the source of English pray, recorded in the early 13th century.[8]

Timeline

  • 280/260–before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus uses it.[4][5]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of a prayer to Venus.[4][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses precor in a prayer to Faunus.[4][5]
  • early 13th century – English pray is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To ask or pray for, beg, implore.[4]
  2. To pray to, beseech.[4]
  3. To beg (something) of (someone).[4]
  4. To pray, make supplication.[4]
  5. precor: I pray you, please.[4]

Word family

  • apprecor
  • comprecor
  • dēprecor
  • imprecor
  • precābundus
  • precāmen
  • precātiō
  • precātīvus
  • precātor
  • precātus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Precor.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/precor. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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