prière French · revision 38585

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1120, Psautier de Cambridge|origins=la prex}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /pʁi.jɛʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''prière''' ''f'' (plural prières)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|preiere]] (about 1120) and [[m|fro|priere]] (about 1138); Littré also quotes [[m|fro|proiere]].^(GLLF 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|preiere]], [[inh|la-med|precāria|t=charter of request, petition]], recorded in 658 in Merovingian Latin.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(FEW|9, 339a) This is the feminine of the classical adjective [[m|la|precārius|t=obtained by entreaty]], used as a noun, short for [[m|la-med|charta precāria]].^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The adjective is derived from [[m|la|precēs|t=prayers, entreaties]], the usual plural of the rarer singular [[m|la|prex]], whose place the new noun took; the same adjective gave [[précaire]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The vowel /i/ of the later forms comes from the verb [[prier]].^(TLFi)

+

+ The word is found only in Gallo-Romance and in [[ca|pregaria]];^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992) Littré compares [[pro|preguiera]] and [[it|preghiera]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Its first records, in the Cambridge Psalter (about 1120) and in Geoffrey Gaimar's ''Estoire des Engleis'' (about 1138), have the senses “the act of praying, the words of a prayer” and “an earnest request”.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Both senses have lived side by side since Old French.^(DHLF 1992) In the language of religion ''prière'' drove [[oraison]], a word of Church Latin, out of common use;^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) its main sense stays tied to Christianity, but it is also the usual word for the prayers of Islam (''tapis de prière'', ''appel à la prière''), and in African French ''la grande prière'' is the Friday prayer.^(DHLF 1992) In Old French it could also mean a labour service owed to a lord, a sense Littré quotes from the 14th century.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ The sense “request” gave ''à la prière de'' “at the request of” (1316) and the polite formula ''prière de'' + infinitive (1813), as in ''prière d'insérer'' (1935), which became a noun for the publisher's insert sent with a book to the press (1937).^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1120 – ''Preiere'' in the Cambridge Psalter, of the act of praying.^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1138 – Gaimar uses ''priere'' for an earnest request.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1316 – ''A la priere de'' “at the request of”.^(TLFi)

+ * 14th century – ''Prieres'' are labour services owed with ploughs and carts.^(Littré 1873)

+ * 1669 – Molière has ''faire sa prière''.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1813 – ''Prière de'' + infinitive as a formula of request.^(TLFi)

+ * 1935 – The Académie records ''prière d'insérer''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|prayer|alt=Prayer]]: the act of turning to God or a deity to worship, thank or ask for something.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # A fixed form of words used in praying: ''la prière du soir''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+ # An earnest [[m|en|request]], [[m|en|entreaty]]: ''céder aux prières de sa sœur''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+ # ''Prière de'' + infinitive: please (in notices): ''prière de fermer la porte''.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''Prière d'insérer'': a publisher's insert describing a new book, sent to critics.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[prier]]

+ * [[précaire]]

+ * [[oraison]]

+ * [[la|prex]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}