pray
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: prā
ipa: /pɹeɪ/
rhymes: -eɪ
homophone: prey
Forms: form: prays
form: praying
form: prayed
form: prayed
Etymology: From Middle English preien, from Anglo-Norman preier, from Old French preier, proier (French prier), from Latin precārī, from prex, precis (“a prayer, a request”), from Proto-Italic *preks, from Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- (“to ask, woo”). Displaced native Old English gebiddan.
Cognate via Indo-European of Old English frignan, fricgan, German fragen, Dutch vragen. Compare deprecate, imprecate, precarious.
Senses: examples: text: Muslims pray in the direction of Mecca.
text: Pray to the small gods and hope that they may hear thee. Yet what mercy should the small gods have, who themselves made Death and Pain; or shall they restrain their old hound Time for thee?
ref: 1905, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], The Gods of Pegāna, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews, […], →OCLC:
text: This can't happen. You can't die! You're the Emissary! [...] Captain, I know my beliefs make you uncomfortable around me sometimes, and that maybe that's why you keep me at arm's length. But I don't care about that right now, and I am going to pray, because I don't know what else to do.
ref: 1995, David Mack & John J. Ordover, “Starship Down”, in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, season 4, episode 7, spoken by Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor):
text: The critically low level of rainfall in the second half of 2020 – approaching 50% year on year for November – led the religious affairs directorate to instruct imams and their congregations to pray for rain last month.
ref: 2021 January 13, Bethan McKernan, “Turkey drought: Istanbul could run out of water in 45 days”, in The Guardian:
topics: lifestyle
religion
glosses: To direct words, thoughts, or one's attention to a deity or any higher being, for the sake of adoration, thanks, petition for help, etc.
glosses: To humbly beg a person for aid or their time.
examples: text: I know not how to pray your patience.
ref: 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
glosses: To ask earnestly for; to seek to obtain by supplication; to entreat for.
examples: text: She is praying that the Red Sox will win tonight.
glosses: To wish or hope strongly for a particular outcome.
examples: text: They prayd him sit, and gave him for to feed
 Such homely what as serves the simple clowne,
 That doth despise the dainties of the towne[…]
ref: 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 7:
text: In time of drought the Abchases of the Caucasus sacrifice an ox to Ap-hi, the god of thunder and lightning, and an old man prays him to send rain, thunder, and lightning, telling him that the crops are parched.
ref: 1890, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 2, page 370:
text: I humbly pray to the Honorable Court for the order for the removal of the publication which contains fake news to be granted.
ref: 2021, Yang di-Pertuan Agong, “Schedule”, in Emergency (Essential Powers) (No. 2) Ordinance 2021, archived from the original on 20 Jul 2023, page 31:
topics: law
glosses: To implore, to entreat, to request.
Derived terms: plug and pray
prayer
pray in aid
praying Indian
praying machine
praying mantid
praying mantis
praying shawl
pray tell
pray the gay away
pray to the porcelain god
pray to the porcelain goddess
prithee
spray and pray
Related terms: precarious