Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
Definition of pray - 7 dictionary results
Worried? Need Prayer?
Gain Hope and Strength We’ll Pray for Your Request
OurPrayer.org
Pray. It Works.
Understand how to pray & why. This explains the value of prayer.
www.everystudent.com
Life Changing Prayer
Jesus Christ Loves You. Here is a Prayer That Can Change Your Life
www.Jesus2020.com

pray

  [prey]
Use pray in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to offer devout petition, praise, thanks, etc., to (God or an object of worship).
2. to offer (a prayer).
3. to bring, put, etc., by praying: to pray a soul into heaven.
4. to make earnest petition to (a person).
5. to make petition or entreaty for; crave: She prayed his forgiveness.
6. to offer devout petition, praise, thanks, etc., to God or to an object of worship.
7. to enter into spiritual communion with God or an object of worship through prayer.
–verb (used without object)
8. to make entreaty or supplication, as to a person or for a thing.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME preien < OF preier ≪ L precārī to beg, pray, deriv. of prex (s. prec-) prayer; akin to OE fricgan, D vragen, G fragen, Goth fraihnan to ask

Related forms:
pray⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
4. importune, entreat, supplicate, beg, beseech, implore.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pray
Worried? Need Prayer?
Gain Hope and Strength We’ll Pray for Your Request
OurPrayer.org
pray   (prā)   
v.   prayed, pray·ing, prays

v.   intr.
  1. To utter or address a prayer or prayers to God, a god, or another object of worship.
  2. To make a fervent request or entreaty.
v.   tr.
  1. To utter or say a prayer or prayers to; address by prayer.
  2. To ask (someone) imploringly; beseech. Now often used elliptically for I pray you to introduce a request or entreaty: Pray be careful.
  3. To make a devout or earnest request for: I pray your permission to speak.
  4. To move or bring by prayer or entreaty.

[Middle English preien, from Old French preier, from Latin precārī, from precē, pl. of *prex, prayer; see prek- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Pray

Pray\, n. & v. See Pry. [Obs.] --Spenser.

Pray

Pray\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Prayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Praying.] [OE. preien, OF. preier, F. prier, L. precari, fr. prex, precis, a prayer, a request; akin to Skr. prach to ask, AS. frignan, fr[=i]nan, fricgan, G. fragen, Goth. fra['i]hnan. Cf. Deprecate, Imprecate, Precarious.] To make request with earnestness or zeal, as for something desired; to make entreaty or supplication; to offer prayer to a deity or divine being as a religious act; specifically, to address the Supreme Being with adoration, confession, supplication, and thanksgiving.

And to his goddess pitously he preyde. --Chaucer.

When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. --Matt. vi. 6.

I pray, or (by ellipsis) Pray, I beg; I request; I entreat you; -- used in asking a question, making a request, introducing a petition, etc.; as, Pray, allow me to go.

I pray, sir. why am I beaten? --Shak.

Syn: To entreat; supplicate; beg; implore; invoke; beseech; petition.

Pray

Pray\, v. t. 1. To address earnest request to; to supplicate; to entreat; to implore; to beseech.

And as this earl was preyed, so did he. --Chaucer.

We pray you . . . by ye reconciled to God. --2 Cor. v. 20.

2. To ask earnestly for; to seek to obtain by supplication; to entreat for.

I know not how to pray your patience. --Shak.

3. To effect or accomplish by praying; as, to pray a soul out of purgatory. --Milman.

To pray in aid. (Law) (a) To call in as a helper one who has an interest in the cause. --Bacon. (b) A phrase often used to signify claiming the benefit of an argument. See under Aid. --Mozley & W.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : pray
Spanish: rezar, orar,
German: beten,
Japanese: 祈る
More Translations »

pray 
c.1290, "ask earnestly, beg," also "pray to a god or saint," from O.Fr. preier (c.900), from L. precari "ask earnestly, beg," from *prex (plural preces, gen. precis) "prayer, request, entreaty," from PIE base *prek- "to ask, request, entreat" (cf. Skt. prasna-, Avestan frashna- "question;" O.C.S. prositi, Lith. prasyti "to ask, beg;" O.H.G. frahen, Ger. fragen, O.E. fricgan "to ask" a question). Prayer (c.1300) is from O.Fr. preiere, from V.L. *precaria, noun use of L. precaria, fem. of adj. precarius "obtained by prayer," from precari.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

Main Entry: pray
Function: transitive verb
: to ask for prays judgment against the defendants for actual damages> —used esp. in pleadings intransitive verb : to make a request of a court esp. in a complaint or petition prays for declaratory relief> <praying that the judgment be vacated>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see pray on Thesaurus | Reference
Pray. It Works.
Understand how to pray & why. This explains the value of prayer.
www.everystudent.com
Life Changing Prayer
Jesus Christ Loves You. Here is a Prayer That Can Change Your Life
www.Jesus2020.com
Dictionary.com Free Toolbar
Define Pray Instantly. Faster Page Loads With Fewer Ads.
Dictionary.com