Word of the Day

Saturday, January 20, 2001

entreat

\en-TREET\ , intransitive verb;

To make an earnest petition or request; to plead.

transitive verb:

To ask earnestly; to beseech; to petition for.

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Quotes:

They entreat her to impart her wisdom. But she is silent.

-- John Darnton, "In Sweden, Proof of The Power of Words", New York Times, December 8, 1993

In an age that extols thinness, only a cookbook can entreat us "never to forget the sacred role of bread" or remind us that the preparation of soup "embodies ritual, which in cooking, as in all things, magnifies meaning and pleasure."

-- Rita Licciardolo, "Food for Thought Has No Calories", New York Times, May 29, 1983

Origin:

Entreat derives from Medieval French entraiter, from en- (from Latin in-), intensive prefix + traiter, "to treat," from Latin tractare, frequentative of trahere, "to draw, to pull, to drag."