pray, prayen, preien, preyen

i. & t. [O. Fr. preier (Fr. prier ), from Lat. precor to Fray, from prex (gen it. precis )=a prayer; from the same root as Sansc. pracch =toask; Ger.fragen.] IMG:content-1436.png:[blocks in formation] cate, to implore. 1. To ask or beg earnestly; to entreat, to suppli"Wepray you, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God."-2 Corinth . v. 20. 2. To addre with reverence and humility for something to be granted. "Pray God, if perhaps the thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee." - Acts viii. 22. 3. To ask or beg earnestly for; to petition for; to sue for. "I know not how to pray your patience." Shakesp.: Much Ado about Nothing, v. 1. *4. To intercede or supplicate earnestly on behalf of; to effect by prayer. "Praying souls out of purgatory by ma es said on their behalf became an ordinary office."-Milman. 1. I pray you , or, by ellipsis, I pray , or simply pray , is a common form for introducing a question or petition. "I pray, sir, why am I beaten?"- Shakesp .: Comedy of Errors , ii. 2. IMG:content-1437.png:[blocks in formation] *prāy-ant, s. [English pray; -ant.] One who prays; a prayer. ( Gauden : Tears of the Church , p. 93.) präyer (1), *pre i-er, *pre i-ere, *prey-ere, s. [O. Fr. preiere, proiere (Fr. prière ), from Lat. pre caria, fem. sing. of pre car i us =obtained by praying; precor to pray (q. v.); Ital. pregaria ] 1. The act of praying, asking, or begging a favor earnestly; an earnest petition, suit, or supplication; an entreaty. "Then each, to ease his troubled breast, To some ble ed saint his prayers addre ed." Scott: Lay of the Last Minstrel, vi. 28. 2. The act or practice of praying to or supplicating the Divine Being; the offering to God of adoration, confe ion, supplication, and thanksgiving, communion with God in devotional exercises. "Prayer will either make a man leave off sinning, or sin will make him leave off prayer."-Paley: Sermons, No. 1. 3. A solemn petition addre ed to the Supreme Being; a supplication to God for ble ings or mercies, together with a confe ion of sins, and thanksgiving for mercies or ble ings received. "I sought By prayer th' offended deity to appease." Milton: P. L., xi. 149. 4. The words of a supplication; the form of words used in praying; espec. a formula of prayer used in divine worship, whether private or public. 5. That part of a petition or memorial to the sov ereign or any authority in which the request or thing desired to be done or granted is specified.