▪ I. pray, v.
(preɪ)
Forms: 3–5 preie(n, 4–5 preye, 4–6 prey, praie, praye, 4–7 prai, 4– pray (6 Sc. pra, 7 prea).
[ME. preien, a. OF. preier (Eulalia a 900), = It. pregare, Pg. pregar:—late L. precāre (Priscian), cl. L. precārī to entreat, pray. (In mod.F. prier the stem-vowel is levelled under that of the stem-stressed forms, il prie, etc.)]
I. trans. with personal object.
1. To ask earnestly, humbly, or supplicatingly, to beseech; to make devout petition to; to ask (a person) for something as a favour or act of grace; esp. in religious use, to make devout and humble supplication to (God, or an object of worship). arch. a. with personal object only.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 112/200 And preide is fader wel ȝerne. 1382 Wyclif John xiv. 16, I schal preie the fadir, and he schal ȝyue to ȝou another coumfortour. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 73 Affricanus, þe writer of stories, was i-prayed and wente to Alexandria. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 38 And than come furth, his Father kynde, And prayit him rycht feruentlie. 1611 Bible John iv. 31 In the meane while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eate. Ibid. xiv. 16, I will pray the Father, and hee shall giue you another Comforter [so all 16th c. vers. and Revised 1881]. 1819 Byron Juan i. lxxvi, That night the Virgin was no further pray'd. |
With various extensions:
b. to do a thing, or that a thing may be.
| a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. xviii. 58, Y preye the thou here my bene. 13.. Cursor M. 17933 (Gött.) To prai vr lauerd drightin dere, To send me wid his messagere þe oyle of his merciful tre. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 172 Preiende Achab,..To hiere him speke. c 1430 Life St. Kath. (1884) 41 Þey alle prayde þe preciouse virgyn þat þay myght be baptized. c 1450 Merlin 15 She wepte and cryde hem mercy, praynge hem to abyde a while. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon iii. 74 That we praye god that he wyll helpe vs to be auenged of the foure sones of Aymon. 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 578 The poore foole praies her that he may depart. 1613–14 in Crt. & Times Jas. I (1848) I. 292, I pray God your friends..stick as well to you. 1637 Documents agst. Prynne (Camden) 66 Mr. Atturney Generall shal bee hereby prayed and required..to proceed in examinacion..of the Warden of the Fleet and his deputy. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull i. x, Pray God, this Hocus be honest! 1787 Nelson in Nicolas Disp. (1845) I. 263 Praying their Lordships to relieve him from the expenses and issue of a law-suit. 1845 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 22 They were sent to pray him not to show himself obstinately bent on thwarting her wish. |
c. Const. for or on behalf of a person or thing; for († of) a thing desired.
| c 1330 Assump. Virg. 164 (B.M. MS.) My sone..I praie þee of þi blessing. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour 34 Ladies..y praie you of a bone [boon]. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 6956 He was besy, night and day, Þe saint for synfull men to pray. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. lii. 36 The bisshop prayd this kyng Aldroye of help and socour. 1483 ― G. de la Tour lxxxiv. G vij b, How..faders and moders ought euery day to pray god for theyr children. |
d. with the thing asked as second object: cf. ask v. 5. rare.
| c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxv. i, All mens praiers to thee raised Returne possest of what they pray thee. |
† 2. To beg or entreat (a person) to come to a feast, or the like; to invite. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 13987 At ete he praid him til his hus. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 155 Þey preyed to a feste al þe grete of þe Pictes. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 18 Be mouthe bothe and be message Hise frendes to the feste he preide. c 1420 Sir Amadace (Camden) xix, To pray the marchand and his wife allsoe, To soupe with him that nyȝte. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. i. 292, I pray you home to dinner with me. |
II. trans. With the thing asked as object.
3. a. To ask (something) earnestly in prayer; to ask or beg (a thing) with supplication; to crave.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 95 What þou hast i-prayed it is [y]-graunted to þe. 1594 T. Bedingfield tr. Machiavelli's Florentine Hist. (1595) 39 Now they were inforced to pray his aid. 1619 W. Sclater Exp. 1 Thess. (1630) 218 Whether it be lawfull to pray freedome from all temptations. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) VI. 359 If a conveyance had been prayed, there must have been a limitation to trustees to preserve contingent remainders. 1859 Tennyson Geraint & Enid 403 Fair Host and Earl, I pray your courtesy. 1872 Morley Voltaire ii. 74 The next day Voltaire saw his man in prison with irons on and praying an alms from the passers by. 1889 Ruskin Præterita III. ii. 92 He prayed permission to introduce his mother and sisters to us. |
b. with inf. or obj. cl.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 7545 Preyenge..Þat he wolde ony night herberwe him wyþ. a 1425 Cursor M. 10209 (Trin.) Childe to haue þei preyed long. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. i. ii. 90 And praies that you will hie you home. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe iv, Let me also pray that you will excuse my speaking to you in my native language. 1844 H. H. Wilson Brit. India II. 487 [They] prayed to be exempted from the operation of the law. 1845 Stephen Comm. Laws Eng. (1874) II. 176 Praying that the proper general meetings may be convened. |
4. a. with cognate object: to pray a prayer, etc.
| c 1350 Will. Palerne 163 To ȝe heiȝ king of heuene preieth a pater noster. c 1490 MS. Advocates' Libr. Edin. 18. 2. 8. ii. Colophon, Ane orisoune þat Galfryde Chauceir maid and prayit to þis lady. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 167 The prayer of a synner, though it deserue not to be herd of god, in that he is a synner y{supt} prayeth it. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iii. i. 146 Ile pray a thousand praiers for thy death, No word to saue thee. 1665 Surv. Aff. Netherl. 197 That they shall pray prayers twice a week. 1854 R. G. Latham Native Races Russian Emp. 57 They pray a prayer, burn a portion of the offering, and spread a portion of it over the altar. |
b. With the matter of the prayer as object.
| c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxvi. viii, Praise to him: who what I praid, Rejected not. 1681 T. Flatman Heraclitus Ridens No. 39 (1713) I. 263 They prate, they print, they pray, and preach Sedition. |
III. 5. intr. To make earnest request or petition; to make entreaty or supplication; esp. to present petitions to God, or to an object of worship. a. simply. To offer prayer, to engage in prayer.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 19042 Arli þa postlis ilke dai Wente to þe tempil to praie. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints ii. (Paulus) 227 Besyd it to morne ȝe se may Twa men stannand besyd it prayand. 1382 Wyclif Luke xi. 1 Lord, teche vs to preye, as and John tauȝte his disciplis. 1388 ― Acts ix. 11 Lo! he preieth. a 1400–50 Alexander 1477 Ilke freke & euery faunt to fast & to pray. 1533 Gau Richt Vay 32 Thairfor we pra al as christ hes lerit vsz in the vi chaiptur of S. Mathew. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. ii. 169 At Galdies sepulchre he prayes eftir the consuetude. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. v. i. 93 How I perswaded, how I praid, and kneel'd. 1642 Milton Apol. Smect. xi, Nor is it easily credible, that he who can preach well, should be unable to pray well. 1798 Coleridge Anc. Mar. vii. xxii, He prayeth well, who loveth well Both man and bird and beast. 1828 Scott Tales Grandf. Ser. ii. xix, Claverhouse..said ‘I gave you leave to pray, and you are preaching’. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xxviii, ‘I am dying’, said St. Clare, pressing his hand; ‘pray!’ 1882 J. Parker Apost. Life I. 83 To pray is to redeem any day from common-place. |
b. Const. to a person, for a thing; also for (= on behalf of) a person, etc.; spec. to make a formal petition for (something); to move a prayer (prayer1 5). Also absol.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 108 (Cott.) Scho prais ai for sinful men. Ibid. 3449 At pray to godd ai was sco prest. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xv. 1 Þe voice of crist in his manhed prayand til þe fadere. 1382 Wyclif Isa. liii. 12 He the synne of manye toc, and for trespasseres preȝede. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 15 Thanne Bachus preide To Jupiter, and thus he seide. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 26 Þei prey for plentey, & pees, & swilk oþer þings. 1466 Paston Lett. II. 286 Every day iiij d., to sing and pray for his sowle and myn. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 2, I beseche all them..y{supt} shall profyte by this worke to pray for me wretche. 1641 Brome Jovial Crew iii. Wks. 1873 III. 398 That will duly and truly prea for yee. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxxi. 191 The People that Prayed to them [images]. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. v. §2 Shall we believe a God, and not pray to him for future benefits? 1754 Erskine Princ. Sc. Law (1809) 21 The grounds..upon which a party may pray for letters of advocation. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 73 A legislator..will pray for favourable conditions under which he may exercise his art. 1920 Act 10 & 11 Geo. V c. 67 §1 The Council shall..determine whether to issue the order as prayed for, or to issue the order with such modifications as may appear to be necessary. 1962 Hanson & Wiseman Parliament at Work viii. 211 The need for such an Order arose from the attempts of a group of Conservative back⁓benchers to ‘harry the life’ out of the Labour Government of 1950–51..by ‘praying’ into the small hours of the morning. |
c. In the formal ending of a petition to the Sovereign, to Parliament, a petition in Chancery, etc. The words after ‘pray’ were at length reduced to ‘etc.’, which is now also usually omitted.
| 1429 Petition to Parlt. (8 Hen. VI) in Rolls of Parlt. IV. 346 Please it your right high and wise discretions to preye the Kyng oure soverayn Lorde, be the advis and assent of the Lord Espirituelx and Temporels of this present Parlement..to graunte his Letters Patentz undre his Great Seale [etc.]. And we shall preye to God for you. c 1432–43 Petition in Chancery in Cal. of Proc. in Chancery (Recd. Comm. 1827) Introd. 41 (To Ld. Chancellor) And your said pore oratours shall ever pray to God for your good Lordship. Ibid., And she [Margt. Applegarth, widow] shall pray God for you. Ibid. 45 And thei shall truly pray for you. 1439 Petition to King in Rolls of Parlt. V. 10/1 And they shall pray to God for you perpetuelly, and for all your noble Progenitors. 1472–3 (12–13 Edw. IV) Ibid. VI. 20/2 And youre seid Suppliant shall ever pray to God for the preservation of your estate Roiall. 1485 (1 Hen. VII) Ibid. VI. 327 And he shal euer pray to God for the preservacion of your most Noble and Roiall Estate. 1575–1600 (Q. Eliz.) in Cal. of Proc. in Chancery (as above) Introd. 147 And the said John Hunt accordinge to his bounden dutie shall daily praie unto God for your majesties long & prosperous raigne over us your heighnes subjectis. 1597 West Symbol. ii. Chancery §104, And your said Orator shall daily pray vnto God for the long continuance of your H[ighness] in health and prosperitie. [Many variant forms are given.] 1727 [see orator 2]. 1883 Wharton's Law Lex. 622 To the whole petition [to Parlt.] should be added the words, ‘And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, etc.’; and immediately thereupon must follow the signatures. 1896 W. P. Baildon Select Cases in Chancery (Selden Soc.) Introd. xxv, The familiar expression ‘and your petitioner[s] shall ever pray, &c.’, in its various forms, came in about the middle of the fifteenth century. |
IV. Phrases and idiomatic uses.
6. to pray in aid: to pray or crave the assistance of some one. Also fig. See aid n. 2.
For the construction, cf. to call in the aid of, etc.
| 1531 Dial. on Laws Eng. ii. vii. 16 In like wyse he may nat pray in ayde for him onelesse he knowe the pray [ed. 1554 prayee] have good cause of voucher and lyon, or that he know that the pray hathe somwhat to plede that the tenaunt maye nat plede as vyllynage in the demaundaunt or suche other. 1594 Plat Jewell-ho. iii. 40 To drawe..by hand onely, without praying in aide of the same [perspective glass]. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. v. ii. 27 A Conqueror that will pray in ayde for kindnesse, Where he for grace is kneel'd too. 1625 Bacon Ess., Friendship (Arb.) 173 Yet, without praying in Aid of Alchymists, there is a manifest Image of this, in the ordinarie course of Nature. 1642 tr. Perkins' Prof. Bk. v. §310. 137 The other..prayeth in aid of his coparcener. 1768 Blackstone Comm. III. xx. 300 In real actions also the tenant may pray in aid, or call for assistance of another, to help him to plead. Ibid., An incumbent may pray in aid of the patron and ordinary. |
7. trans. and refl. with compl. To bring, put, or get into some state or condition by praying. pray down, pray out: see down adv. 17 b, out adv. 7, 8.
| 1643 Trapp Comm. Gen. xxxii. 24 Nehemiah prayed himself pale; Daniel prayed himself sick; our Saviour also pray'd himself into an agony. 1677 I. Mather Prevalency of Prayer (1864) 267 If Enemys arise, let us pray them down again. 1686 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) I. 371 At the queens chappell at St. James are papers stuck up..for the prayeing of persons out of purgatory. 1725 Pope Let. to Swift 15 Oct., I would not pray them out of purgatory. 1822 J. Flint Lett. Amer. 233 One of them gifted with a loud and clear voice, drowned the other totally, and actually prayed him down. 1840 T. F. Buxton in T. W. Reid Life W. E. Forster (1888) I. v. 136 All I can say is (and it applies to all cases of perplexity), pray it out. |
8. † a. I pray you (thee): used parenthetically to add instance or deference to a question or request. So b. pray you, pray thee, etc. (Cf. prithee.) c. I pray. Obs.
| 1519 Interl. 4 Elements B iv, Syr, I pray you, be contente, It is not vtterly myne intente Your company to exyle. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 1 b, Ascrybe it (I praye you) to my insuffycyency and ignoraunce. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. ii. ii. 35 Maister yong-man, you I praie you, which is the waie to Maister Iewes? 1601 ? Marston Pasquil & Kath. iii. 302 Oh, I am maz'd with ioy, I pree-thee, sweet, Vnfold to me, what said mischance it was. |
| b. 1524 Q. Margaret in Mrs. Wood Lett. Illustr. Ladies (1846) I. 327 Pray your grace to pardon me that I write so plainly to you. 1590 Marlowe Edw. II, ii. ii, Pray thee let me know it. a 1661 B. Holyday Juvenal 137 ‘Reward!’ says one, ‘why, pray y', what do I know?’ 1676 Hobbes Iliad 91 But, brother, pra'ye, sit down and rest a while. |
| c. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, v. v. 36 Why what (I pray) is Margaret more then that? 1630 Prynne Anti-Armin. 134, I pray, what Scripture proues it? 1704 Norris Ideal World ii. xii. 457 Where, I pray, is it that we see it? |
d. Contracted to pray (cf. please v. 6 c).
| 15.. in Jyl of Brentford's Test., etc. (Ballad Soc.) 41 Pray doe it over again. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iii. i. 18 Pray set it down, and rest you. 1700 Farquhar Constant Couple iii. i, Pray, sir, are the roads deep between this and Paris? 1707 Freind Peterborow's Cond. Spain 113 Pray consider the consequences of a lost Battle. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. viii. 61 Pray let me pass. 1838–9 F. A. Kemble Resid. in Georgia (1863) 33 Now pray take notice. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 354 Shall I tell you why? Pray do. |
9. The vb-stem in Comb. pray-TV N. Amer. colloq. [punningly after pay-TV s.v. pay- 4], religious broadcasting, esp. television evangelism that dominates a time-slot or network.
| 1981 N.Y. Times 30 Aug. ii 31/1 ‘Pray TV’ (ABC)...John Ritter stars in a drama about the electronic church. 1983 Maclean's Mag. 10 Oct. 52/2 The commission..voted to approve ‘pray TV’, a national satellite-distributed religious broadcasting service. 1985 Christian Science Monitor 12 Apr. 25/1 There are the intertwining lives of typical Americans in politics, West Point, pray-TV. |
▪ II. † pray, n.1 Obs. rare.
[f. pray v.]
An act of praying; a prayer.
| c 1325 Spec. Gy Warw. 68 Iesu Crist..seide: ‘His preie i wole do’. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 48 Be þi holie pray Nicholas þat I had loste hafe I getten agayn. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xxi. xii. 859 They..sange & redde many saulters & prayes ouer hym. 1654 Gayton Pleas. Notes ii. v. 54 Father, we are for fighting, not for pray. |
▪ III. pray, n.2 Now dial.
(preɪ)
[Deriv. unknown.]
‘A wooden pin used in thatching’ (E.D.D.).
| 1570 Stanford Churchw. Acc. in Antiquary Apr. (1888) 170 It. for hame to thatche the churche howse, v.s. iiij d. It. For prays for y⊇ same worke..v{supd}. It. for iiij{supc} prays and a hundredth lydgers xij d. 1890 Gloucesters. Gloss., Prays, the wooden pins used in thatching. |
▪ IV. pray
erron. f. spray (Douglas æneis (ed. 1553) xii. Prol. 90).
▪ V. pray, -e
obs. forms of prey.