Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “prayer” come from?

Prayer derives from Anglo-Norman preier, from Latin precari meaning to ask or entreat, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European per-.

prayer (English): A practice of communicating with one's God; An...

Definitions

  1. A practice of communicating with one's God; An...

Ancestry of “prayer”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishprayTo direct words, thoughts, or one's attention to...
2Middle Englishpreiento pray
3Anglo-NormanpreierAlternative form of proiier
4Old Frenchproiierto pray; to pray; to beg; to implore; to beg
5LatinprecorI beseech, beg, pray, entreat; I wish well or ill...
6Latinprexprayer; request; entreaty
7Proto-Italicpreks—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpréḱs—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpreḱ-to ask
10Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥ḱneh₂—

Words derived from “prayer”

  • prayerful
  • prayerfully
  • prayerless
  • prayerfulness
  • prayerlessness
  • prayerlike
  • unprayerful
  • prayerlessly
  • antiprayer
  • preprayer
  • prayersome
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥ḱneh₂ →