Where does “prayerful” come from?
Prayerful derives from English prayer, which comes from Anglo-Norman preier and Latin precari, meaning to ask or entreat, with the suffix -ful added to create an adjective.
prayerful (English): That prays frequently; characterised by prayer,...
Definitions
- That prays frequently; characterised by prayer,...
Ancestry of “prayerful”, step by step
prayerful traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English prayer
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | prayer | A practice of communicating with one's God; An... |
| 2 | English | pray | To direct words, thoughts, or one's attention to... |
| 3 | Middle English | preien | to pray |
| 4 | Anglo-Norman | preier | Alternative form of proiier |
| 5 | Old French | proiier | to pray; to pray; to beg; to implore; to beg |
| 6 | Latin | precor | I beseech, beg, pray, entreat; I wish well or ill... |
| 7 | Latin | prex | prayer; request; entreaty |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | preks | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | préḱs | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | preḱ- | to ask |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥ḱneh₂ | — |
via English ful
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ful | — |