pray
verb (pray, prays, prayed, praying)
Everyday
- To speak to God or a god, to give thanks, ask for help or say you are sorry. tree →
- To hope very strongly that something will happen: "We prayed for sunshine on sports day." tree →
- In old-fashioned English, pray can mean please. tree →
In the lessons
In everyday life many families pray before meals, at bedtime or in a church, mosque, synagogue or temple; others do not pray, and both are respected. In religious education lessons pupils learn how different faiths pray. In stories a character who "prays" for something shows how much they want it. Phrases: pray for, pray to, say a prayer.
Examples
- Some families pray before they eat dinner. tree →
- Muslims pray five times a day. tree →
- Grandma prays for us every night. tree →
- The farmers prayed for rain after the long dry summer. tree →
- We were all praying that the bus would not be late. tree →
- In assembly we learned how Hindus pray at a temple. tree →
- He knelt down to pray in the church. tree →
- "Take it pray, as a present!" tree →
Note
Regular verb: pray, prayed, praying. The noun is "prayer". Homophone trap: "pray" (talk to God) and "prey" (an animal hunted by another animal) sound the same. "I pray" is about hope or worship, not about hunting. People of different faiths pray in different ways, and some people do not pray at all.
In Jewish tradition
An old way of saying "please," as in "I pray thee." It is a polite request to a person or to God, not always about prayer.
Interpretation. The rabbis noticed that the Hebrew word na, "please," shows humble asking. Moses asking to see God's glory uses this same polite form.
Examples
- I pray you give her unto him to wife. (Torah GEN.34.8, JPS 1917) tree →
- And he said: 'Show me, I pray Thee, Thy glory.' (Torah EXO.33.18, JPS 1917) tree →
- and said: 'Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee. (Torah GEN.24.23, JPS 1917) tree →
- And Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying: (Prophets ISA.37.15, JPS 1917) tree →
- I pray you, let us leave off this exaction. (Writings NEH.5.10, JPS 1917) tree →
- Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? (Writings JOB.4.7, JPS 1917) tree →
Note
Regular verb: pray, prayed, praying. The noun is "prayer". Homophone trap: "pray" (talk to God) and "prey" (an animal hunted by another animal) sound the same. "I pray" is about hope or worship, not about hunting. People of different faiths pray in different ways, and some people do not pray at all.
Early Modern English
Meaning
In old texts "pray" means "please" or "I beg you"; the Torah also uses it for speaking to God. tree →
Then and now
Today "pray" means speak to God or ask for help; the sense "please" is old, and the sentences use it that way.
Examples
- I pray you give her unto him to wife. (Torah GEN.34.8, JPS 1917) tree →
- "Take it pray, as a present!" (Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore) tree →
- And he said: 'Show me, I pray Thee, Thy glory.' (Torah EXO.33.18, JPS 1917) tree →
Note
Today: please; ask; speak to God.
On Mova
- Trees and pragmatics of «pray» in the school dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- «pray» in the school dictionary on Mova free.
- Trees and pragmatics of «pray» in the Judaism dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- «pray» in the Judaism dictionary on Mova free.
- Trees and pragmatics of «pray» in the Early Modern English dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- «pray» in the Early Modern English dictionary on Mova free.
This page in Markdown → https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/pray/