prayer

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English

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English preiere, from Old French preiere, from Early Medieval Latin precāria, derived from Latin precem. Displaced native Old English ġebed.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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prayer (countable and uncountable, plural prayers)

  1. (uncountable) A practice of communicating with one's God, or with some spiritual entity.
    Through prayer I ask for God's guidance.
    In many cultures, prayer involves singing.
  2. (countable) An act of praying.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing was pronounced. The choir and the clergy trooped out slowly, [] , down the nave to the western door. [] At a seemingly immense distance the surpliced group stopped to say the last prayer.
    • 2020 December, Dave Barry, Year in review:
      In that spirit, we’ll close with the wish we always offer at the end of our annual review, although this time it’s more of a prayer: Happy new year.
  3. The specific words or methods used for praying.
    Christians recite the Lord's Prayer.
    For Baha'is there's a difference between obligatory and devotional prayer.
  4. A meeting held for the express purpose of praying.
    Grandpa never misses a chance to go to prayer.
  5. (countable) A request; a petition.
    This, your honor, is my prayer; that all here be set free.
  6. (in the singular, mostly in negative constructions) The remotest hope or chance.
    That team doesn't have a prayer of winning the championship.
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Etymology 2

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pray +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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prayer (plural prayers)

  1. One who prays.
    • 1974, Shel Silverstein, “Invitation”, in Where the Sidewalk Ends, Harper Collins Publishers:
      If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar / A hope-er[sic], a pray-er[sic], a magic bean buyer…
    • 2012, Paul O'Connor, Islam in Hong Kong: Muslims and Everyday Life in China's World City:
      Out of the 37 respondents, seven are infrequent prayers who prefer to leave the precise details of their prayer life ambiguous.
Translations
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