implore

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See also: imploré

English[edit]

WOTD – 29 March 2023

Etymology[edit]

PIE word
*h₁én

The verb is borrowed from Middle French implorer (modern French implorer (“to beg, plead, implore”)),[1] or directly from its etymon Latin implōrāre, the present active infinitive of implōrō (“to beseech, entreat, implore; to appeal to, pray to”), from im- (a variant of in- (intensifying prefix)) + plōrō (“to cry out; to complain, deplore, lament”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₃(w)- (“to flow; to swim”)).[2]

The noun is derived from the verb.[3]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

implore (third-person singular simple present implores, present participle imploring, simple past and past participle implored)

  1. (transitive)
    1. To beg or plead for (something) earnestly or urgently; to beseech.
      • c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii], page 302, column 1:
        And giue me leaue, / And doe not ſay 'tis Superſtition, that / I kneele, and then implore her Bleſſing.
      • 1685, John Bunyan, A Discourse upon the Pharisee and the Publican. […], 3rd edition, London: […] John Marshall, […], published 1704, →OCLC, pages 140–141:
        But again, the Publican by his Confeſſion ſhevveth a piece of the higheſt vviſdom that a mortal Man can ſhevv; becauſe by ſo doing, he engageth as vvell as imploreth the Grace and Mercy of God to ſave him.
      • 1687, [John Dryden], “The Third Part”, in The Hind and the Panther. A Poem, in Three Parts, 2nd edition, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC, page 79:
        My daily bread is litt'rally implor'd, / I have no barns nor granaries to hoard; […]
      • 1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter XV. Mr. Lovelace, to John Belford, Esq..”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume V, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson;  […], →OCLC, page 242:
        Puling, and in-voiced, rearing up thy deteſted head, in vain imploreſt thou my mercy, vvho, in thy day, haſt ſhevved me ſo little!
      • 1791, [Ann Radcliffe], chapter X, in The Romance of the Forest: […], volume II, London: […] T[homas] Hookham and J. Carpenter, […], →OCLC, page 106:
        [S]he vvas ſeveral times upon the point of throvving herſelf at her feet, and imploring her pity and protection.
      • 1810, [Sophie Ristaud] Cottin, chapter XLVIII, in [anonymous], transl., The Saracen, or Matilda and Malek Adhel, a Crusade-Romance, […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: Isaac Riley, →OCLC, page 214:
        Then, Matilda, […] witnessed thy despair, received a letter from the hands of Herminia, wherein thou imploredst my assistance; that stranger is an impostor?
      • 1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter X, in The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume II, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 573:
        The man told his story with many tears, and produced a letter written in the king's hand, and addressed to no particular person, but imploring the aid of all good Englishmen.
      • 1993, Joshua Mitchell, Not by Reason Alone: Religion, History, and Identity in Early Modern Political Thought, Chicago, Ill., London: University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 133:
        Politically authoritative history, which discloses the constitutive ground and situation in which human beings find themselves, implores that this action be taken and not that, in order that the truth of the partially revealed and concealed God/nature not be violated.
    2. To beg or plead that (someone) earnestly or urgently do something; to beseech, to entreat.
      • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 63, column 1:
        Acquaint her vvith the danger of my ſtate, / Implore her, in my voice, that ſhe make friends / To the ſtrict deputie: […]
      • 1725, Homer, “Book II”, in [William Broome], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume I, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC, page 85, lines 470–473:
        And novv they ſhip their oars, and crovvn vvith vvine / The holy Goblet to the povv'rs divine: / Imploring all the Gods that reign above, / But chief, the blue-ey'd Progeny of Jove.
      • 1838, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter X, in Alice or The Mysteries […], volume I, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, book I, page 92:
        Talk not thus, I implore you, Evelyn: do not imagine me the worldly calculator that my enemies deem me.
      • 1899, Henryk Sienkiewicz, chapter XIX, in Jeremiah Curtin, transl., In Vain […], Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown, and Company, →OCLC, page 209:
        "Malinka," cried she, "ask no more, I implore thee! Enough, enough! This gentleman has delivered his message. Why lower one's self by an answer?"
      • 1995, Colleen Birchett, Stephanie Bibb, Deborah Morton, “Relationship”, in Africans who Shaped Our Faith: Leader Guide, Chicago, Ill.: Urban Ministries, →ISBN, page 138:
        Psalm 23 implores us to thank God for helping us to find contentment in the midst of a tense and stressful world, for directing our lives along pathways that are consistent with His will, for the reassurance and security that flow from His constant presence and for protection, as well as for the gift of eternal life.
      • 1989, Kadia Molodowsky, Kathryn Hellerstein, transl. and editor, “Kheshvndike Nekht (Nights of Heshvan), Vilna, 1927: Prayer II”, in פאפירענע בריקן: געקליבענע לידער [Paper Bridges: Selected Poems of Kadya Molodowsky], Detroit, Mich.: Wayne State University Press, published 1999, →ISBN, page 147:
        A prayer lies bound in me / And implores a god, / And implores a name.
      • 2011 October 28, Kelly Gissendaner, Jennifer M. McBride, You Shall Not Condemn: A Story of Faith and Advocacy on Death Row‎[1], Eugene, Or.: Cascade Books, Wipf and Stock Publishers, published 2022, →ISBN:
        I implore you not to allow prison to rob you of your dream or vision, nor of your dignity or self-worth. In all of us, there are untapped abilities. I encourage you to write that book, start that ministry, teach, study, pursue your dream.
  2. (intransitive) Often followed by for (a thing) or of (a person): to express an earnest or urgent plea.

Conjugation[edit]

Conjugation of implore
infinitive (to) implore
present tense past tense
1st-person singular implore implored
2nd-person singular implore, implorest† implored, imploredst†
3rd-person singular implores, imploreth† implored
plural implore
subjunctive implore implored
imperative implore —
participles imploring implored

†Archaic or obsolete.

Alternative forms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

implore (plural implores)

  1. (obsolete, rare) An act of begging or pleading earnestly or urgently; an entreaty, an imploration or imploring, a plea.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 37, page 256:
      Suddenly out of his delightfull dreame / The man avvoke, and vvould haue queſtiond more; / But he vvould not endure that vvofull theame / For to dilate at large, but vrged ſore / VVith percing vvordes, and pittifull implore, / Him haſty to ariſe.

References[edit]

  1. ^ “implore, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. ^ “implore, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2023.
  3. ^ “† implore, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2023.

French[edit]

Verb[edit]

implore

  1. inflection of implorer:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Portuguese[edit]

Verb[edit]

implore

  1. inflection of implorar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Spanish[edit]

Verb[edit]

implore

  1. inflection of implorar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative
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