Praying

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Pray \Pray\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Prayed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
     {Praying}.] [OE. preien, OF. preier, F. prier, L. precari,
     fr. prex, precis, a prayer, a request; akin to Skr. prach to
     ask, AS. frignan, fr[imac]nan, fricgan, G. fragen, Goth.
     fra['i]hnan. Cf. {Deprecate}, {Imprecate}, {Precarious}.]
     To make request with earnestness or zeal, as for something


     desired; to make entreaty or supplication; to offer prayer to
     a deity or divine being as a religious act; specifically, to
     address the Supreme Being with adoration, confession,
     supplication, and thanksgiving.
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           And to his goddess pitously he preyde.   --Chaucer.
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           When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou
           hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in
           secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall
           reward thee openly.                      --Matt. vi. 6.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     {I pray}, or (by ellipsis) {Pray}, I beg; I request; I
        entreat you; -- used in asking a question, making a
        request, introducing a petition, etc.; as, Pray, allow me
        to go.
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              I pray, sir. why am I beaten?         --Shak.
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     Syn: To entreat; supplicate; beg; implore; invoke; beseech;
          petition.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Praying \Pray"ing\,
     a. & n. from {Pray}, v.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     {Praying insect}, {Praying locust}, or {Praying mantis}
        (Zool.), a mantis, especially {Mantis religiosa}. See
        {Mantis}.
  
     {Praying machine}, or {Praying wheel}, a wheel on which
        prayers are pasted by Buddhist priests, who then put the
        wheel in rapid revolution. Each turn in supposed to have
        the efficacy of an oral repetition of all the prayers on
        the wheel. Sometimes it is moved by a stream.
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