You searched for: “praying
pray (verb), prays; prayed; praying
1. To make an entreaty; that is, to beg, beseech, implore; to beg.
2. To ask someone earnestly and fervently; to entreat (to beg someone for something, often repeatedly).
3. To utter or to address a prayer or prayers to God, a god, or another object of worship.
4. Etymology: from Latin precari which meant "to ask for, to entreat, to pray".

In Vulgar Latin, it became precare, which passed into English via Old French preier.

The noun prayer goes back ultimately to the Latin adjective precarius, "obtained by asking or praying".

This entry is located in the following unit: pray-, preca- (page 1)
Word Entries containing the term: “praying
praying mantis (s) (noun); praying mantises, praying mantes (pl)
1. An insect of the order Mantodea, named for their "prayer-like" stance and so meaning "praying prophet" or "praying diviner".
2. Etymology: mantis comes from the Greek word Mantes for "prophet" or "fortune teller".

It is estimated that there are about 2,300 species of praying mantids world-wide; most are tropical or subtropical, but several species live in temperate climates; such as, that of the northern United States, central Europe, and Siberia.

Some texts refer to the European mantis, or Mantis religiosa, as the most common praying mantis in European countries.

This entry is located in the following units: -mancy, -mancer, -mantic, -mantical (page 12) pray-, preca- (page 2)