# prayer

Pronunciation: say "PRAIR" US /pɹɛɚ/, UK /pɹɛə/

## Noun

1. A single act of praying, such as giving thanks, asking for help, or addressing a spiritual being.
   - Simple: One act of talking to God, like asking for help or saying thank you.
   - _The congregation offered a prayer for the flood victims._
   - _Her grandmother's prayers always lasted longer than the sermon._
2. The practice of communicating with one's God or with some other spiritual being.
   - Simple: The habit of talking to God or to a spirit, often to give thanks or ask for help.
   - _For many believers, prayer is as much a daily discipline as exercise._
   - _The monastery devotes several hours each day to silent prayer._
3. The words people use when praying, or the way they pray.
   - Simple: The special words or the way of speaking that people use when they pray.
   - _The missal sets out the form of prayer for each feast day._
   - _Different denominations follow different patterns of prayer in their services._
4. A meeting or service held for the purpose of praying.
   - Simple: A meeting where people come together to pray.
   - _Evening prayer at the chapel draws a small but faithful crowd._
   - _The community gathers for prayer every Friday at noon._
5. The remotest hope or chance, used mainly in negative phrases such as doesn't have a prayer.
   - Simple: Even a very small chance that something will happen or succeed.
   - _Down by twenty points with two minutes left, they didn't have a prayer._
   - _The bill doesn't have a prayer of passing this session._
6. A request or petition, especially a formal one addressed to an authority.
   - Simple: A serious, formal request made to someone with power, like a judge or a ruler.
   - _The complaint closes with a prayer for damages and court costs._
   - _Their petition to Parliament carried the prayer that the tax be repealed._
7. One who prays. (pronounced: US say "PRAY-ur" /ˈpɹeɪɚ/; UK say "PRAY-uh" /ˈpɹeɪə/)
   - Simple: A person who prays.
   - _A devout prayer, she rose before sunrise each day to visit the shrine._
   - _By evening the cathedral held only a few solitary prayers, each kneeling apart._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–6** — From Middle English preiere, from Old French preiere, which came from Early Medieval Latin precāria, itself derived from Latin precem. It displaced the native Old English word ġebed.
**Meaning 7** — Formed from the verb 'pray' plus the suffix '-er'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/prayer (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).