supplicate

Etymology

PIE word *upó From Late Middle English supplicaten (“to request (that someone do something)”) [and other forms], borrowed from Latin supplicātus (“prayed”) + Middle English -en (suffix forming the infinitive of verbs). Supplicātus is the perfect passive participle of supplicō (“to pray, supplicate; to beg, humbly beseech”), from sup- (variant of sub- (prefix meaning ‘below, beneath, under’)) + plicō (“to bend, flex; to fold; to roll up”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- (“to fold; to plait, weave”)).

verb

1. (transitive)
   1. To make a humble request to (someone, especially a person in authority); to beg, to beseech, to entreat.
      1. (specifically, Oxford University, archaic) Of a member of the university, or an alumnus or alumna of another university seeking a degree ad eundem: to make a formal request (to the university) that an academic degree be awarded to oneself.
      2. (specifically, religion) To make a humble request to (a deity or other spiritual being) in a prayer; to entreat as a supplicant.
         to supplicate the Deity
         [T]hou maiſt freely lay open thy mind to him Jesus] in prayer, vvhat ever diſtreſs or vvant thou art in come to him in prayer and thou needſt not fear he vvill vvell knovv vvhat it is thou ſupplicateſt him about; […] 1664, Tho[mas] Worden, “I Come Now to Speak of the High Priest under the Law, which was a Type of Jesus Christ also”, in The Types Unvailed, or, The Gospel Pick’t Out of the Legal Ceremonies, whereby We may Compare the Substance with the Shadow.[…], London: s.n.], →OCLC, page 233
         [I]t is from him only Jesus] that man hath illumination, which he surely will receive, if in true humiliation of heart he supplicateth Him in the love of truth, and for the sake of living according to what the Divine Truth teacheth; […] 1799 October, J. S., “The Dispositions which a Reader of the Holy Scriptures ought to Have, that He may Reap the Fruits of His Studies and Meditations”, in The Aurora; or, The Dawn of Genuine Truth: Being a Repository of Spiritual, Rational, and Useful Knowledge.[…], volume I, number VII, London: […] Aurora Press,[…], published November 1799, →OCLC, page 267
   2. To ask or request (something) humbly and sincerely, especially from a person in authority; to beg or entreat for.
      to supplicate blessings on Christian efforts to spread the gospel
      [A]nd vvhat art thou that ſupplicateſt my aſſiſtance? 1788 October, D. [pseudonym], “Letter from an English Gentleman in France to His Brother in England”, in The Lady’s Magazine; or, Entertaining Companion for the Fair Sex, Appropriated Solely to Their Use and Amusement, London: […] G. G. J. and J. Robinson,[…], →OCLC, page 523, column 1
      The blood of atonement thou never soughtest. The grace of God thou never supplicatedst—they were unnecessary and contemptuous to thee, and now thou must bear thy burden alone, […] 1847, “The Last Resurrection”, in A Voice in the Wilderness; or, The Broad and Narrow Way, Edinburgh: Myles Macphail; London: Charles Edmonds, →OCLC, page 150
2. (intransitive)
   1. To humbly request for something, especially to someone in a position of authority; to beg, to beseech, to entreat.
      Thus alſo the Church of Svveueland ſupplicateth to the Emperour of Germanie, if ſo bee that in time, vvee may not haue opportunitie for a generall Councell, yet at the lest your Maiestie may appoint a prouinciall aſſembly, &c. 1613, Andrew Willet, “The Third Generall Controversie, Concerning Councels”, in Synopsis Papismi, that is, A Generall View of Papistrie:[…], 4th edition, London: […] Felix Kyngston, for Thomas Man, and are to be sold by Henry Fetherston,[…], →OCLC, book I, page 122
      And vvhat favour is it, vvhich thou thus ſupplicateſt to obtain of me? 1790, George Somers Clarke, Oedipus, King of Thebes, a Tragedy, from the Greek of Sophocles:[…], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press; and sold by J. and J. Fletcher; and by Mess. Rivington,[…]; and Mess. Payne,[…], →OCLC, act V, scene iii, page 86
      1. (specifically, Oxford University) Of a member of the university, or an alumnus or alumna of another university seeking a degree ad eundem: to formally request that an academic degree be awarded to oneself.