English → Latin
“pray” in Latin
rogōto ask, enquire; to request; to beg, solicit, pray to (someone) for (something) (with two accusatives)ōrōto orate, deliver a speech publicly; to plead, beg, pray, entreatpetōto ask, beg, request, look for, inquire, petition, entreat; to make for (somewhere); to seek, aim at, desireposcōto beg, to demand, to request, to desire; to demand for punishment, to ask the surrender of; to call someonecontendōto hurry; to stretch, draw tight, make taut, strain; to place together in comparison, compare, contrastflāgitōto demand, require; to entreat or solicit; to accuseefflāgitōto request earnestly, demand urgently, insistimplōrōto implore, entreat, beseech; to appeal to; to pray toobtestorto call someone as a witness; to beseech or implore, to begobsecrōto entreat, implore, beseech, supplicate, beg, pray
The English word pray itself goes back to Latin prex, through precāre.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
pray v.
Transitively, To supplicate, entreat, rogare, orare, a person for anything, aliquem aliquid (to address with prayer or entreaty): petere, poscere (to petition, demand): contendere (to pray earnestly, urge a request): flagitare, efflagitare (with vehemence): all with aliquid ab aliquo: precibus exposcere (to pray with a vehement demand): implorare (to implore anyone, aliquem, for anything, aliquid): obtestari, obsecrare, more strongly omnibus precibus orare et obtestari, omnibus (or infimis) precibus petere (to pray earnestly and imploringly): supplicare alicui pro re; petere, postulare suppliciter, aliquid ab aliquo, orare aliquem supplicibus verbis, orare or rogare aliquem suppliciter (to entreat humbly and submissively). To pray and beseech, (The words are found in this connection and order.) rogare atque orare; petere et contendere; orare et obtestari; orare obtestarique; orare atque obsecrare; implorare atque obtestari; obsecrare atque obtestari (and vice versa); precari atque orare; petere ac deprecari (Caes., B.G., 2, 31); omnibus precibus, paene lacrimis etiam obsecrare aliquem; aliquem ita rogare, ut majore studio rogare non possim: to pray for anyone, deprecari pro aliquo, deprecatorem se praebere pro alicujus periculo (to intercede for, in order to avert an evil, etc.).
Intransitively, To offer a petition, precari: preces or precationem facere: precatione uti (general term): preces fundere (in the poets and Tac.): supplicare (to pray with bended knees). To pray to God, precari Deum or ad Deum; orare or invocare Deum; Deo supplicare; Deo preces adhibere: to pray God that he would, etc., precari a Deo ut, etc.; for anything, vota suscipere or nuncupare pro re.
“Pray” inserted in a sentence, quaeso. In a vehement question tandem may be used: “in what way, pray?” quo tandem modo
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for pray?
- The usual Latin words for “pray” are rogō, ōrō, petō; also poscō, contendō, flāgitō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.