LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

prex

prex f (genitive precis)
Classical[ˈprɛks]Ecclesiastical[ˈprɛks]
№ 520 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. feminineprayer; request
  2. feminineentreaty
    post concedente et precibus ipsorum et misericordia vulgithen retired, both by entreaties of themselves or by compassion of the crowdc. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico VII.15

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

verba quibus deōs rogāmus; precēs ad caelum eunt.
prex precis f — in Mille Verba, Deī et Sacra

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeprexprecēs
genitiveprecisprecum
dativeprecīprecibus
accusativeprecemprecēs
ablativepreceprecibus
vocativeprexprecēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

preces facere
to pray.
precibus obsequi
to grant a request.
adhibere deo preces
to pray to God.
precibus aliquem fatigare
to importune with petitions.
magnis (infimis) precibus moveri
to be influenced by, to yield to urgent (abject) entreaty.
repudiare, aspernari preces alicuius
to refuse, reject a request.

prex, prĕcis (nom. and
I. gen. sing. not in use; dat. and acc. sing. only ante-class.; most freq. in plur.), f. precor, a prayer, request, entreaty (class.).
I. In gen.: nunc te oro per precem, Plaut. Capt. 2, 1, 47: nihil est preci loci relictum, Ter. And. 3, 4, 22: prece te oro, Hor. S. 2, 6, 13: multā prece prosequi aliquem, id. C. 4, 5, 33: cum magnā prece ad aliquem scribere, Cic. Att. 11, 15, 2: prece et obsecratione humili ac supplici uti, id. Inv. 1, 16, 22: nec prece, nec pretio, nec gratiā, nec simultate a rectā viā deduci, Auct. Her. 3, 3, 4: omnibus precibus te oro et obtestor, ut, etc., Cic. Att. 9, 11, A, § 3: omnibus precibus petere, ut, etc., Caes. B. G. 5, 6; Liv. 28, 2: fatigare aliquem precibus, id. 1, 11: precibus flecti, Verg. A. 2, 689: moveri, Ov. H. 7, 3: vinci, id. M. 9, 401: adduci, Caes. B. G. 1, 16: ad miseras preces Decurrere, Hor. C. 3, 29, 59. —
II. In partic.
A. A prayer to a deity: in prece totus eram, Ov. F. 6, 251: eorum preces et vota exaudiens, Cic. Planc. 41, 97: vota et preces repudiare, id. Clu. 70, 201: tribuunt ei successus petitionum a potestatibus, et a diis etiam precum, Plin. 29, 4, 19, § 66.—
B. A good wish, friendly greeting: tuis Kalendis damus alternas accipimusque preces, exchange good wishes, Ov. F. 1, 176.—
C. A curse, imprecation: omnibus precibus detestatus Ambiorigem, Caes. B. G. 6, 30: misit Thyesteas preces, Hor. Epod. 5, 86: hostili caput prece detestari, Ov. M. 15, 505.—
D. An intercession (poet.): jam prece Pollucis, jam Castoris imploratā, Cat. 68, 65.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*preḱ-
  2. Proto-Italic*preks
  3. Latinprex

Inherited from Proto-Italic *preks, from Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- (“to request, ask”).

Descendants
  • Italianprece
  • Portugueseprece

Quick answers

What does prex mean in Latin?
prex, a noun, means “prayer; request; entreaty”.
What is the genitive of prex?
The genitive singular is precis. prex is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce prex?
In classical Latin, [ˈprɛks]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈprɛks].
Where does prex come from?
Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- → Proto-Italic *preks → Latin prex.