prithee

American

[prith-ee] / ˈprɪð i /

interjection

Archaic.

please: used to politely introduce a request or command.

Prithee, let us come inside.

prithee British

/ ˈprɪðɪ /

interjection

archaic pray thee; please

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of prithee

First recorded in 1570–80; by shortening and alteration of (I) pray thee

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Prithee, pass under the faux pirate ship entrance gate and be greeted by a crush of costumed characters.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2022

Prithee, dear Reader, and fetch me a more exquisite anthology this holiday season?

From Salon • Nov. 1, 2021

Prithee, Dan, how doth thou carve thine words so finely into the parchment that is mine?

From New York Times • Jan. 29, 2018

Prithee wouldst thou extinguish it, or hie thee to the lobby?

From Washington Post • Apr. 29, 2015

Prithee come home with me, good, kind Denys.

From The Cloister and the Hearth A Tale of the Middle Ages by Reade, Charles

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023