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, Master Gilbert, hie thee below and bid thy cousin Philip come up, while that I climb to the top of the poop-deck and make a signal."

From The Golden Galleon BEING A NARRATIVE OF THE ADVENTURES OF MASTER GILBERT OGLANDER, AND OF HOW, IN THE YEAR 1591, HE FOUGHT UNDER THE GALLANT SIR by Leighton, Robert

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