supplication

American  

[suhp-li-key-shuhn] / ˌsʌp lɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. an act or instance of supplicating; humble prayer, entreaty, or petition.

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supplication British  

/ ˌsʌplɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of supplicating

2. a humble entreaty or petition; prayer

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Other Word Forms

• nonsupplication
  noun
• presupplication
  noun

Etymology

Origin of supplication

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin supplicātiōn-, stem of supplicātiō; equivalent to supplicate + -ion

Explanation

Think of a supplication as sort of a prayer, a request for help from a deity. The word carries a sense of awe and adoration with it, suggesting something tentative, even servile, a respectful appeal to a higher power. Although it is a noun, supplication comes from the Latin verb supplicare, which means "to plead humbly." While a supplication is often thought of as a religious prayer (it is used 60 times in the Bible), it can logically be applied to any situation in which you must entreat someone in power for help or a favor. Still, it carries with it an aura of religiosity and deep entreaty, and should not be used to describe just any simple request.

Example Sentences

Supplications and imprecations flaring up and dying away like fevers of a recurrent illness.

From The Guardian • Feb. 1, 2013

But the new BBC commission Suppôts et Supplications was brilliantly propulsive: instruments bubbling to the surface then burning out, flighty diversions sucked in around single notes like scattered nails to magnets.

From The Guardian • Jan. 14, 2013

One morning," said Belcovitch, "in Poland, I got up at four o'clock to go to Supplications for Forgiveness.

From Children of the Ghetto A Study of a Peculiar People by Zangwill, Israel

V. The Supplications, beginning, "O Christ hear us," down to VI.

From The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia by Miller, William James

But all their Supplications were fruitless; the Elector was stedfast in his Resolution to punish Heidelberg, and abandon'd it for ever.

From The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume I Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts. by P?llnitz, Karl Ludwig von