prithee

[ prith-ee ]

/ ˈprɪð i /

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interjection Archaic.

please: used to politely introduce a request or command: Prithee, let us come inside.

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Origin of prithee

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

Words nearby prithee

Prissie, prissy, Priština, pristine, Pritchett, prithee, Prithivi, prittle-prattle, prius, priv., privacy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use prithee in a sentence

Prithee, now, how many such butterflies as you suck here together on the thistle-head of royalty?
The Saint's Tragedy|Charles Kingsley
Well go in the coach, said my father—Prithee, have the arms been altered, Obadiah?
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman|Laurence Sterne
Prithee tell me what sort of man this Arnold really is, for I do not depend on the partial representations I have had of him.
Memoirs of Miss Sidney Biddulph|Frances Sheridan
You went into the country to recover your health, I thought; prithee, how comes this new husband into your way?
Memoirs of Miss Sidney Biddulph|Frances Sheridan

Then, after a little while, he said: "I prithee tell me, didst thou see a knight pass this way to-day or yesterday?"
The Story of the Champions of the Round Table|Howard Pyle

British Dictionary definitions for prithee

prithee

/ (ˈprɪðɪ) /

interjection

archaic pray thee; please

Word Origin for prithee

C16: shortened from I pray thee

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