suppliant

[suhp-lee-uh nt]

See more synonyms for suppliant on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person who supplicates; petitioner.

adjective

supplicating.
expressive of supplication, as words, actions, etc.

Origin of suppliant

1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French, present participle of supplier < Latin supplicāre to beseech, supplicate. See -ant

Related formssup·pli·ant·ly, adverbsup·pli·ant·ness, nounun·sup·pli·ant, adjective

Can be confusedsupplant supplicant suppliant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for suppliant

seeker, suitor, petitioner, beggar, solicitor

Examples from the Web for suppliant

Historical Examples of suppliant

Here was the man whom she hated, suppliant before her to know the truth.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
She not only assumed the attitude, but felt the spirit of a suppliant.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. II
Francis Augustus Cox
The waxen image is at its feet, as a suppliant, and awaiting only death.
The Phantom World
Augustin Calmet
To go a suppliant to that pious icicle my mother were worse than useless.
The Strolling Saint
Raphael Sabatini
The suppliant raised his head, and his fingers relaxed their hold.
Audrey Craven
May Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for suppliant

suppliant

adjective

expressing entreaty or supplication

noun, adjective

another word for supplicant

Derived Formssuppliantly, adverbsuppliance, noun

Word Origin for suppliant

C15: from French supplier to beseech, from Latin supplicāre to kneel in entreaty; see supple

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

Word Origin and History for suppliant

early 15c., "humble petitioner," from Middle French suppliant, originally present participle of supplier "to plead humbly, entreat, beg, pray," from Latin supplicare "beg, beseech" (see supplication).