suppliant

[suhp-lee-uh nt]

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

Suppliants, The

noun

a tragedy (c463 b.c.) by Aeschylus.
a tragedy (c420 b.c.) by Euripides.

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

Related Words for suppliants

seeker, suitor, petitioner, beggar, solicitor

Examples from the Web for suppliants

Historical Examples of suppliants

In the "Suppliants" Garrick could have made nothing of Pelasgus.
Athens: Its Rise and Fall, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Now then, will you reject those who appear as suppliants before you?
History of the Great Reformation, Volume IV
J. H. Merle D'Aubign
In the Veda we are told that the suppliants "squeeze the soma with stones."
The History of Antiquity, Volume IV (of 6)
Max Duncker
These suppliants did not live to see the “reformation” of God's children.
The Life of Florence Nightingale vol. 2 of 2
Edward Tyas Cook
God delivers His suppliants that they may magnify Him before men.
The Expositor's Bible: The Psalms, Volume III
Alexander Maclaren

British Dictionary definitions for suppliants

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 suppliants

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).