Precate

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To make an earnest request or appeal through prayer or supplication
2. To entreat or beseech someone with sincere and heartfelt plea
3. To appeal urgently for something, typically through prayer or passionate request

Etymology: Latin "precari" meant to pray, beg, or entreat, and it grew from "prex," a prayer. "Precate" keeps that sense of asking earnestly, though it is rare in modern English. The same root produced more colourful words once English added prefixes. "Imprecate," from Latin "imprecari," meant to pray down upon someone, which came to mean calling down a curse. "Deprecate" originally meant to avert something by prayer. Over time it weakened toward expressing disapproval, which is why someone who deprecates an idea now sounds more dismissive than devout.