Supplicatory

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Involving a sincere and humble attempt to seek help or favor in a respectful manner
2. Showing a serious and respectful request made with deep humility
3. Conveying a tone or manner that begs or asks earnestly with reverence

Etymology: "Supplicatory" is a plain formation: the adjective "supplicate" with the suffix "-ory," which turns a verb into an adjective meaning "serving to or characterized by" the action named. So a supplicatory prayer is one that exists to beg, and the word carries its meaning directly on its surface. The root "supplicate" comes from the Latin "supplicare," built from "sub," meaning "under" or "down," and "plicare," meaning "to fold" or "bend." The image is of bending the knee or folding oneself down before someone, a gesture of humble petition that the English verb keeps in its sense of earnestly asking for something. The adjective inherits that posture, so anything supplicatory is shaped by the attitude of kneeling before a higher power or authority.

Synonyms: pleading, entreating, begging