Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- interjection Used to express a polite request.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A corruption of pray thee; I pray thee.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- interjection A corruption of
pray thee ; ; generally used without I.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- interjection archaic Short for "I
pray thee ", i.e.Please .
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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There's no reason why the rest of the country cannot play along, peppering our conversation with -- as the mayor suggested -- phrases such as "prithee" and "fie!" or, if you're at work,
CNN.com 2009
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Faith, it awaits down there someplace; prithee let me glimpse again.
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‘I prithee go and get me some repast; I care not what, so it be wholesome food.’
Star Trek: Myriad Universes: Shattered Light David R. George III 2010
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Let us hasten and lose no time; prithee, lead the way, old sir.
Hecuba 2008
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Again, what interest hadst thou to further by thy zeal? was it to form some marriage, or on the score of kin, or, prithee, why? or was it likely that they would sail hither again and destroy thy country's crops?
Hecuba 2008
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Enter our humble cottage; but, prithee, take care that my smoke grimed walls soil not thy robes; now wilt thou offer to the gods
Electra 2008
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“And hear ye, Craigie,” said Bucklaw; “your boots and doublet are good enough to drink in, as the man says in the play, but they are somewhat too greasy for tea-table service; prithee, get thyself a little better rigged out, and here is to pay all charges.”
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I wish to tell thee and thy children a private matter of my own; prithee, bid thy attendants withdraw from the tent.
Hecuba 2008
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As for Hector and his griefs, prithee hear how stands the case; he is dead and gone, but still his fame remains as bravest of the brave, and this was
The Trojan Women 2008
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How many, prithee, men of sterling sense, when they see their wives unfaithful, make as though they saw it not?
Hippolytus 2008
minerva commented on the word prithee
I pray thee.
December 18, 2007
sionnach commented on the word prithee
".... prithee, pox!
Give her the hair" -- he spoke, and rapped his box.
Pope: "The Rape of the Lock"
December 18, 2007
tusseymountain commented on the word prithee
OED mentions John Barth's recent use of the word: 1994 J. BARTH Once upon Time 393 And exactly what were you doing, prithee, in that make-pretend down-county marsh at the make-pretend Place Where Three Ways Meet?
June 18, 2009