Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To ask for humbly or earnestly, as by praying.
  • intransitive verb To make a humble entreaty to; beseech.
  • intransitive verb To make a humble, earnest petition; beg.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To beg for; seek or invoke by earnest prayer: as, to supplicate a blessing.
  • To address or appeal to in prayer: as, to supplicate the throne of grace.
  • Synonyms Request, Beg, etc. See ask, and list under solicit.
  • To entreat humbly; beseech; implore; petition.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To make petition with earnestness and submission; to implore.
  • transitive verb To entreat for; to seek by earnest prayer; to ask for earnestly and humbly.
  • transitive verb To address in prayer; to entreat as a supplicant.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To humble oneself before another in making a request; to beg.
  • verb To plead with one's deity.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb ask humbly (for something)
  • verb ask for humbly or earnestly, as in prayer
  • verb make a humble, earnest petition

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English supplicaten, from Latin supplicāre, supplicāt-, from supplex, supplic-, suppliant; see supple.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the participle stem of Latin supplicāre, from sub- + plicāre ‘to bend’.

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