supplication

English

Etymology

From Middle English supplicacioun, supplication, from Old French supplication, from Latin supplicatio, supplicationem, from supplicare (“to supplicate”). By surface analysis, supplicate +‎ -ion.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sʌplɪˈkeɪʃən/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

supplication (countable and uncountable, plural supplications)

1. An act of supplicating; a humble request.
   • 2025 April 10, Adam Serwer, “The Confrontation Between Trump and the Supreme Court Has Arrived”, in The Atlantic‎^[1], archived from the original on 11 April 2025:

     If Trump defies the Court, there is little to restrain him from acting as an autocrat, given the supplication of Republicans in Congress.

   1. (Islam) du'a', minor or private prayer performed individually.
2. A prayer or entreaty to a god.
3. (historical) In Ancient Rome, a solemn service or day decreed for giving formal thanks to the gods for victory, etc.
4. The process by which a doctorate at Oxford university is officially requested after a thesis has been approved.

Translations

an act of supplicating

• Bulgarian: молба (bg) f (molba), жалба (bg) (žalba)
• Faroese: innilig umsókn f
• French: supplication (fr) f
• German: Flehen n, Bitte (de) f, Bitten (de) n
• Gothic: 𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄𐍂𐍉𐌽𐍃 f (aihtrōns)
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: ἱκετεία f (hiketeía)

• Hebrew: הִתְחַנְּנוּת f (hitkhan'nut)
• Irish: impí f
• Old English: hālsung f
• Persian: لابه (fa) (lâbe)
• Russian: про́сьба (ru) f (prósʹba), мольба́ (ru) f (molʹbá)
• Turkish: dua (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: دعا (duʼâ), نیاز (niyâz)

a prayer

• Armenian:

  Old Armenian: գութ (gutʻ)

• Azerbaijani: yalvarış
• Bulgarian: моли́тва (bg) f (molítva)
• Faroese: innilig bøn f
• German: Gebet (de) n, Bittgebet (de) n, Flehen n
• Gothic: 𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄𐍂𐍉𐌽𐍃 f (aihtrōns)
• Greek: προσευχή (el) (prosefchí)

  Ancient Greek: ἱκετεία f (hiketeía)

• Hebrew: תַּחֲנוּן (he) m (takhanun)
• Icelandic: please add this translation if you can
• Persian: لابه (fa) (lâbe)
• Plautdietsch: Jebäd n
• Polish: suplikacja f
• Russian: моли́тва (ru) f (molítva), мольба́ (ru) f (molʹbá)
• Turkish: dua (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: دعا (duʼâ)

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French, borrowed from Latin supplicātiōnem.

Pronunciation

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Noun

supplication f (plural supplications)

1. supplication

Related terms

• supplier

Further reading

• “supplication”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012