precarius

  • 11precarious — [17] Precarious comes from Latin precārius (source also of English prayer), which meant ‘obtained by asking or praying’. It was originally used in English as a legal term, in which ‘obtained by asking’ had undergone a slight change in focus to… …

    Word origins

  • 12Prayer — (?; 277), n. [OE. preiere, OF. preiere, F. pri[ e]re, fr. L. precarius obtained by prayer, fr. precari to pray. See {Pray}, v. i.] 1. The act of praying, or of asking a favor; earnest request or entreaty; hence, a petition or memorial addressed… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 13Prayer book — Prayer Prayer (?; 277), n. [OE. preiere, OF. preiere, F. pri[ e]re, fr. L. precarius obtained by prayer, fr. precari to pray. See {Pray}, v. i.] 1. The act of praying, or of asking a favor; earnest request or entreaty; hence, a petition or… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 14Prayer meeting — Prayer Prayer (?; 277), n. [OE. preiere, OF. preiere, F. pri[ e]re, fr. L. precarius obtained by prayer, fr. precari to pray. See {Pray}, v. i.] 1. The act of praying, or of asking a favor; earnest request or entreaty; hence, a petition or… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 15Precarious — Pre*ca ri*ous, a. [L. precarius obtained by begging or prayer, depending on request or on the will of another, fr. precari to pray, beg. See {Pray}.] 1. Depending on the will or pleasure of another; held by courtesy; liable to be changed or lost… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 16Precariously — Precarious Pre*ca ri*ous, a. [L. precarius obtained by begging or prayer, depending on request or on the will of another, fr. precari to pray, beg. See {Pray}.] 1. Depending on the will or pleasure of another; held by courtesy; liable to be… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 17Precariousness — Precarious Pre*ca ri*ous, a. [L. precarius obtained by begging or prayer, depending on request or on the will of another, fr. precari to pray, beg. See {Pray}.] 1. Depending on the will or pleasure of another; held by courtesy; liable to be… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 18precarious — adjective Etymology: Latin precarius obtained by entreaty, uncertain more at prayer Date: 1646 1. depending on the will or pleasure of another 2. dependent on uncertain premises ; dubious < precarious generalizations > 3. a. dependent on chance&#8230; …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 19prayer — I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo French priere, praiere, preiere, from Medieval Latin precaria, from Latin, feminine of precarius obtained by entreaty, from prec , prex Date: 14th century 1. a. (1) an address …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 20Stomiidae — Taxobox name = Stomiidae image width = 240px image caption = Astronesthes niger regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Actinopterygii ordo = Stomiiformes familia = Stomiidae subdivision ranks = Genera subdivision = Aristostomias&#8230; …

    Wikipedia