supplicate

Where does the word "supplicate" come from? It comes from Latin supplicare, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).

Supplicate’s story begins in Latin: supplicare meant “to kneel down, to beg humbly.” To kneel down, to beg humbly, from sub- (under) and plicare (to fold). It reached English by 1400s as supplicate. Settled as the English word for asking for something humbly and earnestly. Today, supplicate means to ask for something humbly and earnestly, as in prayer or a plea.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient supplicare "to kneel down, to beg humbly", to kneel down, to beg humbly, from sub- (under) and plicare (to fold).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1400s supplicate "to ask for something humbly and earnestly", settled as the English word for asking for something humbly and earnestly.