4 ms·

"Pray" is a legal term. See definition (b) here: http://www.lawyers.com/glossary/pray.html http://www.lawyers.com/glossary/pray.html

• gruseom 16y ago
  As in the phrase "pray tell". I had no idea the archaic meaning survives in legalese. I wonder what other pieces of Middle English are floating in there.
  • ErrantX 16y ago
    A surprising amount. I quite like it because it adds a little gravity or austerity to the situation.
    • klochner 16y ago
      gravity + obfuscation for the masses, hence the growing movement to do away with legalese: http://www.plainlanguage.gov/usingPL/legal/index.cfm http://www.plainlanguage.gov/usingPL/legal/index.cfm
  • pbhjpbhj 16y ago
    In the UK it's not unheard of to use the term "pray tell" in parlance. Particularly in phrases like "And pray tell what did you get up to last night" expecting a stretching of the truth in return or tales of derring-do or misdemeanour moral offences.
    • smallblacksun 16y ago
      It's not unheard of in the US, either. Though I doubt most people who say it really know what it means.
    • gruseom 16y ago
      That's the point: "Pray tell" is still common enough in contemporary English, while "pray" hasn't meant that for a long time. Archaisms survive in idioms.
• ubernostrum 16y ago
  Pretty much. Legal language has some fun nooks and crannies (with my favorite, of course, being "To all whom these presents shall come...").
• deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]