The language doesn't surprise me particularly. "Pray" is an old word that means to ask. Hence "prithee", which is kind of a mashed together "pray thee" (which

The language doesn't surprise me particularly. "Pray" is an old word that means to ask. Hence "prithee", which is kind of a mashed together "pray thee" (which means "ask you"). And "prayer" is noun form of that verb. Yes, the words are really old (archaic-sounding if not actually archaic), but that happens all the time in legalese. And yes, they have religious connotations, but they are also used in secular ways. For example, from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet": "I pray thee, good Mercutio, let's retire: The day is hot, the Capulets abroad".