prithee

English

Alternative forms

• prythee

Etymology

Contraction of I +‎ pray +‎ thee.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɹɪði/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪði

Interjection

prithee

1. (archaic) please; used to make a question or request more polite or more forceful.
   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     What tidings send our scouts? I prithee, speak.

   • 1781, Horace Walpole, The Mysterious Mother, Act 1 Scene 2:

     But tell me, stranger,
     I prithee say, does my old master's heir
     Still breathe this vital air?

Translations

(archaic) please

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} cin mi alpreĝas ("to thee I pray")
• Latin: quaeso
• Russian: прошу́ (ru) (prošú), пожа́луйста (ru) (požálujsta)

Anagrams

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