Meaning

noun the act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving)

noun reverent petition to a deity

noun earnest or urgent request

originFrom Middle English preiere, from Old French preiere, from Early Medieval Latin precāria, derived from Latin precem. Displaced native Old English ġebed (whence modern English bead).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0