petitionn.
/pᵻˈtɪʃn/, U.S. /pəˈtɪʃən/ 1. A supplication, entreaty, or prayer.
a. A solemn and humble prayer to God; an entreaty, esp. to a sovereign or superior.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > prayer > [noun] > a prayer
boonc1175
orisona1225
prayerc1300
prayc1330
petition?a1400
orationc1440
supplicationc1443
oratioa1586
vote1619
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 299 (MED) Nede behoued him grante to clerke & baroun & hold þam þe conante of ilk peticioun.
c1430 (c1395) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Prol. 363 Hym oweth..wel to heren here excusacyouns, And here compleyntes & petyciouns.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 294 This is my petycion at this feste, that ye woll geff me mete and drynke suffyciauntly for this twelve-monthe.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Philipp. iv. 6 In all thinges let yor peticions in prayer and supplicacion, with geuynge of thankes be knowne before God.
a1622 E. Jocelin Mothers Legacie (1624) 100 All the other petitions we present unto God absolutely: onely this is conditionall, he forgive us as we forgive others.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 144 What shou'd He do, who twice had lost his Love? What Notes invent, what new Petitions move? View more context for this quotation
1753 T. Gray Long Story in Six Poems 17 My Lady heard their joint petition.
1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice I. xi. 121 Mr. Hurst soon found even his open petition rejected. View more context for this quotation
1917 E. R. Burroughs Princess of Mars xxii. 262 What I failed to do, through implicit belief that my petition would be presumptuous and unwelcome, I do now,..I ask you to be my wife.
1983 Christian Sci. Monitor (Boston) 8 Mar. 21 An earnest petition to God to make us better people may be a helpful starting point.
2001 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 24 Sept. c1 He recommends strongly that we pray, we make petitions, we intercede with the Lord and give thanks to the Lord for our political leaders.
b. A supplicatory clause in a prayer.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > prayer > kinds of prayer > [noun] > supplicatory > part of
petition1552
obsecration1581
1552 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16279) Administr. Lordes Supper sig. N.vii Then shall the priest saye the lordes prayer, the people repeating after him euery peticion.
1637 J. Rhodes Countrie Mans Comfort (heading) Grace before meat for poore and rich, made vpon the 4. Petition of the Lords Prayer, and made to the three persons in Trinitie.
1885 J. Ruskin Pleasant Eng. 136 Our petition in the Litany, against sudden death, was written originally to her [sc. St Barbara].
1933 Man 33 123/1 It is like the well-known petition of the Litany, ‘Save us and deliver us for thine honour’.
1999 Renaissance Q. 52 1161 In the Precatio dominica, Erasmus made seven prayers that interpret and paraphrase each petition of the Lord's Prayer.
2. A written or formal request.
a. In earlier use: a formal document in which the British Houses of Parliament (originally the House of Commons) presented a measure for the sovereign's granting (now represented by the passing of a bill for royal assent). Later: any draft measure or proposed law presented to Parliament and debated in the Houses; a motion, a bill. Now historical.Private petitions were submitted to the king and his council at parliament in some numbers from the reign of Edward I onwards, and from the mid 14th cent. some of these received the formal backing of the Commons.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legislation > [noun] > passing for royal assent
petition1414
the mind > language > speech > request > [noun] > one who requests or petitions > letter or document
bill1377
petition1414
supplicationc1419
subligationc1600
fire briefa1643
begging-letter1849
slum1851
1414 Rolls of Parl. IV. 22/2 Þe kyng of his grace especial graunteþ þat fro hens forþ no þyng be enacted to þe Peticions of his Comune, þat be contrarie of hir askyng, wharby þey shuld be bounde wiþoute their assent.
1450 Rolls of Parl. V. 186/1 The Kynge, by the advis and assente of the Lordes Spirituelx and Temporelx..agreith to this Petition of Resumption.
1512 Act 4 Hen. VIII c. 11 Everything..byfore rehersed declared and expressed in this bill of peticion.
1681 H. Neville Plato Redivivus 111 Another Act..by which it was provided, That no Parliament should be dismist, till all the Petitions were answered; That is, in the Language of those times, till all the Bills..were finished.
1736 R. B. Sheridan in J. Swift Lett. (1768) IV. 161 Thus this great affair has ended like the Yorkshire petition, which has been the chief business of the house of commons this session.
1740 Ld. Harrington in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. i. 275 I hope therefore that I shall not be thought unreasonable in preferring this Petition to the King.
1804 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. IV. 511 It became..fully established in the reign of Richard 3. that no award could be made on a private petition, without a formal and complete act of the whole legislature.
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xvi. 143 In damp weather, the place is rendered close by the steams of moist acts of parliament and frowzy petitions.
1875 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. III. xx. 478 Such private petitions as seem to merit the consideration of the commons were..sent up to the lords..and then passed through the further stages before receiving the king's assent.
1992 Cambr. Law Jrnl. 51 548 During the seventeenth century, the number of petitions to the Lords escalated steadily.
b. More generally: a formal written request or supplication, (now) esp. one signed by many people, appealing to an individual or group in authority (as a sovereign, legislature, administrative body, etc.) for some favour, right, or mercy, or in respect of a particular cause.
ΚΠ
c1437 Chancery Proc. Ser. C1 File 9 No. 272 (MED) He sued to youre graceous lordeship by peticioun, the wheche made mencion of certain greuaunce and iniuries done to youre seid pore bedeman.
1528–30 tr. T. Littleton Tenures (new ed.) f. vii They haue none other remedye but to sue vnto ye lorde by petycion [printed pretycion].
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) v. i. 19 That it will please you To giue this poore petition to the King. View more context for this quotation
1682 J. Bunyan Holy War 328 I will draw up a Petition for you, and will also set my hand thereto. View more context for this quotation
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. vi. 164 Augustus once received a petition from the inhabitants of Gyarus, humbly praying that they might be relieved from one third of their excessive impositions.
1848 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 III. ix. 550 They prepared a petition to the House against the Bill.
1897 Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch 20 Nov. 4/1 There is but one course..and that is to call upon the smotherers of the protest and petition for an explanation.
1936 G. B. Shaw Simpleton of Unexpected Isles Pref. 16 The instinctive shrinking from outright killing which makes so many people sign petitions for the reprieve of even the worst murderers.
1993 Coloradoan (Fort Collins) 18 Apr. b1/5 Members of the group Beyond Beef were..asking for signatures on a petition that asks the national chain to add a veggie burger to the menu.
c. Law (originally Scots Law). A formal written application made to a court, setting out facts on the basis of which the petitioner seeks to some legal remedy or relief. See also petition of right n. at Phrases 1.Formerly, in English law, petitions could be made to a court for judicial action in a suit pending before it (also called a cause petition); they are now used only to commence certain proceedings, as divorce and bankruptcy, and in some cases to seek leave to appeal against a decision.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > [noun] > complaint in respect of civil claim > written application to court > for action
petition1463
motiona1726
showing1845
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > [noun] > complaint in respect of civil claim > written application to court
billc1400
request1582
petition1872
1463 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1875) XII. 28/2 I have daily persewit..to haue had coursabill brevis of ȝoure chapell eftir the tennour of my peticionis gevin thareuppon tueching the landis of..the erldome of Leuenax.
1518 Boyds of Penkill Family Papers No. 2 7 July The lords of counsale..assolȝies the said Thomas Kennedy fra the petitioun of the said Jonet and Patrik hir spous.
1603 in W. Mackay & G. S. Laing Rec. Inverness (1924) II. 11 And exhibit and producit in judgement his petitioun desyringe him to be servit as generall air to his vmquhill father..quhairof the tennour followis.
1673 Kirkcudbright Town Council Rec. 17 Jan. Ane petitioune givin in be Johne Sproat in relatioune to the modifieing and mittigating of ten pundis Scots quhilk was appoynted to be payed be him quarterlie.
1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) VI. 541 Lord Hardwicke... I did not think fit to determine the matter upon a petition, but thought it proper for a bill.
1827 J. Bentham Rationale Judicial Evid. II. iii. xvi. 366 Petition is the name given to the instrument by which, in cases of bankruptcy, claims are preferred to the Lord Chancellor.
1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scotl. 735 In the judicial procedure of the Court of Session, a petition and complaint is the form in which certain matters of summary and extraordinary jurisdiction are brought under the cognisance of the Court.
1840 Penny Cycl. XVIII. 33/2 A petition may be presented for the appointment of guardians to infants, and for an allowance for their maintenance.
1872 Wharton's Law Lexicon (ed. 5) 729/2 Divorce and matrimonial suits, and suits instituted under the Legitimacy Declaration Act, are commenced by petition.
1929 E. Waugh Let. Aug. (1980) 38 I am accordingly filing a petition for divorce.
1978 I. F. Fletcher Law of Bankruptcy 45 By far the most usual mode of inauguration of bankruptcy proceedings is for one or more of the creditors to present a petition for a receiving order to be made.
2004 Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) 7 May b1 [The defendants] filed petitions in county court Thursday asking for hearings before an out-of-county judge.
3. The action of formally asking, supplicating, or requesting; the action of submitting a petition. to make petition: to ask, supplicate, or request formally.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > request > [noun] > formal request or petition > petitioning
petition1417
petitio1586
petitioning1629
1417 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. I. 57 (MED) He was forced againste his will to make peticion to have your Peace by indenture.
?1465 J. Eastgate in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) III. 176 The qwych peticion I made diuerse tyme to-fore moche recorde.
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) xxxvi. 187 We thought to her we made peticion.
1555 R. Eden tr. Coppie of Bull in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 172 The instant peticion of any other person.
1611 Bible (King James) Esther vii. 3 Let my life be giuen me at my petition . View more context for this quotation
1673 W. Temple Observ. United Provinces ii. 103 Petition signifying barely asking or demanding, though implying the thing demanded to be wholly in the right and power of them that give.
1704 W. M. Female Wits Epil. sig. A3v So does our Poet in this sinful Age,..Fall to Petition after Application, And beg that he may work a Reformation.
1784 T. Jefferson Public Papers 376 The settlers within the territory..either on their own petition, or on the order of Congress, receive authority from them.
1817 W. Cobbett Addr. Men Bristol in Weekly Polit. Reg. 11 Jan. 64 Petition, peaceable petition, is the course.
1872 J. Yeats Growth Commerce 212 The company's charter could be renewed only on petition and payment of a fine.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 207/1 Foreigners who had suffered from attacks by English ships made petition for redress to the admiral or the council.
2003 Global News Wire (Asia Africa Intelligence Wire) (Nexis) 16 Jan. Those companies affected must make petition themselves so then we can make the follow-up quickly.
4. The matter of a petition; the thing asked or petitioned for. Chiefly in to have (also receive) one's petition, to grant a petition.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > request > [noun] > that which is asked for
boonc1175
prayera1425
petitionc1451
c1451 J. Capgrave Life St. Gilbert (1910) 61 Ȝe desired gretly þe lyf of Seynt Gilbert schuld be translat..and I graunted both ȝour petycion.
a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (Harl. 7333) (1879) 154 Sithe I shall dye, I aske the law of yow, scil., þat I may have iij peticiouns or I deye.
1520 Chron. Eng. iv. f. 31v/2 He sayde..he sholde haue somwhat of his petycyon.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) 1 John v. 15 We knowe thatt we shall have the peticions that wee desyred of hym.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) ii. i. 58 O Rome, I make thee promise, If the redresse will follow, thou receiuest Thy full Petition at the hand of Brutus. View more context for this quotation
1686 Cramond Kirk Session II. 29 Aug. Befor their petition should be granted.
1759 S. Johnson Prince of Abissinia II. xliii. 120 I have repressed the pride of the powerful, and granted the petitions of the poor.
1797 G. Chalmers Apol. Believers in Shakspeare-papers ix. 381 The privy-council..granted their petition.
1847 E. Brontë Wuthering Heights II. xiv. 294 He begged to sleep with Hareton, and his petition was granted, for once.
1912 Catholic Encycl. XIII. 512/1 Her petition having been granted, she herself disseminated such scapulars.
1994 Amer. Spectator Apr. 31/2 Judge Reasoner granted the petition on March 30, grumping that he would have done it without the eighth circuit's intervention.
5. Mathematics. A postulate; an axiom. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematics > [noun] > mathematical enquiry > proposition > self-evident or accepted without proof
petition1529
request1551
axiom1593
postulate1660
porime1702
postulatum1743
ansatz1936
1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes i, in Wks. 149/1 These two thinges seme to me two as true pointes, and as plaine to a christen man, as any peticion of Euclidis geometry is to a resonable man.
1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. i. f. 5v Petitions..are certain general sentences, so plain, & so perspicuous, that they are perceiued to be true as soone as they are vttered.
1656 tr. T. Hobbes Elements Philos. i. iii. 28 Also certaine Petitions are commonly received into the number of Principles; as for example, That a streight line may be drawne between two points.
1709 J. Ward Young Mathematician's Guide (1734) 11 Postulate or Petition. That any Number may be diminished..by taking another Number from it.
1795 C. Hutton Math. & Philos. Dict. II. 270/1 Postulate, a demand, petition, or a problem of so obvious a nature as to need neither demonstration, nor explication, to render it more plain or certain.
1827 O. Gregory Hutton's Course Math. (ed. 9) I. 3 A Postulate, or Petition, is something required to be done, which is so easy and evident that no person will hesitate to allow it.
1943 Mind 52 357 His [sc. Roger Bacon's] remarks on the petitions and suppositions of Geometry are of particular interest.
Phrases
P1. petition of right n.
a. English Law. A common law remedy against the Crown seeking the recovery of real or personal property notwithstanding the general principle that the sovereign is not to be sued in his own courts. Now chiefly historical.The Crown Proceedings Act 1947 provided that a claim against the Crown that could have been enforced by petition of right could be prosecuted in the courts in the normal way, but there may still occasionally be circumstances in which the petition of right is still the appropriate procedure, e.g. in claims under the Colonial Stock Act 1877.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > [noun] > complaint in respect of civil claim > written application to court > other bills or petitions
petition of right1467
cross-bill1637
bill of privilege1763
bill of suspension1810
bill of peace1848
1467–8 Rolls of Parl. V. 575/1 Provided also, that this present Acte..extend not nor be prejudiciall to eny persone or persones not attaynted, of eny Maners..in eny of the Kynges Courtes..by Writte or Writtes, or by Petition or Petitions of right sued.
1473 Rolls of Parl. VI. 72/2 Wherof any persone or persones have had..restitucion by Travers, Petition of Right, Lyvere, or any Recovere by the cours of the commen lawe.
1658 tr. E. Coke Rep. (1826) II. iv. 55a 428 He who has right could not by the common law have any traverse upon which he was to have amoveas manum, but was put to his ‘petition of right’.
1768 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. III. xvii. 256 The common law methods of obtaining possession or restriction from the crown, of either real or personal property, are, 1. By petition de droit, or petition of right, which is said to owe it's [sic] original to King Edward the first [etc.].
1840 Penny Cycl. XVIII. 34/1 In modern practice the petition of right is not resorted to, except in cases to which neither a traverse of office nor a monstraunce de droit applies.
1898 Encycl. Laws Eng. at Petition of Right Stated in general terms, the only cases in which a petition of right is available are where the land or goods or money of a subject have found their way into the possession of the Crown.
1937 P. H. Winfield Textbk. Law of Tort 90 The rule that the King can do no wrong has also been used as a reason for denying the application of a petition of right to a claim in tort.
1974 Law Rep.: Queen's Bench Div. 186 The plaintiff was entitled to proceed by way of petition of right as provided in [the Colonial Stocks Act 1877, s. 20].
2003 Law Rep.: Appeal Cases (Lexis) 1163 Section 1 provides for the Crown to be sued as of right (rather than by a petition of right sanctioned by Royal fiat).
b. Usually with capital initials. Also more fully Petition of Rights. English History. The parliamentary declaration of the rights and liberties of the people, presented to Charles I in a petition in 1627 and assented to by the monarch in 1628.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal right > [noun] > civil rights > specific declaration of
petition of right1636
Bill of Rights1768
1627 Act 3 Chas. I (title) The peticion exhibited to His Majestie by the Lordes Spirituall and Temporall and Comons in this present Parliament assembled concerning divers rightes and liberties of the subjectes.]
1636 W. Prynne Certaine Quæres 27 The Statute of Magna Charta: c. 29. the Petition of Right, with other Lawes enacted for the peoples liberties, which cannot be taken from them, but by Parliament.
1641 Ld. Digby Speeches High Court Parl. 19 The first mover, and insister to have this clause added to the Petition of Right.
a1675 B. Whitelocke Memorials Eng. Affairs (1682) anno 1628 10/2 The King gave another Answer to the Petition of Right,..which satisfied the Commons,..and so that excellent Law passed.
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. i. 6 Yet all these Provocations, and many other..produced no other Resentment than the Petition of Right.
1768 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. III. 134 This drew on a parliamentary enquiry, and produced the petition of right, 3 Car. I.
1827 H. Hallam Constit. Hist. Eng. I. vii. 423 The Petition of Right, as this statute is still called, from its not being drawn in the common form of an act of parliament.
1878 W. E. H. Lecky Hist. Eng. 18th Cent. II. vi. 115 These Graces, the Irish analogue of the Petition of Rights.
1921 Eng. Hist. Rev. 36 512 In 1628 there was a suggestion..to make the Petition of Right a preamble to the subsidy bill.
1999 Jrnl. Brit. Stud. 38 179 In 1629 the same defense was used by those who refused to pay tonnage and poundage, which Charles collected..in direct violation of the Petition of Right.
P2.
petition of principle n. (also petition of the principle, petition of a principle) = petitio principii n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical syllogism > logical argument > [noun] > logical fallacy > begging the question
petitio principii1531
begging of the question1579
petition of principle1579
craving of the principle1587
beggarya1603
precariousness1666
petitio1894
1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 223 He must haue an easie aduersarie, or else he shall gaine litle by such petition of principles.
1618 G. Chapman in tr. Hesiod Georgicks Ep. Ded. sig. A2v Or if the allusion (or petition of the Principle) begge with too broad a Licence in the Generall.
a1751 Visct. Bolingbroke Ess. Pope i, in Wks. (1754) iii. 525 Their whole discourse..is one continued petition of principle.
1829 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. 2nd Ser. I. xv. 485 Those terms are puerile, and imply a petition of a principle.
1962 R. Sereno Rulers 58 The numerous descriptions of ruling classes or of élites are usually based on a petition of principle.
1999 Indian Ocean Newslet. (Nexis) 27 Mar. O'Michael's stated intentions and his sometimes naive petitions of principle on AENF's independence vis a vis its patrons in Addis Ababa and Khartoum.
P3.
Petition and Advice n. (also more fully Humble Petition and Advice) the remonstrance presented by Parliament to Cromwell on 4 April 1657, which offered him the crown and proposed a constitutional basis for his position as head of the Commonwealth. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > request > protesting or remonstrance > [noun] > specific instance of
Petition and Advice1657
1657 (title) The humble Petition and Advice presented unto his Highness the Lord Protector..at the Parliament begun..September 1656.
1659 T. Burton Diary (1828) III. 168 I shall not say the Petition and Advice was unduly, but unseasonably and importunately obtained.
1724 I. Kimber Life O. Cromwell iii. vi. 308 (heading) His being Confirm'd Protector, by the humble Petition and Advice.
1827 H. Hallam Constit. Hist. Eng. II. x. 115 The fundamental charter of the English commonwealth under..Cromwell..was now changed to the petition and advice.
1884 C. H. Firth in J. M. Low & F. S. Pulling Dict. Eng. Hist. 818/1 On the whole the Petition and Advice established a far more workable distribution of political power than the instrument of government.
1913 J. Willcock Life Sir H. Vane xvi. 275 About half the members of the Commons were Protectorists or supporters of the constitution prescribed in The Petition and Advice.
1993 Dict. National Biogr.: Missing Persons 79/2 Though he was opposed to the offer of the Crown to Cromwell..he came round in support of the revised draft of the Humble Petition and Advice.
Compounds
C1. General attributive and objective.
petition form n.
ΚΠ
1896 Science 27 Mar. 457/2 A petition form to be signed by any and all persons favoring the bill.
2003 Birmingham Evening Mail (Nexis) 11 Apr. 3 All you have to do is get ten names on the petition form in tonight's Evening Mail.
petition-monger n.
ΚΠ
1722 Z. Grey Presbyterian Prejudice Display'd 77 That's nothing said the Petition Monger.
1795 in Catal. Prints: Polit. & Personal Satires (Brit. Mus.) (1942) VII. 206 Petition Mongers in Full Cry to St. Stephens.
1887 J. Bulloch Pynours v. 46 This brave document was inspired by some petition-monger.
1909 Daily Chron. 16 Sept. 4/7 How those petitions against the Budget would shrink if the signatories would take the trouble to know something about it before acceding to the importunities of the petition-mongers!
2002 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Jrnl. Sentinel (Nexis) 6 Feb. 11 a Your continued grace under pressure is an inspiration to those of us who have spoken rudely to the petition mongers.
petition-writer n.
ΚΠ
1737 O. Sedgewick World turn'd Inside-out xx. 289 Not one Shoemaker, Petty-fogger, Petition-writer, or Marriage-broker among them.
1835 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz (1836) 2nd Ser. 152 Announcements of day schools, penny theatres, petition-writers.
1998 Slavic Rev. 57 783 The experienced petition writer now boasted of performing work as a ‘prison lawyer’.
C2.
petition crown n. Numismatics a trial piece for a five-shilling coin engraved by Thomas Simon as part of a contest between himself and the Roettiers brothers to decide who would engrave the dies for the new mechanized coinage of Charles II, having Simon's petition for preference engraved on the edge.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > English coins > [noun] > crown or five shillings
halfpenny of gold1463
crown1526
crown piece1613
decus1688
British-crown1695
bull's-eye1699
petition crown1745
Britain crown1793
bull1819
caser1825
Oxford scholar1937
1745 S. M. Leake Hist. Acct. Eng. Money (ed. 2) Index Petition Crown.
1853 Numismatic Chron. 16 135 Simon's ‘Trial Piece’..There exist four varieties...that which has on the edge Simon's Petition to Charles II. to be employed on his new coinage, and which is consequently known by the name of the Petition Crown.
1903 Daily Chron. 6 Nov. 5/2 The Petition Crown piece, of which a specimen was sold on Wednesday for £310, was the famous Simon's protest against foreign labour.
1998 Britannica Online (Version 98.2) The finest coin of his [sc. Charles II's] reign is not a regular issue. It was the ‘Petition’ crown made by Thomas Simon, engraver at the mint under the Commonwealth.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
petitionv.
/pᵻˈtɪʃn/, U.S. /pəˈtɪʃən/ 1. transitive. To make a request or supplication to; spec. to address a written petition to (an authority) in respect of a particular cause; to make a formal application to (a court).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > request > request or ask for [verb (transitive)] > petition
procurea1387
motion1476
solicit1530
supplication1593
supplicate1601
petition1607
petitionate1624
move1633
address1698
bill1722
1607 J. Marston What you Will i. i. sig. B3 And. Come weele peticion him, Iaco. Away away, He skornes all plaints makes iest of serious sute.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) ii. i. 167 You haue, I know, petition'd all the Gods for my prosperitie. View more context for this quotation
1700 3rd Pt. Mod. Rep. 294 The Defendant had petitioned the king to destroy the Ferry.
1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. i. 143 There still remains a fourth subordinate right, appertaining to every individual, namely, the right of petitioning the king, or either house of parliament, for the redress of grievances.
1805 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. V. 110 Lord Pembroke petitioned the House of Lords for a bill to set aside an amendment made in a fine and recovery, by the Court of Great Sessions in Wales.
1857–8 E. H. Sears Athanasia ii. ii. 186 They petition Pilate for a guard.
1908 Daily Chron. 15 Apr. 4/6 Women in Atlanta..have petitioned the local tramway company..not to assist them on and off the cars.
1991 Internat. Jrnl. Law & Family 5 326 Many years later the noncustodial father, at the request of the child, petitioned the court to have custody changed to him.
2. intransitive. To address or present a petition, to ask humbly; (now) spec. to express a concern or grievance by amassing public support for a formal statement; to file a petition with a court. Usually with for.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > request > make a request [verb (intransitive)]
yearnOE
ask1340
fand1340
frayne1377
seek1390
allegea1393
to make requestc1400
require?c1425
sue1440
thigc1480
solicit1509
petition1611
petitionate1625
postulate1754
1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. xv. 645/2 Some..exhibited their Bils vnto the three estates in Parliament, and petitioned vnto the King.
a1625 J. Fletcher Humorous Lieut. iv. viii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) 143/2 You thinke now, I should cry, and kneele down to ye, Petition for my peace.
1634 T. Heywood Maidenhead Lost i, in Wks. (1874) IV. 108 You petition heere For Men and Money!
1751 C. Labelye Descr. Westm. Bridge 25 Westminster Bridge was petitioned for.
1766 J. Entick Surv. London in New Hist. London IV. 71 The method of gaining admission into this hospital is by petitioning to the committee.
1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice II. iv. v. 5 The Colonel petitioned for three days' consideration.
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess vi. 137 Then Violet..Petition'd too for him.
1968 T. Roethke Sel. Lett. 172 When I left, the students petitioned for my retention.
1994 M. Berlins & C. Dyer Law Machine 167 A husband and wife cannot jointly petition for a divorce; one or other must start the ball rolling.
3. transitive. To solicit, ask, or beg for; spec. to make a written petition in request of. Now usually with clause as object.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > request > request or ask for [verb (transitive)]
yearnOE
bid971
seek971
askOE
beseechc1175
banc1275
yerec1275
cravec1300
desirec1330
impetrec1374
praya1382
nurnc1400
pleadc1400
require1400
fraynec1430
proke1440
requisitea1475
wishc1515
supply1546
request1549
implore?c1550
to speak for ——1560
entreat1565
impetratec1565
obtest?1577
solicit1595
invoke1617
mendicate1618
petition1621
imprecate1636
conjurea1704
speer1724
canvass1768
kick1792
I will thank you to do so-and-so1813
quest1897
to hit a person up for1917
1621 M. Wroth Countesse of Mountgomeries Urania 359 She fell to petitioning his returne of loue to her; she writ to him, she spake to him.
1631 P. Heylyn Hist. St. George 86 The picture of some state or Country, petitioning..the ayde and helping-hand of so great a Saint.
1666 Duchess of Newcastle Descr. New World i. 28 The Bear-men being exceedingly troubled at her Majesties displeasure concerning their Telescopes, kneel'd down, and in the humblest manner petitioned, that they might not be broken.
1773 H. Mackenzie Man of World ii. xviii. 228 When their sentence was communicated to me, I petitioned that it might be changed into death.
1812 G. Crabbe Tales xvi. 300 All that I hope, petition, or expect.
1846 L. M. Child Fact & Fiction 208 He forthwith petitioned that Hilda, instead of being beheaded, might be delivered to him, to be frozen for a century.
1903 E. F. Knight S. Afr. after War 43 Practically the entire population..petitioned that the ‘khakis’ should be removed from the country.
1988 T. Woodcock & J. M. Robinson Oxf. Guide Heraldry vi. 105 He had petitioned that he might bear some particular mark of distinction in his armorial ensigns.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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