Etymograph

English

priant

Priant comes from French prier ‘praying’, from Old French proiier ‘to pray’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- ‘to ask’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preḱ-1‘to ask’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*preks1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprex1‘request, petition, prayer’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprecor2as precārī‘to beseech, beg, pray, entreat, supplicate, request’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEprecāre3
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400proiier2‘to pray’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentprier4as priant‘praying’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1954priant4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin precor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French prier
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old French proiier
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English priant
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1954, Henriette Eugénie s' Jacob: “page 139: It is an established fact that Anequin…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preḱ-Wiktionary, Latin precor‘to ask’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*preksWiktionary, Latin precorreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprexWiktionary, Latin precor‘request, petition, prayer’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprecorWiktionary, French prieras precārī‘to beseech, beg, pray, entreat, supplicate, request’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEprecāreWiktionary, Old French proiier
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400proiierWiktionary, French prier‘to pray’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentprierWiktionary, English priantas priant‘praying’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1954priantWiktionary, English priant. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1954, Henriette Eugénie s' Jacob: “page 139: It is an established fact that Anequin…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- ‘to ask’

arrogance, arrogant, derogatory, prerogative, postulate, derogation, 25 more

through Latin prex ‘request, petition, prayer’

prayer, precarious, 9 more

through Latin precor ‘to beseech, beg, pray, entreat, supplicate,…’

deprecation, 7 more

through Old French proiier ‘to pray’

pray

Today it means

noun A kneeling figure, in French sepulchral art.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “priant”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin precor, French prier, Old French proiier. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- / priant

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