word
Prayer
Address toward a god or power. Petition, praise, and quiet holding are different speech-acts under one English word.
Islam
Prayer is used in Islam.
The Qur’an commands and describes ṣalāt as established prayer toward God. Islamic prayer as a practiced rite in that revelation, not a generic meditation mood and not qibla as the direction alone.
from M.A.S. Abdel Haleem (translation) · The Qur’an, 2004 (this translation); Arabic text 7th century CE
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Misbaha is used in Prayer.
Hughes TASBIH seats the rosary of 33/66/99 beads for reciting the names of God — prayer-bead use, not a fashion necklace dump.
from Thomas Patrick Hughes · A Dictionary of Islam, 1885
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Adhan is used in Prayer.
Hughes AZAN seats the summons to prayer recited from the minaret — call-to-prayer use, not music entertainment alone.
from Thomas Patrick Hughes · A Dictionary of Islam, 1885
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Iqama is used in Prayer.
Hughes IQAMAH seats the second call immediately before the standing prayer — standing-call use, not the outdoor adhan alone.
from Thomas Patrick Hughes · A Dictionary of Islam, 1885
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Roman religion
Prayer appears in Roman religion.
Virgil’s Aeneid seats prayer among landing rites, battlefield vows, and petitions to Jupiter, Venus, and Apollo. A named prayer in that epic, not Qur’anic ṣalāt and not a silent meditation dump.
from Virgil · Aeneid, 19 BCE (unfinished at the poet’s death)
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Hellenic religion
Prayer appears in Hellenic religion.
Pausanias records prayers and spoken addresses to gods at Greek sanctuaries. A named prayer in that periegesis, not hymn as Homeric hymn speech already walked and not a church dump.
from Pausanias · Description of Greece, c. 150–180 CE
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Vedic tradition
Prayer appears in Vedic tradition.
The Ṛgveda is petition as well as praise — hymn speech asks gods for aid, wealth, and protection. A named Vedic prayer posture in that corpus, not mantra as the formula word already filed and not Islamic ṣalāt.
from Stephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Brereton (translation) · The Rigveda, 2014 (this translation); hymns much older
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Nahua tradition
Prayer appears in Nahua tradition.
Sahagún’s Florentine Codex records formal addresses, petitions, and rhetorical prayer to gods in the gods’ and rhetoric books — named prayer as ritual speech. A colonial-era Nahua ethnographic attestation, not a pan-Mesoamerican essence and not an unfiltered pre-invasion voice.
from Bernardino de Sahagún and Nahua collaborators · Florentine Codex, c. 1577
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Egyptian religion
Prayer appears in Egyptian religion.
The Book of the Dead is largely address to gods — hymns and petitions to Ra, Osiris, Thoth, and the court. Named prayer speech in that corpus, not Islamic salat and not a bare spell flatten.
from Raymond O. Faulkner (translation) · Book of the Dead, New Kingdom spells; Faulkner trans. 1972
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Prayer is historically related to Supplication.
In Watson’s Biblical and Theological Dictionary, God is said to hear the voice of my supplication as attending to prayer, and the Spirit is called the spirit of grace and of supplication that enables prayer — prayer is named with that supplication.
from Richard Watson · A Biblical and Theological Dictionary, 1831–32 (Gutenberg #53884)
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Tallit is used in Prayer.
JE ṬALLIT seats the fringed prayer-shawl worn by male worshipers at morning prayer (and by the ḥazzan before the Ark) — tallit use at prayer, not the knotted fringes alone.
from Isidore Singer et al. · The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1901–1906
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Kaddish is used in Prayer.
JE ḲADDISH seats the Ḳaddish among scholar’s, public, burial, and mourner’s forms recited in study and synagogal prayer — kaddish prayer use, not a funeral-only dump.
from Isidore Singer et al. · The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1901–1906
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Shema is used in Prayer.
JE SHEMA' seats the twice-daily confession of faith (Deut. vi. 4-9; xi. 13-21; Num. xv. 37-41) recited as the first major section of daily prayers — Shema' prayer use, not a bare monotheism slogan alone.
from Isidore Singer et al. · The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1901–1906
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Amidah is used in Prayer.
JE SHEMONEH 'ESREH seats the standing collection of benedictions as the Tefillah / 'Amidah — the prayer par excellence of the daily services — amidah prayer use, not the Shema' dump.
from Isidore Singer et al. · The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1901–1906
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Epiclesis is used in Prayer.
CE EPIKLESIS seats the post-Institution invocation in Eastern (and early Western) liturgies asking that God send the Holy Spirit to change the bread and wine — epiclesis as consecratory prayer speech, not a bare Spirit slogan.
from Charles G. Herbermann et al. · The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907–1912
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Lady chapel is historically related to Prayer.
CE CHAPEL seats Lady chapels as subsidiary chapels within a larger church, often the easternmost dedication to Our Lady and a locus of later church-music prayer practice — Mary-chapel speech, not the whole sanctuary.
from Charles G. Herbermann et al. · The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907–1912
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Hermitage is historically related to Prayer.
CE ANCHORITES seats the hermitage as the solitary dwelling that may grow into clustered cells and monastic prayer life; CE HERMITS seats eremitic withdrawal for ascetic prayer — hermitage solitude speech, not an anchorhold wall-cell dump.
from Charles G. Herbermann et al. · The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907–1912
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Laura is historically related to Prayer.
CE ABBEY seats laurae as Eastern clusters of solitary huts (lanes/alleys) around shared church life after Pachomian settlement speech — laura kinship toward shared monastic prayer, not a Carthusian charterhouse dump.
from Charles G. Herbermann et al. · The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907–1912
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Convent is historically related to Prayer.
CE CONVENT seats the religious house whose day is divided among choir, work, school, refectory, and cell under a shared rule — convent choir/prayer house speech, not a bare nunnery slogan alone.
from Charles G. Herbermann et al. · The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907–1912
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Abbey is historically related to Prayer.
CE ABBEY seats the major monastic house organized around oratory, cloister, chapter, and choir offices under an abbot — abbey prayer-house speech, not a generic monastery dump alone.
from Charles G. Herbermann et al. · The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907–1912
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Priory is historically related to Prayer.
CE PRIORY seats the monastery whose superior is a prior (conventual or obedientiary), including houses of several orders — priory prayer-house speech, not an abbey abbatial seat alone.
from Charles G. Herbermann et al. · The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907–1912
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Amen is used in Prayer.
Century AMEN seats the concluding formula used as a solemn expression of concurrence after a prayer or wish — amen use at prayer, not a free-standing liturgy object.
from William Dwight Whitney et al. · The Century Dictionary, 1889–1891 (and later PD editions)
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Antiphon is used in Prayer.
Century ANTIPHON seats a psalm, hymn, or prayer sung responsively by alternation of two choirs, and liturgical verses from the Psalms in Eastern and Western offices — responsive prayer use.
from William Dwight Whitney et al. · The Century Dictionary, 1889–1891 (and later PD editions)
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Prayer flag is used in Prayer.
EB1911 Tibet / prayer notes seat prayer flags as printed cloth offerings in Tibetan Buddhist practice — prayer use, not a military gonfalon alone.
from Hugh Chisholm et al. · Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.), 1910–1911
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Fasting is associated with Prayer.
In Watson’s Biblical and Theological Dictionary, Anna continued night and day in the temple serving God with fasting and prayer — fasting walks with that prayer.
from Richard Watson · A Biblical and Theological Dictionary, 1831–32 (Gutenberg #53884)
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Mesopotamian tradition
Altar is used in Prayer.
The Epic of Gilgamesh seats altars among the prayers and offerings Gilgamesh and Enkidu make to Shamash before facing Humbaba. Altar used in that prayer practice, not a generic sacrifice dump and not temple as the larger house.
from Epic of Gilgamesh, c. 1200 BCE (this recension)
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Sufism
Wird is used in Prayer.
Hughes WIRD seats the appointed daily litany of a Sufi order — litany use in prayer practice, not a casual reading dump.
from Thomas Patrick Hughes · A Dictionary of Islam, 1885
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sources
- The Qur’an · M.A.S. Abdel Haleem (translation)
M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur’an (Oxford).
- Aeneid · Virgil
Virgil, Aeneid.
- Description of Greece · Pausanias
Pausanias, Description of Greece.
- The Rigveda · Stephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Brereton (translation)
Stephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Brereton, The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India.
- Florentine Codex · Bernardino de Sahagún and Nahua collaborators
Bernardino de Sahagún, General History of the Things of New Spain (Florentine Codex).
- Book of the Dead · Raymond O. Faulkner (translation)
Raymond O. Faulkner, The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead.
- A Biblical and Theological Dictionary · Richard Watson
Richard Watson, A Biblical and Theological Dictionary.
- Epic of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh, Standard Babylonian version (flood tablet; underworld material).
- The Jewish Encyclopedia · Isidore Singer et al.
Isidore Singer et al., The Jewish Encyclopedia (1901–1906).
- The Catholic Encyclopedia · Charles G. Herbermann et al.
Charles G. Herbermann et al., The Catholic Encyclopedia (1907–1912).
- The Century Dictionary · William Dwight Whitney et al.
William Dwight Whitney et al., The Century Dictionary.
- A Dictionary of Islam · Thomas Patrick Hughes
Thomas Patrick Hughes, A Dictionary of Islam (1885).
- Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.) · Hugh Chisholm et al.
Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th edition (1910–1911).