petition

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a formal message requesting something that is submitted to an authority
  2. noun reverent petition to a deity
  3. verb write a petition for something to somebody; request formally and in writing

Etymology

From Middle English, borrowed from Old French peticiun, from stem of Latin petitio, petitionem (“a request, solicitation”), from petere (“to require, seek, go forward”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

request, postulation

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