entreat

Meanings

1. Senses relating to asking or pleading.
2. To ask earnestly or beg for (something, such as a benefit or favour).
3. To earnestly ask or beg (someone); to beseech, to implore.
4. To try to influence or persuade (someone); to induce, to prevail upon.
5. Often followed by for: to ask earnestly or to beg for a benefit, favour, etc.; to appeal, to plead.
6. To make a petition or request on behalf of someone; to intercede, to plead.
7. Senses relating to dealing with or negotiating.
8. To act towards or deal with (someone or something) in a specified manner; to handle, to treat.
9. To discuss or negotiate (something); also, to discuss or negotiate with (someone).
10. To occupy oneself with (something).
11. Sometimes followed by of or upon: to give an account or description of a matter; to deal with.
12. Often followed by about, for, or of: to discuss or negotiate, especially in order to reach a settlement.

1. Synonym of entreaty (“an act of asking earnestly or begging for something”); an appeal, a plea.

Etymology

The verb is derived from Late Middle English entreten (“to deal with (someone) in a specified way; to concern oneself with (something); to deal with or give an account of (a topic); to engage in negotiation; to intercede for (someone); to plead with (someone)”), from Anglo-Norman entraiter, entretier (“to concern oneself with (something); to deal with (someone) in a specified manner; to have a conversation with (someone); to negotiate (with someone, or about something)”), Middle French entraiter, entraictier, and Old French entraictier (“to have a conversation with (someone); to concern oneself with (something)”), from en- (prefix meaning ‘in, into’) + traiter (“to be concerned with (something); to treat (someone) in a specified way”) (from Latin tractāre, the present active infinitive of tractō (“to handle, manage; to drag, haul”), from trahō (“to drag, pull; etc.”) (see that entry for the further etymology) + -tō (frequentative suffix)). The noun is derived from Late Middle English entrete (“agreement; negotiation; treatment of a subject in discourse”), from the verb.