orison

[ awr-uh-zuhn, or- ]

noun

1. a prayer.

orison

/ ˈɒrɪzən /

noun

1. literary.
   another word for prayer 1

Word History and Origins

Origin of orison¹

1125–75; Middle English < Old French < Late Latin ōrātiōn- (stem of ōrātiō ) plea, prayer, oration

Word History and Origins

Origin of orison¹

C12: from Old French oreison, from Late Latin ōrātiō, from Latin: speech, from ōrāre to speak

Example Sentences

About a century after the poem appeared in bookshops in Naples, onstage in London Richard Burbage’s Hamlet said to Ophelia, “Nymph, in thy orisons / Be all my sins remembered.”

From Los Angeles Times

Eggs, those wondrous orbs of orison, break into an omelette or simply sunny-side up.

From The Guardian

Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle Can patter out their hasty orisons.

From The New Yorker

Other cities, too, called for fasts to ofler up their corporate orisons; and, sensible of our distress, they sent flour and rice.

From Literature

While sectarianism spurred bloodshed and chaos in Pakistan and Northern Ireland, these orisons seemed far more demure.

From New York Times