I’ve sent this to Cecil, but I’m counting on the Teeming Millions to help me out here.
A friend and I are having a serious disagreement regarding the correct usage of the word “supplicate.” He used it as a synonym for “ask,” as in “could I supplicate you to get me a glass of water.” I maintain that, despite the fact that the dictionary says that “supplicate” can mean “to humbly ask, entreaty or beseech,” his usage is totally incorrect. As I understand it, “supplicate” should be used only in reference to someone begging before a higher power or a deity, and when used in the transitive form, is typically used only in the third person (for example, “they supplicated the king for clemency”). Can you help us put this tired argument to rest?
This is going to be more of a IMO thread, but certainly to me, it is more than mere asking. I don’t think your position is “despite” the dictionary definition, but because of the dictionary definition, which says “to HUMBLY ask,” not to mention “entreat” and “beseech,” both of which have connotations of urgency and emotional investment that make them sound silly when asking for, say, a glass of water. As, indeed, “supplicate” sounds silly as well.
I think your friend needs to recognize that not all words are strictly synonymous and that different words convey different shades of meaning. “Hurl” and “toss” don’t mean the same thing either.
So a very thirst prisoner might supplicate a guard for a drink of water, but normally one wouldn’t be so intense with a friend or family member. In answer to “Could I supplicate you to get me a glass of water,” one might respond “You could, but it would be a lot easier to just ask.”