prithee means please; used to make a question or request more polite or more forceful.
prithee is pronounced /ˈpɹɪði/.
Why “prithee” is a great word
An archaic, polite entreaty, formed from a contraction of 'I pray thee', with 'pray' in the sense of 'to ask earnestly' and 'thee' being the archaic second person singular object pronoun; first attested in the mid-16th century. Unlike 'please', the standard, modern lubricant of daily exchange, or 'beseech', which carries the weight of desperate petition, 'prithee' is a formal, almost ritualized courtesy. It is the rustle of a lace cuff as a hand is extended, the slight bow of a head in a candlelit doorway, and the delicate architecture of deference that softened the air between people—a word whose very sound reminds us that civility was once a tangible craft, the past pressing gently into the present, not as command, but as request.
Etymology
Contraction of I + pray + thee.
intj
- please; used to make a question or request more polite or more forceful.e.g.“What tidings send our scouts? I prithee, speak.”