prie-dieu

See also: priedieu and prie-Dieu

English

Etymology

From French prie-Dieu, from prie (“pray”) + Dieu (“God”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pɹiːˈdjəː/

Noun

prie-dieu (plural prie-dieus or prie-dieux)

1. A piece of furniture on which someone can pray, consisting of a cushioned area to kneel on, with a built-in ledge for books. [from 17th c.]
   • 1936, Djuna Barnes, Nightwood, Faber & Faber, published 2007, page 42:

     Leaning her childish face and full chin on the shelf of the prie-Dieu, her eyes fixed, she laughed, out of some hidden capacity, some lost subterranean humour [...].

   • 1982, Lawrence Durrell, Constance (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 2004, page 772:

     thinking to improve his hour, he took to kneeling at a prie-dieu and ventured upon some propitiatory prayers to the Virgin which might serve as a sort of scaffolding to the more important confession which was to follow.

   • 1992, Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety, Harper Perennial, published 2007, page 87:

     At her prie-dieu, she read in a calm voice the prayers for the dying.

Translations

a piece of furniture on which someone can pray

• Basque: belaunaulki
• Breton: bank-ilinek (br) m
• Catalan: reclinatori m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 小跪凳 (xiǎoguìdèng)

• Danish: knæleskammel c
• Dutch: kerkstoel (nl) m, bidstoel (nl) m
• Esperanto: preĝbenko
• French: prie-Dieu (fr) m
• German: Betpult n
• Hungarian: imazsámoly (hu), térdeplő (hu)
• Ido: prego-stulo
• Irish: stól urnaí m
• Italian: inginocchiatoio (it) m
• Lithuanian: klauptas m
• Polish: klęcznik m
• Slovak: kľačadlo n
• Spanish: reclinatorio (es) m
• Swedish: bönpall c, bönestol c