Added 9 October 2026

petition

/pəˈtɪʃ.ən/ noun

In Latin: libellus, petitio Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about petition at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A formal written request made by an individual or a group of people to a sovereign or political authority, often containing many signatures, soliciting some grace, right, mercy, or the redress of some wrong or grievance. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
We're looking to get 10,000 people to sign the petition to have the bird colony given legal protection.
A formal written application made to a magistrate or court for an order or a suit for divorce.
A prayer or supplication, especially of which is formal or humble and made to a deity, a sovereign, or an authority.
a petition to aid

From Middle English, borrowed from Old French peticiun, from stem of Latin petitio, petitionem (“a request, solicitation”), from petere (“to require, seek, go forward”).