supplicate — to humbly and earnestly ask for something
suplicar — the Spanish verb cognate of the same meaning
Both these words come from Latin’s supplicare which means “to kneel.” Another version of asking humbly or earnestly for something happens when one kneels to pray. Thus, when you kneel and pray, you become a “supplicant,” or one who is humbly and earnestly asking for something. In Spanish, that is also a handy cognate of “suplicante.”
“Supplication” which is the act of humbly asking for something also has an easy-to-remember and recognize cognate in Spanish — “suplicaciόn.” The adjective “supplicatory” has its male and feminine cognate counterparts of “suplicatorio” and “suplicatoria.”
Since these words all derive from a Latin verb for “to kneel” in which a person must “bend” to do that act, perhaps you won’t be overly surprised to learn that the word “supple” is closely related to “supplicate.”
Most of the time, we use this word to indicate that something is flexible or bends easily. If you look up the Spanish translation of “supple,” you will get “flexible,” which is also a handy cognate for our “flexible.” However, other definitions show that “supple” also means that one is compliant and obsequious.
If you are obsequious, you are essentially fawning all over the person to whom you are being obsequious because you want something from that person, or this could also describe the manner in which some people approach the act of supplication.
Obsequiousness has a negative connotation, though, because it’s usually describing a sycophant type of follower instead of a leader, but if you know other Spanish vocabulary, you might know the verb “seguir” which means “to follow” and maybe you see a form of it within “obsequious.” But, I digress.
In closer relation to “supple,” you can also be a “suppliant” which is simply a different word for “supplicant,” and you can use “suppliance” which is simply “supplication.”
I hope you are becoming more “supple” with your vocabulary skills as you continue to receive “Cognate Cognizance.” Thanks for being a subscriber.
I’m going to supplicate here just a bit and ask you to please check out my other “newsletter” called Tomes and Topics here: Tomes and Topics. I’m attempting to create a number of memoir-styled pieces, each around a different topic, and pair them with other writings I’ve done, from poetry, to advice, to fiction, to blog posts, etc. I hope to integrate some video as well if I’m approved to join the beta testing of that. You can see some of that information for free, but there is a portion of each reserved only for paid subscribers, so please consider giving it a try if only for a month. Thanks.
Until next time.
Tammy Marshall
Supplicate