01 n. A prayer; a supplication; an imploration; an entreaty; especially, a request of a solemn or formal kind; a prayer to the Supreme Being, or …
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1.
A prayer; a supplication; an imploration; an entreaty; especially, a request of a solemn or formal kind; a prayer to the Supreme Being, or to a person of superior power, rank, or authority; also, a single clause in such a prayer.“A house of prayer and petition for thy people.” — 1 Macc. vii. 37.“This last petition heard of all her prayer.” — Dryden.
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2.
A formal written request addressed to an official person, or to an organized body, having power to grant it.
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3.
A request to government, in either of its branches, for the granting of a particular grace or right, or for the legislature to take a specific action; -- in distinction from a memorial, which calls certain facts to mind. The petition may be signed by one or any number of persons.(Law)
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4.
The written document containing a petition (senses 1 or 2). See: petition
Phrases & compounds
Petition of right —
a petition to obtain possession or restitution of property, either real or personal, from the Crown, which suggests such a title as controverts the title of the Crown, grounded on facts disclosed in the petition itself.
The Petition of Right —
the parliamentary declaration of the rights of the people, assented to by Charles I.