(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 to a person of superior power, rank, or authority;
also, a single clause in such a prayer.
(n.) A formal written request addressed to an official person,
or to an organized body, having power to grant it; specifically (Law),
a supplication to government, in either of its branches, for the
granting of a particular grace or right; -- in distinction from a
memorial, which calls certain facts to mind; also, the written
document.
(v. t.) To make a prayer or request to; to ask from; to
solicit; to entreat; especially, to make a formal written supplication,
or application to, as to any branch of the government; as, to petition
the court; to petition the governor.
(v. i.) To make a petition or solicitation.
