prie-dieu

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prie-dieu

(prē-dyœ′)

n. pl. prie-dieus or prie-dieux (-dyœz′)

1. A narrow, desklike kneeling bench with space above for a book or the elbows, for use by a person at prayer.

2. An armless, upholstered chair with a high straight back and a low seat.

[French prie-Dieu : prier, to pray (from Old French, from Latin precārī; see pray) + Dieu, God (from Old French; see adieu).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

prie-dieu

(priːˈdjɜː)

(Furniture) a piece of furniture consisting of a low surface for kneeling upon and a narrow front surmounted by a rest for the elbows or for books, for use when praying

[C18: from French, from prier to pray + Dieu God]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

prie-dieu

(ˈpriˈdyʊ; Fr. priˈdyœ)

n., pl. -dieus, -dieux (-ˈdyʊz) Fr. -dieu.

a piece of furniture for kneeling on during prayer, having a rest above, as for a book.

[1750–60; < French: literally, pray God]

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Noun

prie-dieu - low bench for kneeling on

bench - a long seat for more than one person

Translations

prie-dieu

n → Betpult nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

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bench

References in classic literature ?

With a bow to the Abbot, which had in it perhaps more pleasantry than reverence, the novice strode across to the carved prie-dieu which had been set apart for him, and stood silent and erect with his hand upon the gold bell which was used in the private orisons of the Abbot's own household.

Then, with a sudden deep-chested shout, he tore up the heavy oaken prie-dieu and poised it to strike, taking two steps backward the while, that none might take him at a vantage.

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A bed without curtains, four arm-chairs, and a couch, covered with yellow Utrecht velvet, composed, with a prie-Dieu, all its furniture.

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A 'prie-dieu' is a narrow desk-like bench on which to kneel and do what?

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New exhibitor Burzio offers this rediscovered marquetry prie-dieu, attributed to the first royal cabinetmaker appointed to the court of Savoy in 1731--a period of grand expansion in and around Turin.

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Kavanagh reveals her as a woman who did, indeed, want to control her destiny and who went to great lengths to try to do so; who, in the end, was more defeated than repentant--despite the amount of time she spent on her knees on a prie-dieu. Duplessis deployed herself strategically while maintaining the appearance of laziness and luxury, fragile distress and accidental fortune.