(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.

(2):

(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.

(3):

(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.

(4):

(v. i.) To make a petition or solicitation.

Bibliography Information
Webster, Noah. Entry for 'Petition'. Noah Webster's American Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/web/p/petition.html. 1828.

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