'supplication' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'supplicatio' / 'supplicare', where 'sub-' meant 'under' and 'plicare' meant 'to fold' (implying stooping or kneeling in entreaty).

'supplication' changed from the Medieval Latin word 'supplicatio' and Old French 'supplication', entered Middle English as 'supplicacioun' (or 'supplication'), and eventually became the modern English word 'supplication'.

Initially, it meant 'the act of kneeling or humbly entreating,' but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'an earnest request or prayer.'