"petition" in the noun sense
1. request, petition, postulation
a formal message requesting something that is submitted to an authority
2. prayer, petition, orison
reverent petition to a deity
"petition" in the verb sense
1. petition
write a petition for something to somebody request formally and in writing
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
Princeton University "About WordNet®."
WordNet®. Princeton University. 2010.
View WordNet® License