This word comes from the late Latin “precatorius,” which stems from “precat-,” meaning “prayed.” As children, many of us may have made some precatory statements while gazing up at the stars. This practice of wishing on a star, particularly a shooting star, can be traced back to the writings of the Greek astronomer Ptolemy, in roughly 127 to 151 CE. He hypothesized the gods would peer down on Earth when they were bored, and stars would slip through the gaps between the heavenly spheres. This resulted in shooting stars, according to Ptolemy, and the gods were likely to hear and be receptive to any human wishes offered up at this time.