Past tense of 'daven'—recited prayers in Jewish religious tradition.
From 'daven' + past tense marker '-ed,' showing English verb conjugation applied to a Yiddish loanword.
When Jewish immigrants arrived in English-speaking countries, they brought 'davened' with them, creating a bridge word that let them speak about their spirituality in two languages simultaneously.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.