Thursday, July 25, 2013

Ply


Ply

Last week, upon joking with my wife that I was “plying her with wine,” I found myself wondering about that usage of the word ply. What I discovered was far more rich and robust than the inexpensive swill we were sharing for dinner. One might even argue that the word ply has an “intriguing bouquet, a delightful aftertaste & a remarkable length.”

The Oxford English Dictionary devotes about a half page to the word ply, which initially meant to apply, employ, or work busily at, and entered English in the late 1300s from Middle French. Before that, it spent some time in Latin, & before that it resided in a hazily defined tongue etymologists call “Proto-Indo-European.”

The meaning I was using at the dinner table, to press one to take, appeared first in 1676, but ply also has all these meanings:

-to bend, bow, fold, or double
-to bend in will or disposition
-to adapt or accommodate
-to yield or be pliable
-to bend in reverence
-to bend, twist or writhe forcibly
-to comply or consent
-to cover with something bent or folded
-to draw out by bending or twisting
-to occupy oneself busily
-to use, handle or wield vigorously
-to practice or work at
-to solicit with importunity
-to beat against the wind
-to steer
-to traverse by rowing or sailing

This modest three-letter word (or word part) plays a role in these words & more:
plywood, pliant, comply, compliance, compliant, apply, appliance, application, multiply, multiplication, reply, complex, plectrum, pliers, & (believe it or not) flax.

This week, please ply me with a question. What word have you heard or used recently that caused you to think, “Hmmm. Where’d that one come from?”


My thanks go out to this week’s sources the OED, Wordnik & Etymonline.

4 comments:

  1. Hmmm. It can mean to bow in reverence? Let us ply...

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  2. There's an observation which causes one to wonder about good old Pliny the Elder. Pray on one's knees? Ply-knee = Pliny? Ha!

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  3. Wow...just amazing what three little letters can do in this crazy thing called language. When I think of a word to ply you with I will reply with another comment. At the moment my brain is not complying with the request. :)

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  4. Hey Christine,
    Thanks for coming by to be plied with wordthought.

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