ply

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• General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /plaɪ/
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• Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• rhymes with -aɪ
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• CMU ARPABET: P L AY1 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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From Middle English pleit, plit, plite (“a fold, pleat, wrinkle; braid, strand in a braided cord, ply”), from Anglo-Norman pli, plei, pleit, and Middle French pli, ploy, ply (“a fold, pleat; joint in armour; situation, state”) (modern French pli (“a fold, pleat”)), from plier, ployer (“to bend, fold”), from Latin plicāre (“to bend, fold, roll up”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- (“to fold, plait, weave”).

From apply; compare Middle English plīen, pli, plie, pleie (“to place (something) around, on, or over, to cover; to apply, use; to strive”), short for aplīen, applīen (“to combine, join; to attach; to assemble; to use, be of use; to allot; to apply; to inflict; to go; to ply, steer; to comply, submit”), from Old French applier, aplier, aploier (“to bend; to apply”), from Latin applicāre, present active infinitive of applicō (“to apply; to attach, join; to add”), from ad- (“to, towards”) + plicō (“to bend, fold, roll up”); see further at etymology 1.

From Middle English plīen, pli, plie (“to bend, fold, mould, shape; to be flexible; to be submissive, humble oneself; to compel someone to submit”), from Anglo-Norman plier, plaier, pleier, ploier, and Middle French plier, ployer (“to bend, fold; to be submissive; to compel someone to submit”) (modern French plier, ployer), from Old French ploiier, pleier (“to fold”), from Latin plicāre (“to fold”); see further at etymology 1. The word is cognate with Catalan plegar (“to bend, fold”), Italian piegare (“to bend, fold, fold up”), Old Occitan plegar, plejar, pleyar (“to fold”) (modern Occitan plegar), Spanish plegar (“to fold”).

86 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Bulgarian: пласт (plast) — layer of material
• Finnish: kerros — layer of material
• German: Lage — layer of material
• Hungarian: réteg — layer of material
• Māori: paparanga — layer of material
• Māori: apa — layer of material
• Māori: papanga — layer of material
• Māori: mātā — layer of material
• Plautdietsch: Schicht — layer of material
• Polish: warstwa — layer of material
• Spanish: capa — layer of material
• Spanish: chapa — layer of material
• Bulgarian: нишка (niška) — strand making up rope or yarn
• Finnish: säie — strand making up rope or yarn
• Hungarian: fonat — strand making up rope or yarn
• Hungarian: szál — strand making up rope or yarn
• Polish: nitka — strand making up rope or yarn
• Spanish: hilo — strand making up rope or yarn
• Spanish: hebra — strand making up rope or yarn
• Spanish: cordón — strand making up rope or yarn
• Finnish: vuoro — in two-player sequential games, a "half-turn" or a move made by one of the players
• German: Halbzug — in two-player sequential games, a "half-turn" or a move made by one of the players
• Polish: ruch — in two-player sequential games, a "half-turn" or a move made by one of the players
• Russian: полухо́д (poluxód) — in two-player sequential games, a "half-turn" or a move made by one of the players
• Bulgarian: огъвам (ogǎvam) — (transitive, obsolete) to bend; to fold
• Dutch: plooien — (transitive, obsolete) to bend; to fold
• Finnish: taivuttaa — (transitive, obsolete) to bend; to fold
• Finnish: taittaa — (transitive, obsolete) to bend; to fold
• French: plier — (transitive, obsolete) to bend; to fold
• German: biegen — (transitive, obsolete) to bend; to fold
• German: falten — (transitive, obsolete) to bend; to fold
• Polish: zwijać — (transitive, obsolete) to bend; to fold
• Polish: zwinąć — (transitive, obsolete) to bend; to fold
• Russian: скру́чивать (skrúčivatʹ) — (transitive, obsolete) to bend; to fold
• Russian: сгиба́ть (sgibátʹ) — (transitive, obsolete) to bend; to fold
• Slovak: zohnúť — (transitive, obsolete) to bend; to fold
• Slovak: zložiť — (transitive, obsolete) to bend; to fold
• Slovak: preložiť — (transitive, obsolete) to bend; to fold
• Slovak: poskladať — (transitive, obsolete) to bend; to fold
• Bulgarian: гъна се (gǎna se) — (intransitive) to bend, flex; to be bent by something, to give way or yield
• Bulgarian: огъвам се (ogǎvam se) — (intransitive) to bend, flex; to be bent by something, to give way or yield
• Bulgarian: прегъвам се (pregǎvam se) — (intransitive) to bend, flex; to be bent by something, to give way or yield
• Finnish: taipua — (intransitive) to bend, flex; to be bent by something, to give way or yield
• Polish: zwijać się — (intransitive) to bend, flex; to be bent by something, to give way or yield
• Polish: zwinąć się — (intransitive) to bend, flex; to be bent by something, to give way or yield
• Quechua: muyuy — (intransitive) to bend, flex; to be bent by something, to give way or yield
• Russian: сгиба́ть (sgibátʹ) — (intransitive) to bend, flex; to be bent by something, to give way or yield
• Slovak: ohnúť — (intransitive) to bend, flex; to be bent by something, to give way or yield
• Bulgarian: работя усърдно (rabotja usǎrdno) — to work at (something) diligently
• Finnish: harjoittaa — to work at (something) diligently
• Hungarian: folytat — to work at (something) diligently
• Hungarian: űz — to work at (something) diligently
• Hungarian: dolgozik — to work at (something) diligently
• Polish: pracować żmudnie — to work at (something) diligently
• Russian: усе́рдно рабо́тать (usérdno rabótatʹ) — to work at (something) diligently
• Slovak: makať — to work at (something) diligently
• Swedish: utöva — to work at (something) diligently
• Bulgarian: употребявам (upotrebjavam) — to wield or use (a tool, a weapon, etc.) steadily or vigorously
• Finnish: käyttää — to wield or use (a tool, a weapon, etc.) steadily or vigorously
• Hungarian: használ — to wield or use (a tool, a weapon, etc.) steadily or vigorously
• Hungarian: bánik — to wield or use (a tool, a weapon, etc.) steadily or vigorously
• Hungarian: alkalmaz — to wield or use (a tool, a weapon, etc.) steadily or vigorously
• Hungarian: forgat — to wield or use (a tool, a weapon, etc.) steadily or vigorously
• Polish: używać regularnie — to wield or use (a tool, a weapon, etc.) steadily or vigorously
• Bulgarian: настоявам (nastojavam) — to press upon; to urge persistently
• Finnish: painostaa — to press upon; to urge persistently
• Hungarian: elhalmoz — to press upon; to urge persistently
• Hungarian: eláraszt — to press upon; to urge persistently
• Hungarian: ostromol — to press upon; to urge persistently
• Polish: zasypywać — to press upon; to urge persistently
• Polish: zasypać — to press upon; to urge persistently
• Finnish: tyrkyttää — to persist in offering something to
• Hungarian: kínálgat — to persist in offering something to
• Polish: narzucać się — to persist in offering something to
• Polish: narzucić się — to persist in offering something to
• Russian: по́тчевать (pótčevatʹ) — to persist in offering something to
• Bulgarian: правя курсове (pravja kursove) — to travel over regularly
• Finnish: kuljeskella — to travel over regularly
• Finnish: kulkea — to travel over regularly
• Hungarian: közlekedik — to travel over regularly
• Hungarian: jár — to travel over regularly
• Hungarian: ró — to travel over regularly
• Hungarian: szel — to travel over regularly
• Polish: kursować regularnie — to travel over regularly
• Russian: курси́ровать (kursírovatʹ) — to travel over regularly
• Slovak: premávať — to travel over regularly