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Definition ply

Etymology 1

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 plic?re, present active infinitive of plic? (“to bend, fold, roll up”), from Proto-Indo-European *ple?- (“to fold, plait, weave”).

Noun

ply (countable and uncountable, plural ply or plies or plys)

1. A layer of material.
2. A strand that, twisted together with other strands, makes up rope or yarn.
3. (colloquial) Short for plywood.
4. (artificial intelligence, combinatorial game theory) In two-player sequential games, a "half-turn" or a move made by one of the players.
5. (now chiefly Scotland) A condition, a state.

Etymology 2

From Middle English pl?en, 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 plic?re (“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”).

Verb

ply (third-person singular simple present plies, present participle plying, simple past and past participle plied)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To bend; to fold; to mould; (figuratively) to adapt, to modify; to change (a person's) mind, to cause (a person) to submit.
2. (intransitive) To bend, to flex; to be bent by something, to give way or yield (to a force, etc.).

Etymology 3

From apply; compare Middle English pl?en, pli, plie, pleie (“to place (something) around, on, or over, to cover; to apply, use; to strive”), short for apl?en, appl?en (“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 applic?re, present active infinitive of applic? (“to apply; to attach, join; to add”), from ad- (“prefix meaning ‘to, towards’”) + plic? (“to bend, fold, roll up”); see further at etymology 1.

Verb

ply (third-person singular simple present plies, present participle plying, simple past and past participle plied)

1. (transitive) To work at (something) diligently.
2. (transitive) To wield or use (a tool, a weapon, etc.) steadily or vigorously.
3. (transitive) To press upon; to urge persistently.
4. (transitive) To persist in offering something to, especially for the purpose of inducement or persuasion.
5. (transitive, intransitive, transport) To travel over (a route) regularly.
6. (intransitive, obsolete) To work diligently.
7. (intransitive, nautical, obsolete) To manoeuvre a sailing vessel so that the direction of the wind changes from one side of the vessel to the other; to work to windward, to beat, to tack.

Noun

ply

1. A bent; a direction.

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