play

English Online Dictionary. What means play‎? What does play mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English pleyen, playen, pleȝen, plæien, also Middle English plaȝen, plawen (compare English plaw), from Old English pleġan, pleoġan, plæġan, and Old English plegian, pleagian, plagian (“to play, exercise, etc.”), from Proto-West Germanic *plehan (“to care about, be concerned with”) and Proto-West Germanic *plegōn (“to engage, move”); both perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *blek- (“to move, move about”), from Proto-Indo-European *bal- (compare Ancient Greek βλύω (blúō), βλύζω (blúzō, “I gush out, spring”), Sanskrit बल्बलीति (balbalīti, “it whirls, twirls”)).

The noun is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, plega, plæġa (“play, quick motion, movement, exercise; (athletic) sport, game; festivity, drama; battle; gear for games, an implement for a game; clapping with the hands, applause”), deverbative of plegian (“to play”); see above.

Pronunciation

• enPR: plā, IPA^(key): /pleɪ/, [pʰleɪ̯]
• Rhymes: -eɪ

Verb

play (third-person singular simple present plays, present participle playing, simple past and past participle played)

1. (intransitive) To act in a manner such that one has fun; to engage in activities expressly for the purpose of recreation or entertainment.
   • 2003, Anne-Nelly Perret-Clermont et al. (eds.), Joining Society: Social Interaction and Learning in Adolescence and Youth, Cambridge Univ. Press, p.52:
2. (intransitive, especially with 'with'; see also play with) To toy or trifle; to act with levity or thoughtlessness; to be careless.
3. (transitive, intransitive) To perform in (a sport); to participate in (a game).

   Hypernym: try

   Hyponym: replay

   1. Specifying a particular sporting role or position.

   2. (transitive) To compete against, in a game.
   3. (transitive, in the scoring of games and sports) To be the opposing score to.

4. (intransitive, copulative) To act or behave in a stated way.
   1. To give a false appearance of being; to pretend to be.
5. (transitive) To act as (the indicated role).
   1. To portray (a character) in (a film or theatre).
      • 1984, Chris Robinson, commercial for Vicks Formula 44:
6. (transitive, intransitive) To produce sound (especially music), moving pictures, or theatrical performance.
   1. (transitive, intransitive, especially of a person) To produce music using a musical instrument.

      Synonyms: (intransitive) cook, (intransitive) jam; see also Thesaurus:play music

   2. (intransitive, of a musical instrument) To produce music.
   3. (transitive, of a person) To operate (a device or media) so as to cause sound (especially music) or moving pictures to be produced.

   4. (transitive, usually of a person) To render (a musical title, compositional style, film title, etc.) using a musical instrument or device.

   5. (transitive, intransitive, of a device, media, broadcast, etc.) To emit or relay sound (especially music) or moving pictures; (of a device) to operate media.

   6. (intransitive, of a theatrical performance, film or music) To be performed, reproduced, or shown.

   7. (transitive, of a theatrical company or band, etc.) To perform or give performances in or at (a venue or location).
   8. (transitive) To act or perform (a play).

7. (transitive, intransitive) To move briskly, sweepingly, back and forth, in a directed manner, etc.
   1. To move in a light or brisk manner.
   2. To move so as to fall upon or sweep across something, or to direct or operate (something) in such a manner.
   3. To move in an alternating or reciprocal manner; to move to and fro.
8. (transitive) To bring into action or motion; to exhibit in action; to execute or deploy.
9. (transitive) To handle or deal with (a matter or situation) in a stated way.

10. (transitive) To handle or deal with (something) in a calculating manner intended to achieve profit or gain.

11. (intransitive) To be received or accepted (in a given way); to go down.

12. To gamble.
13. (transitive) To keep in play, as a hooked fish in order to land it.
14. (transitive, colloquial) To manipulate, deceive, or swindle.

    Synonym: defraud
15. (African-American Vernacular, intransitive) To kid; to joke; to say something for amusement; to act, or to treat something, unseriously.
16. (intransitive) To take part in amorous activity; to make love; see also play around.

    Synonyms: get it on, make out, have sex; see also Thesaurus:copulate
17. For additional senses in various idiomatic phrases, see the individual entries, such as play along, play at, play down, play off, play on, play out, play to, play up, etc.

Descendants

• → Kashubian: plejowac (Canada, United States)

Translations

Noun

play (countable and uncountable, plural plays)

1. (uncountable, formerly countable) Activity for amusement only, especially among the young.
   • 1964, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure

     You know, when I was around 7-11 years old, my favorite play would be "boys." One of us, Bridget, Maryellen, or I, would say "Let's play boys." We all had boy names, set up the pretend surroundings, and acted like boys.

2. (uncountable) Similar activity in young animals, as they explore their environment and learn new skills.

3. (uncountable) The conduct, or course, of a game.

4. (uncountable, sports, with certain prepositions, also figurative) The sphere or circumstance in which a playing implement, such as a ball, is available to be played (see also in play, out of play).

5. (uncountable) An individual's performance in a sport or game.

6. (countable) A short sequence of action within a game.
   1. (turn-based games) An action carried out when it is one's turn to play.

      Synonym: move
8. (countable) A literary composition, intended to be represented by actors impersonating the characters and speaking the dialogue.

   Synonyms: drama, script; see also Thesaurus:drama

   Hyponyms: screenplay, teleplay, telescript

9. (countable) A theatrical performance featuring actors.

10. (countable) An attempt to move forward, as in a plan or strategy, for example by a business, investor, or political party.

11. (countable) A geological formation that contains an accumulation or prospect of hydrocarbons or other resources.
12. (uncountable) Movement (of a pattern of light etc.)
13. (uncountable) Freedom to move.

    give play to your imagination

    1. The extent to which a part of a mechanism can move freely, as for example lash, backlash, or slack.

14. (uncountable, informal) Sexual activity or sexual role-playing.
    • 1996, "toptigger", (on Internet newsgroup alt.personals.spanking.punishment)

      Palm Springs M seeks sane F 4 safe bdsm play
15. (countable) An instance of watching or listening to media.

    Synonyms: (of visual media) view, (of audio) listen
16. (countable, uncountable) An instance or instances of causing media to be watched or heard, such as by broadcasting.

17. (countable) A button that, when pressed, causes media to be played.

19. (countable) An instance of wordplay.

    play on words

20. (archaic, now usually in compounds) Activity relating to martial combat or fighting.

    handplay, swordplay

Translations

Derived terms

See also

• outdoor

Further reading

• play on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “play”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “play”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Anagrams

• paly, pyla

Chinese

Etymology

Borrowed from English play, possibly via Japanese プレイ (purei).

Pronunciation

Suffix

play

1. play (sexual roleplaying)

   羞恥play／羞耻play  ―  xiūchǐ play  ―  erotic humiliation

   女裝play／女装play  ―  nǚzhuāng play  ―  crossdressing

   各種奇怪的play／各种奇怪的play  ―  gèzhǒng qíguài de play  ―  all kinds of strange sexual roleplaying

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English play.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈplɛj/, /ˈplej/
• Rhymes: -ɛj, -ej

Noun

play m (invariable)

1. play (theatrical performance; start key)

Interjection

play

1. used to announce the start a game of tennis

References

Middle English

Noun

play

1. Alternative form of pleye

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English play.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈplei/ [ˈplei̯]
• Rhymes: -ei
• Syllabification: play

Noun

play m (plural playes)

1. play (button)

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Related terms