please
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Etymology 1
Middle English plesen, plaisen, from Old French plaise, conjugated form of plaisir or plaire, from Latin placēre (“to please, to seem good”).[1] Displaced native Middle English quemen, queamen (“to please”) (from Old English cwēman (“to please”)), Middle English biluvien (“to please, delight”) (from Middle English bi-, be- + luvien (“to love”)), Middle English liken (“to like, please”) (from Old English līcian (“to please, be like”)), Middle English lusten, listen (“to be pleasing, delight”) (from Old English lystan (“to please”)).
[edit] Alternative forms
- pleace (Middle English–15ᵗʰ C. and Scots until 17ᵗʰ C.)
[edit] Verb
please (third-person singular simple present pleases, present participle pleasing, simple past and past participle pleased)
- (transitive) To make happy or satisfy; to give pleasure.
- Her presentation pleased the executives.
- (intransitive, ergative) To desire; to will; to be pleased.
- Just do as you please.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Antonyms
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
to make happy or satisfy
[edit] Etymology 2
Short for if you please, an intransitive, ergative form taken from if it pleases you,[1][2] which replaced pray.
[edit] Alternative forms
- (for the exaggerated way it is often pronounced as the expression of annoyance) puh-lease
[edit] Adverb
please (not comparable)
- Used to make a polite request.
- Please, pass the bread.
- Would you please sign this form?
- Could you tell me the time, please?
- Used as an affirmative to an offer.
- —May I help you? —Please.
- An expression of annoyance or impatience.
- Oh, please, do we have to hear that again?
[edit] Translations
interjection to make a polite request
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expression of annoyance or impatience
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[edit] Derived terms
[edit] References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “please” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
- ^ “please” in the Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper, 2001
[edit] Statistics
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Most common English words before 1923: outside · beside · worth · #696: please · quiet · exclaimed · regard
