Etymograph

English

apply

Apply comes from Latin applicō ‘to apply’, from plicō ‘fold’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-1‘to fold’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicō1‘fold’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEapplicō1‘to apply’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400applier1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aplien1
  6. Englishearliest quotation a. 1587apply1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English apply
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., (please specify the folio): “She was no less skillful in applying his humours.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-Wiktionary, English apply‘to fold’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicōWiktionary, English apply‘fold’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEapplicōWiktionary, English apply‘to apply’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400applierWiktionary, English apply
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aplienWiktionary, English apply
  6. Englishearliest quotation a. 1587applyWiktionary, English apply. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., (please specify the folio): “She was no less skillful in applying his humours.”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with apply, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to fold, plait, weave’

  • complex ← complexe ← complexus ← complector ← plectō
  • fiasco ← flasca ← *flaskā ← *flaskǭ
  • replication ← replicacioun ← replicacioun ← replicātiō ← replicō
  • flax ← fleax ← *flahs ← *flahsą
  • flack ← flacken ← *flaccian ← *flakkōn ← *flakkōną
  • plexus ← plectō ← *plektō
  • flagon ← flacon

through Latin plicō ‘fold’

  • display ← displayen ← despleier ← displicare
  • employment ← employer ← empleier ← implicō
  • reply ← replyen ← replier ← replicō
  • explicit ← explicite ← explicite ← explicātus ← explicō
  • employ ← emploien ← emploier ← implicō

75 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

verb To lay or place; to put (one thing to another)

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “apply”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- / apply