English
reply
Reply comes from Old French replier ‘to reply’, from Latin replicō ‘to fold back’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to plait, to weave’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-1‘to plait’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicō2‘to fold’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEreplicō2‘to fold back’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400replier2‘to reply’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500replyen2
- Englishearliest quotation 1986reply2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin plico
- 2 Wiktionary, English reply
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1986, Terry Pratchett, The Light Fantastic: “For example, it is said that someone at a…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-Wiktionary, Latin plico‘to plait’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicōWiktionary, English reply‘to fold’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEreplicōWiktionary, English reply‘to fold back’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400replierWiktionary, English reply‘to reply’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500replyenWiktionary, English reply
- Englishearliest quotation 1986replyWiktionary, English reply. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1986, Terry Pratchett, The Light Fantastic: “For example, it is said that someone at a…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to plait, to weave’
complex, fiasco, flax, flack, plexus, flagon, 33 more
through Latin plicō ‘to fold’
display, employment, apply, explicit, employ, exploitation, exploit, implicit, imply, deploy, complication, complicate, accomplice, inexplicable, replication, ploy, complicity, implicate, supple, pliable, ply, supplication, triplicate, explication, pliant, splay, 20 more
through Latin replicō ‘to fold back’
Today it means
verb To give a written or spoken response, especially to a question, request, accusation or criticism; to answer.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “reply”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin plico. 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- / reply