Post History
To wit, how does the notion of "folding back" semantically appertain to "respond"? reply [14] Etymologically, reply means ‘fold back’. It comes ultimately from Latin replicāre ‘fold back, unf...
#4: Post edited
by
PSTH
·
2021-08-11T09:02:44Z (over 3 years ago)
- >### reply [14]
- >
- >Etymologically, _reply_ means ‘fold
- back’. It comes ultimately from Latin _replicāre_
- ‘fold back, unfold’, a compound verb formed
- from the prefix _re-_ ‘back’ and _plicāre_ ‘fold’
- (source of English _ply_ and related to English
- _fold_). This came to be used metaphorically for
- ‘go over again, repeat’ (whence English
- _replicate_ [16]), and also as a legal term for
- ‘respond’. In this latter sense it passed into
- English via Old French _replier_.
- *Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 421 Right column.
- p 1785 on [*Oxford Latin Dictionary* (2012 2 ed)](https://www.amazon.ca/Oxford-Latin-Dictionary-Dictionaries/dp/0199580316) doesn't expound the semantic shift. I marked the entry with a red line.
- [![enter image description here][1]][1]
- [1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/Mb5bv.jpg
- To wit, how does the notion of "folding back" semantically appertain to "respond"?
- >### reply [14]
- >
- >Etymologically, _reply_ means ‘fold
- back’. It comes ultimately from Latin _replicāre_
- ‘fold back, unfold’, a compound verb formed
- from the prefix _re-_ ‘back’ and _plicāre_ ‘fold’
- (source of English _ply_ and related to English
- _fold_). This came to be used metaphorically for
- ‘go over again, repeat’ (whence English
- _replicate_ [16]), and also as a legal term for
- ‘respond’. In this latter sense it passed into
- English via Old French _replier_.
- *Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 421 Right column.
- p 1785 on [*Oxford Latin Dictionary* (2012 2 ed)](https://www.amazon.ca/Oxford-Latin-Dictionary-Dictionaries/dp/0199580316) doesn't expound the semantic shift. I marked the entry with a red line.
- [![enter image description here][1]][1]
- [1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/Mb5bv.jpg
#3: Post edited
by
PSTH
·
2021-08-11T08:48:48Z (over 3 years ago)
- >### reply [14]
- >Etymologically, _reply_ means ‘fold
- back’. It comes ultimately from Latin _replicāre_
- ‘fold back, unfold’, a compound verb formed
from the prefix _re-_ ‘back’ and_ plicāre_ ‘fold’- (source of English _ply_ and related to English
- _fold_). This came to be used metaphorically for
- ‘go over again, repeat’ (whence English
- _replicate_ [16]), and also as a legal term for
- ‘respond’. In this latter sense it passed into
- English via Old French _replier_.
- *Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 421 Right column.
- p 1785 on [*Oxford Latin Dictionary* (2012 2 ed)](https://www.amazon.ca/Oxford-Latin-Dictionary-Dictionaries/dp/0199580316) doesn't expound the semantic shift. I marked the entry with a red line.
- [![enter image description here][1]][1]
- [1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/Mb5bv.jpg
- >### reply [14]
- >
- >Etymologically, _reply_ means ‘fold
- back’. It comes ultimately from Latin _replicāre_
- ‘fold back, unfold’, a compound verb formed
- from the prefix _re-_ ‘back’ and _plicāre_ ‘fold’
- (source of English _ply_ and related to English
- _fold_). This came to be used metaphorically for
- ‘go over again, repeat’ (whence English
- _replicate_ [16]), and also as a legal term for
- ‘respond’. In this latter sense it passed into
- English via Old French _replier_.
- *Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 421 Right column.
- p 1785 on [*Oxford Latin Dictionary* (2012 2 ed)](https://www.amazon.ca/Oxford-Latin-Dictionary-Dictionaries/dp/0199580316) doesn't expound the semantic shift. I marked the entry with a red line.
- [![enter image description here][1]][1]
- [1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/Mb5bv.jpg
#2: Post edited
by
PSTH
·
2021-03-25T23:44:41Z (over 3 years ago)
- >### reply [14]
- >Etymologically, _reply_ means ‘fold
- back’. It comes ultimately from Latin _replicāre_
- ‘fold back, unfold’, a compound verb formed
- from the prefix _re-_ ‘back’ and_ plicāre_ ‘fold’
- (source of English _ply_ and related to English
- _fold_). This came to be used metaphorically for
- ‘go over again, repeat’ (whence English
- _replicate_ [16]), and also as a legal term for
- ‘respond’. In this latter sense it passed into
- English via Old French _replier_.
- p 1785 on [*Oxford Latin Dictionary* (2012 2 ed)](https://www.amazon.ca/Oxford-Latin-Dictionary-Dictionaries/dp/0199580316) doesn't expound the semantic shift. I marked the entry with a red line.
- [![enter image description here][1]][1]
- [1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/Mb5bv.jpg
- >### reply [14]
- >Etymologically, _reply_ means ‘fold
- back’. It comes ultimately from Latin _replicāre_
- ‘fold back, unfold’, a compound verb formed
- from the prefix _re-_ ‘back’ and_ plicāre_ ‘fold’
- (source of English _ply_ and related to English
- _fold_). This came to be used metaphorically for
- ‘go over again, repeat’ (whence English
- _replicate_ [16]), and also as a legal term for
- ‘respond’. In this latter sense it passed into
- English via Old French _replier_.
- *Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 421 Right column.
- p 1785 on [*Oxford Latin Dictionary* (2012 2 ed)](https://www.amazon.ca/Oxford-Latin-Dictionary-Dictionaries/dp/0199580316) doesn't expound the semantic shift. I marked the entry with a red line.
- [![enter image description here][1]][1]
- [1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/Mb5bv.jpg
#1: Initial revision
by
PSTH
·
2021-03-25T23:43:53Z (over 3 years ago)
How did 'folding back' semantically shift to mean 'reply'?
>### reply [14] >Etymologically, _reply_ means ‘fold back’. It comes ultimately from Latin _replicāre_ ‘fold back, unfold’, a compound verb formed from the prefix _re-_ ‘back’ and_ plicāre_ ‘fold’ (source of English _ply_ and related to English _fold_). This came to be used metaphorically for ‘go over again, repeat’ (whence English _replicate_ [16]), and also as a legal term for ‘respond’. In this latter sense it passed into English via Old French _replier_. p 1785 on [*Oxford Latin Dictionary* (2012 2 ed)](https://www.amazon.ca/Oxford-Latin-Dictionary-Dictionaries/dp/0199580316) doesn't expound the semantic shift. I marked the entry with a red line. [![enter image description here][1]][1] [1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/Mb5bv.jpg