▪ I. ply, n.
(plaɪ)
Also 6–7 plie. Pl. plies, occas. plys.
[a. F. pli (13th c. in Hatz.-Darm.) a fold, bend, altered from OF. ploi (12th c.), vbl. n. f. ployer, later plier: see ply v.1 Sense 4 was developed in OF., and appears in Sc. before the more literal senses.]
I. 1. a. A fold; each of the layers or thicknesses produced by folding cloth, etc.; a strand or twist of rope, yarn, or thread. Also, each of the layers that go to make up a multilayer material such as plywood or laminated plastic. two-ply, three-ply, four-ply: a fold of two, three, etc., layers; used attrib. to designate fingering or worsted, and carpets made of two or more interwoven webs; also, material (esp. plywood) composed of that number of layers. Also single-ply.
| 1532 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. VI. 77 Lyning fustiane to be ane plie betwix the utir half and the lyning of the..doublat. 1539 in Pitcairn Crim. Trials I. 297* Blak grey to stuff þe plyise of hir goune with. 1678 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 92 They double it into many plies, till it be but four or five Fingers broad. 1784 J. Barry in Lect. Paint. iii. (1848) 121 The plies and wrinkles in the body of the Christ in Rembrandt's famous Descent from the Cross. 1883 I. L. Bishop in Leisure Ho. 199/1 These pests bite through two ‘ply’ of silk. 1886 Stevenson Dr. Jekyll iv, The carpets were of many plies and agreeable in colour. 1901 J. Black's Carp. & Build., Home Handicr. 76 If the knife is properly sharpened..it will not be difficult to cut through the four-ply which will necessarily result from this method of folding. 1910 Timber Trades Jrnl. 1 Jan. p. v (Advt.), Best Russian improved waterproof 3-ply. 1919 A. W. Judge Handbk. Mod. Aeronaut. iv. 235 Ordinary 3-ply (1/8 to 1/4 in.) is used for the webs of aeroplane wing ribs. 1926 Rep. & Memoranda Aeronaut. Res. Comm. No. 1017. 7 The inner (gas) ply was separated for a few inches from a 2-in. strip of a three-ply rubbered balloon fabric and the single-ply gripped in the lower jaw. 1935 Dawson & Porritt Rubber 330/2 Sheets were calendered to produce the maximum grain in unvulcanised state and slabs built up..from plies with grain in same direction. 1936 H. W. Rowell Technol. of Plastics xxvii. 191 In order that all air may be expelled and the plys or laminations thoroughly consolidated, a slow curing resinoid with a long plastic stage is used. 1941 Paper Trade Jrnl. CXII. 33/2 In contrast to the tests in which the bonding between plies is measured normal to the sheet, there are tests that measure the force required to tear plies apart. 1944 Chem. Abstr. XXXVIII. 3875 (heading) Preparing and handling cord fabric plies in tire core manufacture. 1952 J. P. Casey Pulp & Paper II. xvi. 803 In laminating paper plys, it is sometimes desirable to place alternate layers of paper with their cross and machine directions at right angles. 1957 Practical Wireless XXXIII. 521/2 Five pieces of three-ply were used in the original. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 15 Mar. 11/1, 1cwt 6-ply paper bags. 1970 [see cross-ply adj. s.v. cross- B.]. 1975 [see plywood]. 1977 New Scientist 6 Jan. 22/1 If the plies are set wholly radially..the tread squirms on the road far too much for acceptable roadholding. If..the plies are circumferential..the tyre..gives a harsh and unyielding ride. |
b. = plywood.
| 1929 A. Clarke Pilgrimage 31, I had a painted bedpost Of blue and yellow ply. 1957 Practical Wireless XXXIII. 542/1 The front panel should be of 1/8 in. ply or hardboard. 1974 T. R. Dennis in J. Burnett Useful Toil iii. 348 Drinking-water was kept in a bucket..with a piece of ply over to keep dust out. 1980 Daily Tel. 10 Mar. 18 Roughly half will come in the form of timber products:..windows, flooring blocks, ply, hardboard and newsprint. |
2. A bend, crook, or curvature; esp. the elbow or middle joint of a limb; spec. in Falconry, of a hawk's wing. Now rare or Obs.
| 1575 Turberv. Falconrie 267 Specially about hir heade, the plie of hir wings and hir trayne. 1597 Lowe Chirurg. (1634) 117 Within 8 weekes after it brake out in the ply of her arme, and under her oxter. 1678–9 Newton in Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men (1841) II. 409 The rays of the sun..ought..to receive a ply from the denser ether. 1688 R. Holme Armoury ii. 237/1 The Ply, or bent of the Wing, is the middle joynt in the pinion. 1726 Dict. Rust. (ed. 3), Gascoin, the hinder Thigh of a Horse, which begins at the Stiffle, and reaches to the Ply, or bending of the Ham. 1825 Loudon Encycl. Agric. 918 Scurfy, scabby eruptions, affecting the back of the knee, and ply of the hock; common..in cart-horses. |
3. The condition of being bent or turned to one side; a twist, turn, direction; a bent, bias, inclination, or tendency of mind or character; esp. in phrase to take a (the, one's) ply. Chiefly fig.
| 1605 Bacon Advanc. Learn. ii. xxiii. §33. 112 In some other it is..a conceite that they can bring about occasions to their plie. 1612 ― Ess., Cust. & Educ. (Arb.) 370 It is true that late learners cannot so well take the plie. 1673 Wycherley Gentl. Dancing-Master iv. i, When once they have taken the French plie (as they call it) they are never to be made so much as Englishmen again. 1707 Reflex. upon Ridicule ii. 117 They have taken their Ply, and will never be set right. 1873 H. Rogers Orig. Bible viii. (1875) 356 The natural bent and ply of man's nature. 1880 Green Hist. Eng. People IV. viii. iv. 107 England took a ply which she has never wholly lost. |
II. 4. Plight, condition; esp. in phrases in († into) ply, in good ply: in good condition, fit; so out of ply. Sc.
| c 1470 Henryson Mor. Fab. ii. (Town & C. Mouse) xxi, Quhen hir sister in sic ply hir fand, For verray pietie scho began to greit. Ibid. ix. (Wolf & Fox) viii, Kiddis, lambes, or caponis in to ply. 1508 Dunbar Flyting w. Kennedie 170 Thy pure pynit thrott, pelit and owt of ply. 1824 Mactaggart Gallovid. Encycl. (1876) 22 Few gourmands are very fat, they eat themselves out of ply. 1831 R. Shennan Tales 44 The riders mount to try If a' things be in proper ply. 1895 Westm. Gaz. 27 Apr. 7/2 The Carron..is one of the best spring rivers in East Ross-shire when in ply. |
III. 5. Special Comb.: ply rating, a number indicative of the strength of a tyre casing (orig. the number of cord plies in it).
| 1952 E. C. Woods Pneumatic Tyre Design i. 5 Tyre markings now carry an indication of casing strength in the form of ‘ply rating’ (e.g., ‘8 ply rating’) to serve the purpose of identifying a given tyre with its maximum recommended load. 1956 R. H. Spelman in McPherson & Klemin Engin. Uses of Rubber x. 299 Many standard over-the-road highway tires may be marked 10 ply rating and actually be made of 8 plies of rayon, or even of fewer plies of a stronger material, such as nylon. 1969 Times 12 May 16/1 Tractor tyre research is being carried out with a new mobile test rig designed to study the effects of size, ply rating, etc. |
Senses 4, 5 in Dict. become 5, 6. Add: [I.] 4. Computing. The number of half-moves ahead investigated by a game-playing program in planning the next move (esp. in chess); also, a half-move investigated in such a calculation.
| 1959 A. L. Samuel in IBM Jrnl. Res. & Devel. III. 214/1 [Draughts] Playing-time considerations make it necessary to limit the look-ahead distance to some fairly small value. This distance is defined as the ply (a ply of 2 consisting of one proposed move by the machine and the anticipated reply by the opponent). 1975 M. Newborn Computer Chess ii. 11 By looking ahead one move, or one ply. 1976 Sci. Amer. July 66/2 Usually the computer search goes to a depth of only four or five plies (half-moves). 1983 New Scientist 1 Dec. 673/3 Such is the nature of the game [of chess] that a 20-ply search is not yet realistic. |
▪ II. ply, v.1 Now rare or dial.
(plaɪ)
Pa. tense and pple. plied (plaɪd).
[ME. plien, a. OF. plier, secondary form of pleiier (3 sing. pres. plie, Roland, 11th c.), mod.F. plier and ployer:—L. plicāre to fold.
In imitation of OF. preiier:—L. precāre, 3rd sing. prie (whence prier), pleiier took 3rd sing. plie, whence a secondary form plier, beside pleiier, ploiier, ployer. Cf. ploy v., playe.]
1. trans. To bend, bow; to fold or double (cloth or the like); to mould or shape (anything plastic). Now chiefly dial.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxiv. (Alexis) 343 He..plyit þat bil, ore he wald leef, & It closyt in his nefe. c 1386 Chaucer Merch. T. 186 Right as men may warm wex with handes plye. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 121 Whan every feld hath corn in honde And many a man his bak hath plied. 1483 Cath. Angl. 284/1 To Plye, flectere,..vbi to bowe. a 1592 Greene George a Greene Wks. (Rtldg.) 256/2 So have I liberty to ply my bow. 1593 Queen Elizabeth Boethius iii. metr. ii. 47 The twig drawen ons with mighty fors Bowing plies her top. 1799 G. Smith Laboratory I. 27 Plying the necks of the rockets at top, to the right. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 381 With the first act of plying or doubling, which is introduced in the process of spinning. 1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad xxxi, The gale, it plies the saplings double. |
† b. fig. To bend in will or disposition; to bend the sense of (words); to adapt, accommodate. Obs.
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 274 Ther mai no gold the Jugge plie, That he ne schal the sothe trie. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 150 God leadeth and boweth..every person inwardly by his owne will, nor plyeth hee any man otherwise then voluntaryly. 1639 N. N. tr. Du Bosq's Compl. Woman ii. 27 If other Arts have their particular tearms which they ply not to accomodate themselves to such as make no profession of them. a 1657 Sir W. Mure Hist. Wks. (S.T.S.) II. 251 Haveing plyed himself much to the hwmore of the Duke of Albany. |
† 2. intr. To bend or be bent; to yield, give (to pressure or movement); to be pliable or yielding. Obs.
| 13.. [see plying below]. c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 1113 The coyne..wolde rather breste atwo than plye. c 1407 Lydg. Reson. & Sens. 6810 Glas ys..Redy to breke but nat to plye. 1578 T. Proctor Gorg. Gallery H iij, No more then Waues..May stir the stedfast rocke, that will not ply. 1600 T. Creed tr. Ovid's Remedie of Loue xlv, Behold the Apple bough how it doth ply And stoope with store of fruit that doth abound. 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables ccxv. (1714) 233 It blew a Violent Storm. The Willow ply'd and gave way to the Gust. 1753 Phil. Trans. XLVIII. 29 From the coarctation of her breast, all its bones plying inwardly. |
† b. To bend in reverence; to bow. Obs.
| 13.. St. Erkenwolde 138 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. 269 Þe prelate passide one þe playne: þer plied to hym lordes. |
† c. To bend one's body forcibly; to twist, writhe. Obs.
| 1734 tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist., Throttling, pressing in their arms, struggling, plying on all sides. 1845 T. B. Shaw in Blackw. Mag. LVIII. 34 'Gainst the bank, like a Wrestler, he struggleth and plyeth. |
3. fig. To yield, give way to; to incline, tend; to submit, comply, consent; to be pliant or tractable. Now rare or Obs.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 196 Þat..prynce þat paradys weldez Is displesed at vch a poynt þat plyes to scaþe. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 227 And thanne a king list noght to plie To hiere what the clamour wolde. 1491 Caxton Vitas Patr. (W. de W. 1495) i. lxxxix. 125 b/1 For noo prayer he wolde not plye ne consente therto. 1587 Turberv. Trag. T. (1837) 18, I am content to plie unto your pleasures out of hande. a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1823) I. 426 As they never disagreed, so all plied before them. 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 615 Expecting that all things and all persons should ply to their interests and desires. 1827 Carlyle Germ. Rom. I. 40 With kindly indulgence plied into the daughter's will. |
† 4. trans. ply over: to overlay or cover with something bent or folded. Obs. rare.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 1517 He plyes ouire þe pauement with pallen webis Mas on hiȝt ouire his hede for hete of þe sone. Ibid. 5260 Hire palais was..Plied ouir with pure gold all þe plate-rofes. |
† 5. ply out: to get or draw out by bending or twisting, as with pliers. Obs. rare.
| 1667 Dryden Sir Martin Mar-all ii. i, You must..still ply out of them your advantages. |
Hence ˈplying ppl. a., bending; pliant.
| 13.. E.E. Allit P. C. 439 Hit watz playn in þat place for plyande greuez. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 777 With pykes fulle perilous, alle plyande þame semyde. 1598 Queen Elizabeth Plutarch xii. 10 Hither turne our witz sharpnis and pliing mind. 1710 Philips Pastorals v. 84 Like winds, that gently brush the plying grass. |
▪ III. ply, v.2
(plaɪ)
Pa. tense and pple. plied.
[ME. plye, aphetic form of ME. aplie, aplye, apply v., which see for derivation and development of senses.]
I. To apply, employ, work busily at.
† 1. refl. To apply oneself assiduously (to), exert oneself (with a weapon, etc.); = apply v. 14. Obs.
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 265 For ay the mor that he envieth The more ayein himself he plieth. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. ccxxvi. 253 Thys Henry in his youth plyed hym to suche study y{supt} he was enstructe in the .vii. artys lyberallys. 1590 Webbe Trav. (Arb.) 23 The women of ye towne did plie themselues with their weapons, making a great massacre vpon our men. |
† b. To address or betake oneself (to): = apply v. 27. Obs.
| 1668 Owen Exp. Ps. cxxx. Wks. 1851 VI. 379 He plies himself to God in Christ for pardon and mercy. |
2. intr. To employ or occupy oneself busily or steadily; to work at something; to apply, attend closely to; = apply v. 15. Now rare.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1385 Þe place, þat plyed þe pursaunt wythinne. 1644 Milton Educ. Wks. 1738 I. 137 Ere half these Authors be read (which will soon be with plying hard and daily). 1714 Orig. Canto Spencer xxxvi, The strugling Fly..Who still for Freedom plies both fierce and bold. 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 578 He that plies to his business finds it, when grown familiar to him, a state of satisfaction. 1825 New Monthly Mag. XIV. 13, I plied at Cicero and Demosthenes, I devoured every treatise on the art of rhetoric. 1849 Longfellow Build. Ship 182 Around the bows and along the side The heavy hammers and mallets plied. |
3. trans. To use, handle, or wield vigorously or diligently (an instrument, tool, weapon); to employ, exert (a faculty); = apply v. 16 b.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus i. 732 Artow lyk an asse to þe harpe That hereth soun whan men þe strenges plye. 1514 Barclay Cyt. & Uplondyshm. (Percy Soc.) 25 Theyr wyt & body all hole do they ply. 1589 Greene Menaphon (Arb.) 33 Lamedon so plide his teeth, that all supper he spake not one word. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. vi. 19 During which time her gentle wit she plyes To teach them truth. c 1595 Capt. Wyatt R. Dudley's Voy. W. Ind. (Hakl. Soc.) 12 The lande forces..plied their shott soe thick that our men weare forced to place all the Spanish prisoners between themselves and the shott. 1603 Drayton Odes xvii. 109 Suffolke his Axe did ply. 1620 Middleton Chaste Maid i. ii. 112 Go to school, ply your books, boys. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. ii. 20 He plies his small Shot;..Ply your Hand-Granadoes and Stink-Pots. 1718 Prior Pleasure 41 A thousand maidens ply the purple loom. a 1873 Lytton Ken. Chillingly ii. ix, Thou canst ply a good knife and fork. 1887 Bowen Virg. æneid iii. 128 Together their oars they ply. |
b. To apply oneself to, practise, work at (one's business, an industry, a task, etc.): = apply v. 16 a.
| 1494 Fabyan Chron. v. cxxxiv. 120 Then they plyed no thynge that was worldly, but gaue them to prechynge and techynge. 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions ii. xii. 269 Diligently to plye the reading of holy scripture. 1616 B. Jonson Forest vi, When youths ply their stolne delights. a 1661 Fuller Worthies (1840) I. 442 Clothing is plied in this city with great industry and judgment. 1784 Cowper Task iv. 150 The needle plies its busy task. 1867 Smiles Huguenots Eng. vi. (1880) 97 The town in which they plied their trade. |
† c. With indef. it, in various preceding senses.
| 1582 N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. lxxviii. 160 b, Also there were many Paraos and Tones,..a lading as fast as they could plye it. 1605 B. Jonson Volpone iii. iii, A courtier would not ply it so, for a place. 1618 Bolton Florus (1636) 80 They forthwith plyde it with Oare and Saile. 1666 Bunyan Grace Ab. §110, I will ply it close, but I will have my end accomplished. |
4. trans. a. To keep at work at, to work away at; to attack or assail vigorously or repeatedly (with some instrument or process). b. To offer something to (a person) frequently or persistently; to press (one) to take; to continue to supply with food, drink, gifts, etc.; = apply v. 17.
| 1548 Patten Exped. Scotl. Pref. a ij, Begunne, bylded, and soo well plyed in woorke, that in a fewe wekes..they wear made and left defensyble. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 307 That wound neuer groweth to a skarre, which is not plyed with playsters. 1579–80 North Plutarch (1676) 267 Marcellus plied him so..with continual alarums and skirmishes, that he brought him to a Battell. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 544 Almond trees if they be plied with digging, will either not bloome at all, or else shed their floures before due time. 1602 Rowlands Tis Merrie 11 She ply'd him with the Wine in golden Cup. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 11 Causing the ghing to ply the sea with their oares. 1767 T. Hutchinson Hist. Mass. II. 181 The bomb-ship..plied the French with her shells. 1856 R. A. Vaughan Mystics (1860) I. 172 To ply them more pressingly with food than with arguments. |
5. To solicit with importunity or persistence; to importune, urge; to keep on at (a person) with questions, petitions, arguments, etc.; † spec. of a porter, boatman, etc.: To solicit patronage from (obs.); = apply v. 17.
| 1587 Turberv. Trag. T. (1837) 149 He daily plyde her mayde, Thereby to make her graunte And yelde him his desire. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iii. ii. 279 He [Shylock] plyes the Duke at morning and at night. a 1639 Spottiswood Hist. Ch. Scot. ii. (1677) 74 The Governors Brother did earnestly ply him to relinquish the English Alliance. 1678 Butler Hud. iii. iii. 747 Ply her with love letters and Billets. 1725 New Cant. Dict., Rattling Mumpers, such [beggars] as run after, or ply Coaches. 1760 C. Johnston Chrysal (1822) III. 292 He was overtaken by the waggon, the driver of which plied him in the usual way to take a place. 1777 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 215 One Holderness, a waterman, plied some gentlemen, and, when in his boat, asked where they were going. 1832 H. Martineau Ireland ii. 24 Her filial duty, religion, and love, all plied her at once in favour of an immediate marriage. 1883 A. Edersheim Life Jesus (ed. 6) II. 572 In vain did he ply Christ with questions. |
II. In nautical and derived uses.
6. intr. To beat up against the wind; to tack, work to windward. (Cf. apply v. 22.)
| 1556 W. Towrson in Hakluyt Voy. (1589) 110 We wayed and plyed backe againe to seeke the Hinde. c 1595 Capt. Wyatt R. Dudley's Voy. W. Ind. (Hakl. Soc.) 11 Neither might wee plie up unto that iland, the winde was soe contrarie for our course. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. round World (1699) 142 They always go before the Wind, being unable to Ply against it. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. ii. 127 Her people were..so..weakned by sickness, as not to be able to ply up to windward. 1835 Sir J. Ross Narr. 2nd Voy. iv. 52 It..assisted us very much in plying to windward. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Ply,..to work to windward, to beat. |
b. with about, off and on, to and again, up and down, and the like.
| c 1595 Capt. Wyatt R. Dudley's Voy. W. Ind. (Hakl. Soc.) 13 Afterwards..wee plied up and downe to finde the other carvell. 1628 Digby Voy. Medit. (1868) 7 The wind came easterly, so that wee plyed to and againe along the Spanish shore. 1670 Milton Hist. Eng. Wks. 1738 II. 15 Commanded to ply up and down continually with Relief where they saw Need. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. v. 175 Plying on and off till the 6th of October. |
| fig. 1665 J. Webb Stone-Heng (1725) 184 His own Testimony by plying off and on, as he hath continually done, is so little to be valued. |
c. gen. To direct one's course (in a ship or otherwise), to steer; to move onwards; to make towards. Now only poet. = apply v. 24.
| c 1595 Capt. Wyatt Dudley's Voy. W. Ind. (Hakl. Soc.) 4 Returninge with thease advertisements unto our Generall, wee plied for Plimworth. 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. i. 38 They chaunced to espie Two other Knights, that towards them did ply With speedie course. 1637 Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. 207 Oh, how fair have many ships been plying before the wind that, in an hour's space, have been lying in the sea-bottom! 1779 E. Hervey Naval Hist. II. 158 Returning light discovered the enemy seven leagues off Weymouth, whither the English plied, and came up with them in the afternoon. 1820 W. Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. I. 309 We plied towards the land. a 1861 Clough Qua Cursum Ventus ii, When fell the night, upsprung the breeze, And all the darkling hours they plied. |
† d. trans. To use (a tide, etc.) to work a ship up a river, to windward, etc. Obs.
| 1556 S. Burrough in Hakluyt Voy. (1598) I. 279 We stopped the ebbes, and plyed all the floods to the windewards, and made our way Eastnortheast. 1673 R. Haddock Jrnl. in Camden Misc. (1881) 29 We wayed to plye up, and plyed the tyde to an end. |
7. intr. Of a vessel or its master: To sail or go more or less regularly to and fro between certain places; also said of land-carriage.
| 1803 Wellington in Gurw. Desp. (1837) II. 370 A detachment..which plies between the Godavery and camp, will keep me free from want. 1832 G. Downes Lett. Cont. Countries I. 256 A passage-boat, which plies between the hamlets of Eaux Vives and Le Paquis, situated at opposite sides of the lake. 1863 P. Barry Dockyard Econ. 263 The Richmond, a small vessel which was built in the year 1815 and plied between London and Richmond. 1878 Gladstone Primer Homer xii. 139 We hear..of the ferryman plying between Ithaca and Cefalonia. |
b. trans. To traverse (a river, ferry, passage) by rowing or sailing.
| 1700 Col. Rec. Pennsylv. II. 13 Ordered also That no fferryman shall be permitted to ply the River Delaware. 1812 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 115/1 James Dean..who plies the passage from Bulwell to Milford. 1897 Daily News 6 July 5/3 Hardy bargemen who ply Father Thames by day and night from Twickenham Ferry to the Nore. |
† 8. trans. To bear or bring to a place by journeying to and fro. Obs. rare—1.
| 1590 Greene Never too late (1600) F j, The labouring Bees..Plied to the hiues sweet honey from those flowers. |
9. intr. Of a boatman, porter, cabman, etc.: To wait or attend regularly, to have one's stand at a certain place for hire or custom.
| 1700 Farquhar Constant Couple iii. i, Here's Tom Errand, the Porter, that plys at the Blew Posts. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 94 ¶8 He was..forced to think of plying in the Streets as a Porter. 1739 C. Labelye Short Acc. Piers Westm. Bridge 71 Room..for the Watermen to ply for Fares. c 1770 Dibdin Song, Waterman, And did you not hear of a jolly young waterman Who at Blackfriars Bridge used for to ply? 1885 Chamb. Jrnl. 1 Jan. 778, I must on no account ply for hire. |
▪ IV. ply
var. of plea.