▪ I. reply, n.
(rɪˈplaɪ)
Also 6 replie, 7 replye.
[f. the vb.]
1. a. An answer or response in words or writing; also transf., a response made by a gesture, act, etc.
| 1560 in Jewel's Wks. (1848) I. 66 The Reply of the Bishop of Sarum to the Letter above written. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. i. 86 Thus expecting thy reply, I prophane my lips on thy foote. 1602 ― Ham. ii. ii. 212 How pregnant (sometimes) his Replies are! 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. §66 The Earl..without any reply to the particulars, declared ‘that he neither cared for his Friendship, nor feared his Hatred’. 1665 Glanvill Def. Van. Dogm. 75, I concluded my Reply with a Brevity that shews I am not fond of an occasion of Disputing. 1737 Glover Leonidas iii. 277 Sparta's king This brief reply deliver'd from his seat. 1781 Cowper Conversat. 877 Their wisdom bursts into this sage reply. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xxi, The King turned..with a look of triumph, at the filial affection which his son displayed in his reply. 1833 Tennyson Lady Clara Vere de Vere 22 You sought to prove how I could love, And my disdain is my reply. 1855 ― Maud ii. iv. 30 The delight of happy laughter, The delight of low replies. |
b. Without article.
| 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xix. (Arb.) 209 Symploche, or the figure of replie. 1595 Shakes. John iii. iii. 49 If that thou couldst..Heare me without thine eares, and make reply Without a tongue. c 1620 A. Hume Brit. Tongue i. vii, Quherat al laughed, as if I had bene dryven from al replye. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 467 Thus saying rose The Monarch, and prevented all reply. 1725 Pope Odyss. viii. 167 To whom with sighs Ulysses gave reply. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 176 ¶8 The animadversions of critics are commonly such as may easily provoke the sedatest writer to some..asperity of reply. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam v. xix, At length one brought reply, that she To-morrow would appear. 1859 Tennyson Geraint & Enid 817 That other flush'd And hung his head, and halted in reply. |
| transf. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam ii. xvi, All bosoms made reply On which its lustre streamed. 1832 Tennyson Œnone 141 Her full and earnest eye..Kept watch, waiting decision, made reply. |
c. Mus. The answer or response in a fugue. (See also quot.)
| 1597 Morley Introd. Mus. 105 When the principall (that is the thing as it is firste made) and the replie (that is it which the principall hauing the partes changed dooth make) are sung, changing the partes in such maner, as the highest part may be made the lowest. |
d. attrib. and Comb., as reply-paid adj., reply post-card, reply-signal.
| 1884 Graphic 30 Aug. 219/3 Reply Postcards can now be sent to Egypt. 1890 Daily News 26 Feb. 2/1 The value of a reply-paid voucher will only be refunded to the sender of the original telegram. 1897 P. Warung Tales Old Regime 101 The reply-signal came up the shaft. 1928 E. Wallace Double xviii. 272 It was evidently, from the indicator, a reply-paid message. 1973 Times 14 Mar. 4/6 In the present poll this outcome may well have been achieved by the retiring conservators distributing reply-paid proxy forms. |
2. a. A counter-answer, a replication. (In later use only Sc. Law.)
| 1702 C. Mather Magnalia vii. 16/2 §5 Unto those Answers the Synod gave Replies; and unto those Replies he gave Returns. 1719 Waterland Vind. Christ's Div. Pref. A ij, Exchanging Papers, making Answers, Replies, and Rejoinders. 1777 Acts Sederunt (1790) 592 Act concerning Replies. 1820 Scott Abbot i, Answers, replies, duplies, triplies, quadruplies, followed thick upon each other. |
b. A pleading by the plaintiff after the delivery of the defence; the final speech of Counsel in a trial.
| 1837 in Carrington & Payne Rep. Cases Nisi Prius VII. 676 The counsel for the prosecution may re-examine the witness, and after the prisoner's counsel has addressed the jury, will be entitled to the reply. 1837 Rex v. Stannard in Ibid. 675 C. Phillips waived his right of reply. 1875 Act 38 & 39 Vict. c. 77 Sched. 1. §xxiv. 55 A plaintiff shall deliver his reply, if any, within three weeks after the defence or the last of the defences shall have been delivered, unless the time shall be extended by the Court or a Judge. 1898 Criminal Evidence Act 61 & 62 Vict. c. 36 s. 3 In cases where the right of reply depends upon the question whether evidence has been called for the defence, the fact that the person charged has been called as a witness shall not of itself confer on the prosecution the right of reply. 1961 L. F. Sturge Basic Rules Supreme Court xxiii. 62 The position is further confused by the fact that the Rules give the name ‘reply’ to what the legal profession is accustomed..to call a ‘defence to counterclaim’... The modern practice is to head the pleading ‘Reply and Defence to Counterclaim’ and to head each part respectively ‘Reply’ (meaning the equivalent of the common law replication) and ‘Defence to Counterclaim’. 1964 Ld. Evershed et al. Atkin's Encycl. Court Forms (ed. 2) XXXII. 35 Pleadings subsequent to the reply still bear their ancient names: rejoinder, surrejoinder, rebutter and surrebutter, although modern rules do not refer to them by name. 1975 I. H. Jacob Bullen & Leake's Precedents of Pleadings (ed. 12) ix. 109 No pleading subsequent to a reply or a defence to counterclaim may be served except with the leave of the court. |
† 3. ? Supply. Obs. rare—1.
| 1592 Kyd Sol. & Pers. ii. i. 214 Guelp. Feare not for money, man, ile beare the Boxe. Iul. I haue some little replie, if neede require. |
4. A signal sent by a transponder in response to interrogation. Also attrib., as reply pulse.
| 1945 [see interrogate v. 4 a]. 1947 L. N. Ridenour Radar System Engin. viii. 263 The replies may be made more complicated in a variety of ways for the purpose either of identifying the beacon or of using it as part of an auxiliary communication system. 1963 R. S. H. Boulding Princ. Radar (ed. 7) xxii. 471 Measurement of the time from the commencement of the interrogating pulse to the receipt of the beginning of the reply pulse enables the distance between the aircraft and the beacon to be determined. 1965 R. S. Berkowitz Mod. Radar i. ii. 12 When the radar interrogates a beacon and receives a reply whose power is fixed by the characteristics of the beacon transmitter, separate calculations are necessary for the out and back paths. |
▪ II. reply, v.
(rɪˈplaɪ)
Also 4 repplye, 4–7 replye, 5–6 replie.
[ad. OF. replier to fold again, turn back, reply (mod.F. replier to fold again, turn, coil):—L. replicāre: see replication.]
I. 1. a. intr. To answer or respond in words or writing. Also const. to, † against.
| c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 343 Ȝe motyn herkenyn If he can replye A-geyns these poyntys that ȝe han to hym mevid. c 1386 ― Merch. T. 365 Hym thoughte..That inpossible it were to repplye Agayn his choys. 1414 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 57/1 To the whiche billes myne adversaries repleiden by mouthe and enfourmeden the Kyng..in that Parlement, how I was outlawed. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. ccxxxvi. 274 The archebysshop Thomas began to replye agayn the Kynges mynde. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 173 Here y⊇ enuyous and irous persone maketh sore contradiccyon, & replyeth, sayenge. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 94 The Protestantes do replie thus. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, v. v. 59 Reply not to me, with a Foole-borne Iest. 1610 Heywood Gold. Age i. Wks. 1874 III. 14 He that next replyes, Mother or friend, by Saturnes fury dyes. 1665 G. Havers P. della Valle's Trav. E. India 102 His Courtiers seeing him in this mood, would not reply further to him. 1735 Pope Prol. Sat. 374 Full ten years slander'd, did he once reply? 1776 Hume Own Life, I had fixed a resolution, which I inflexibly maintained, never to reply to anybody. 1797 Mrs. Radcliffe Italian Prol., The friar did not immediately reply. 1855 Tennyson Maud ii. iii. 7 Or if I ask thee why, Care not thou to reply. 1879 M. Pattison Milton 76 Milton replies to these random charges by a lengthy account of himself. |
| fig. 1601 Shakes. All's Well ii. iii. 87 The honor sir that flames in your faire eyes, Before I speake too threatningly replies. 1714 Pope Rape of Lock iii. 24 The Nymph exulting fills..the sky; The Walls, the Woods, and long Canals reply. 1785 Cowper Task vi. 231 There is in souls a sympathy with sounds... Some chord in unison with what we hear is touched within us, and the heart replies. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xiii. 92 If Nature does not reply to a question we throw it into another form. 1930 R. Campbell Poems 9 Clear as a glass the day replies To every feature save her eyes. |
† b. Const. upon a person or thing. Obs.
| 1579 Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 214/1 If a thing be once appointed by him who hath all power, let vs not replie vpon it. 1652 Gaule Magastrom. 340 The king replyed upon him again, avouching [etc.]. a 1731 Atterbury Serm. (J.), We should find what reason Castalio's painter had to reply upon the cardinal, who blamed him [etc.]. |
c. To respond by some gesture, act, or performance; esp. to return gun-fire.
| 1818 Shelley Rosal. & Helen 9, I see..thine eyes replying To the hues of yon fair heaven. 1829 Sir W. Napier Penins. War viii. v. (Rtldg.) I. 398 The beseiged replied..sharply. 1842 Tennyson Audley Court 55 He sang his song, and I replied with mine. 1893 Daily News 25 July 4/6 Lancashire..scored 189 against Somersetshire, who replied with 90 for three wickets. 1894 Ld. Wolseley Life Marlborough II. 175 A battery of eight guns opened on the fleet... The frigates replied. |
2. To return a sound; to echo.
In early quots. merely a contextual use of sense 1.
| 1390 Gower Conf. II. 282 What man that in the wodes crieth, Withoute faile Eccho replieth. 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. ii. iii. 18 Whil'st the babling Eccho mocks the Hounds, Replying shrilly to the well-tun'd Hornes. 1712–14 Pope Rape Lock iii. 100 The nymph exulting fills with shouts the sky; The walls, the woods, and long canals reply. 1809–10 Shelley Bigotry's Victim i, Whilst India's rocks to his death-yells reply, Protracting the horrible harmony. 1847 Tennyson Princ. iii. 358 Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying. |
3. To make counter-answer; spec. in Law, to answer a defendant's plea; to make a replication.
| 1453 Paston Lett. I. 260 To that that he hath aunsuerd y have replyed yn such wyse [etc.]. 1562 Winȝet Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 2 Thre wryttingis deliuerit to the said Iohne, quhairin is replyit aganis his ansueris maid to ane part of the said thre questionis. 1768 Blackstone Comm. III. xx. 309 The plaintiff may plead again, and reply to the defendant's plea. 1802 James Milit. Dict. s.v., After the prisoner's defence before a court-martial the prosecutor..may reply. 1849 J. L. Campbell Chief Justices Eng. II. xxxiii. 401 Lord Mansfield hesitated long about making the right to reply depend upon the giving of evidence by the defendant. 1923 W. G. Russell Treatise on Crimes (ed. 8) II. 1835 If the defendant is undefended there is no right to sum up or reply if he calls no witnesses, whether he himself does or does not give evidence: but there is a right to reply if he calls a witness. |
4. a. trans. To return as an answer; to say in reply. Const. to, † against, † upon.
| c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 1338 Natheless þou maist ageyn me replie, ‘To sum folk..Agayn pouert it is no remedye’. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 301 b, Nothynge answerynge ne replyenge agaynst theyr wronge and false accusacyons. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, iii. i. 28 Lords, vouch⁓safe To giue me hearing what I shall reply. 1611 Bible Tobit ii. 14 But shee replyed vpon me, It was giuen for a gift. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. §29 He replyed that he could not think well of it. 1671 Milton P.R. iv. 2 Perplex'd and troubl'd..The Tempter stood, nor had what to reply. 1751 Eliza Heywood Betsy Thoughtless I. 86 ‘Ah! madam’, replied he,..‘where the heart is deeply affected’ [etc.]. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. xlix. V. 123 To the importunities of the Greeks..he piously replied, that no human consideration should tempt him..to resume the gift which he had conferred. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xxxiv, ‘If there be any man willing to fight for honour’, replied MacGillie Chattanach, ‘the price will be enough’. 1885 Jefferies Open Air (1893) 157 The man..replied nothing. |
† b. To retort upon one. Obs. rare—1.
| 1513 West in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. i. I. 72 He said..if ye did any thing to hym then it shuld not be honorable, which I replyed upon hym, sayeng that all the world knew that your Grace went in the Churches cause. |
c. To return, re-echo (a cry).
| 1650 R. Baron Fortune's Tennis Ball xviii, The airy Queen..each yell replies As if another chase were in the skies. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 764 With his last Voice, Eurydice, he cry'd. Eurydice, the Rocks and River⁓banks reply'd. |
II. † 5. a. To retract, withdraw. Obs. rare—1.
| 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love i. vi. (Skeat) I. 181 Whiche thing is wonder, that they knowing me saiyng but soth arne nowe tempted to reply her olde praysinges. |
† b. To send away, repudiate. Obs. rare—1.
| c 1470 Harding Chron. xviii. vii, The quene Gwendolyne..Whome Kyng Locryne forsoke and replyed, And Estrylde weddid againe. |
† 6. To fold back; to double. Obs. rare.
| c 1450 Bk. Curtasye 661 in Babees Bk. (1868) 321 Þo ouer nape schalle dowbulle be layde,..Þo ouer seluage he schalle replye. 1574 Bourne Regiment for Sea xxiii. (1577) 62 b, An instrument shewing you howe many myles of Longitude will answere vnto a degree..by the replying of a threed. |
† 7. To repeat. Obs. rare—1.
| 1576 Gascoigne Philomene Wks. P j b, Euen so this byrde vppon that name, Hir foremost note replies. |
Hence reˈplying vbl. n. and ppl. a.; also reˈplyingly adv., reˈplyist.
| 1548 Elyot, Replicatio, a repliyng. 1571 Golding Calvin on Ps. lxxiii. 1 The Adverbe (Ac)..dooth not simply affirme in this place, but is taken replyingly, (for yit, But yit, yit notwithstanding). 1574 [see reply v. 6]. 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. ii. xiv. (1674) 156 He without further replying, made all the haste he could out of the Court. 1852 N. & Q. 13 Mar. 257 A replyist refers to a work in which is an autobiography. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxv. 9 Ah! no more to address thee, or hear thy kindly replying! 1883 Grant White Washington Adams 6 The quick inquiring and replying chat of compatriots who meet unexpectedly in a strange country. |