Latin 'to fold onto' — sibling of 'comply,' 'imply,' 'reply,' and 'supply,' all descended from 'plicare' (to fold).
Definition
To make a formal request; to put something into operation or practical use; to spread or lay on a surface.
The Full Story
Latin14th centurywell-attested
From Old French 'aplier' (to apply, attach, direct), from Latin 'applicāre' (to fold toward, attach to, connect, join), composed of 'ad-' (to, toward) + 'plicāre' (to fold, to lay). The PIE root is *pleḱ- (to plait, to fold, to weave), which produced a vast family of English words. The original metaphor was physical: folding one surface onto another, pressing cloth against
Did you know?
The textile technique 'appliqué' is the same word as 'apply' — French 'appliqué' means 'applied,' referring to fabric that is folded and stitched onto a larger piece. This preserves the original Latin sense of 'folding one thing onto another' far more literally than the English verb 'apply,' which has abstracted away from physical folding entirely.
of English derivatives: 'complicate' (folded together), 'duplicate' (folded in two), 'replicate' (folded back), 'explicit' (unfolded, laid out), 'implicit' (folded in,
in English, all united by the ancient concept of folding and weaving. Key roots: ad- (Latin: "to, toward"), plicāre (Latin: "to fold, lay, bend"), *pleḱ- (Proto-Indo-European: "to plait, to fold").