Please

Part of speech: verb, interjection

Pronunciation: /pliːz/

Definitions

1. A polite expression used to make a request or ask for something in a courteous manner
2. A courteous term employed to soften a request or convey a desire for something in a respectful way
3. A word used to express politeness while asking for something or making a request, enhancing civil interaction

Etymology: Few words in everyday English are as ordinary as "please," yet its polite sense is a fairly recent makeover. Its root verb, "please," came into Middle English from Old French, where forms of "plaisir" and "plaire" meant "to be pleasing" or "to seem good," ultimately from the Latin "placeō." In English, the verb pushed aside the native Old English "līcian," which survives today only as "like." The courteous "please" we use at the end of a request has a shorter story. It is a clipped version of "if you please," which itself copied the French "s'il vous plaît." The phrase is a present subjunctive, though modern speakers rarely parse it that way. For centuries, "pray" did the same job, so "please" was gradually taking over a role that once belonged to a different word. German "bitte" offers an instructive parallel. It means both "please" and "excuse me," and English has borrowed that sense pattern in meaning rather than in form, so the English word acts as the functional equivalent of the German one.

Synonyms: satisfy, delight

Antonyms: displease