Replay

How to spell replay

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce replay

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does replay mean?

1. verbTo play, perform, or run through something again.
2. nounA repeated showing of a recorded event, or a fresh playing of a contest.

Replay in a sentence

• verb

  The coach asked the team to replay the final minutes of the match.

• noun

  The slow-motion replay confirmed that the ball crossed the line.

• verb

  She had to replay the voicemail twice to catch the address.

• noun

  The drawn cup tie forced a replay at the rival ground.

Where does replay come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a compound built from the prefix re-, borrowed from Latin and meaning 'again' or 'back', joined to the native English word 'play'. The root 'play' descends from Old English plegan or plegian, which meant to move briskly, to exercise, or to amuse oneself, and which is related to similar verbs across the West Germanic languages. The combined form is a relatively modern English coinage rather than an ancient one, appearing in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as the idea of doing something over again attached itself to games, music, and recordings. The noun sense, meaning a repeated showing of a recorded action, rose to prominence with broadcast sport and the 'instant replay' of the mid-twentieth century. Because both halves are familiar everyday pieces, the only spelling care needed is remembering it is one solid word with a single 'l', not 're-play' or 'replaye'.

How the word is built

• re- (again)
• play (from Old English plegan: to exercise or amuse oneself)