Replies

How to spell replies

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce replies

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does replies mean?

1. nounMore than one spoken or written answer or response.
2. verbAnswers or responds, used when the subject is he, she, or it.

Replies in a sentence

• noun

  The survey drew hundreds of thoughtful replies from customers.

• verb

  She usually replies to client messages within the hour.

• noun

  Her replies to the interview questions were clear and well prepared.

• verb

  The support team only replies during normal office hours.

Where does replies come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin replicare, which literally meant 'to fold back', built from re- 'back' and plicare 'to fold'. In late Latin and Old French the sense drifted from physically folding something back to turning an argument back on a speaker, and so to answering. English took it in during the 1300s through Old French replier, first meaning to answer or respond. The same plicare root still hides inside everyday relatives such as 'apply', 'imply' and 'pliable', all of which carry a buried idea of folding or bending. The spelling trap appears only in the inflected form: the base 'reply' ends in a consonant plus y, so the y turns to i before the ending, giving 'replies' rather than 'replys'.

How the word is built

• re- (back, in return)
• ply (from plier, to fold/bend)
• -ies (plural or third-person singular ending, y changed to i)