Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Please in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels please as verb. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913verb
Please

[OE. plesen, OF. plaisir, fr. L. placere, akin to placare to reconcile. Cf. Complacent, Placable, Placid, Plea, Plead, Pleasure.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordplease
Part of speechverb
Historical etymology[OE. plesen, OF. plaisir, fr. L. placere, akin to placare to reconcile. Cf. Complacent, Placable, Placid, Plea, Plead, Pleasure.]
Selected historical definitionTo give pleasure to; to excite agreeable sensations or emotions in; to make glad; to gratify; to content; to satisfy.
Signed record IDwebster1913-please-verb-84901666d0b9
Source locatorCIDE.P, paragraph 9458; Gutenberg eBook 666
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 666Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "please" is labeled verb. Its etymology is recorded as: "[OE. plesen, OF. plaisir, fr. L. placere, akin to placare to reconcile. Cf. Complacent, Placable, Placid, Plea, Plead, Pleasure.]" The selected historical definition says: "To give pleasure to; to excite agreeable sensations or emotions in; to make glad; to gratify; to content; to satisfy."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-09-05

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

More released P records

Every card owns a different source record and historical sense.

noun

People

[OE. peple, people, OF. pueple, F. peuple, fr. L. populus. Cf. Populage, Public, Pueblo.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Part

[F. part, L. pars, gen. partis; cf. parere to bring forth, produce. Cf. Parent, Depart, Parcel, Partner, Party, Portion.]

Webster 1913 exact recordverb

Place

[Cf. F. placer. See Place, n.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Power

[OE. pouer, poer, OF. poeir, pooir, F. pouvoir, n. & v., fr. LL. potere, for L. posse, potesse, to be able, to have power. See Possible, Potent, and cf. Posse comitatus.]

Webster 1913 exact recordadjective

Public

[L. publicus, poblicus, fr. populus people: cf. F. public. See People.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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