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Replying

 - 4 dictionary results

re⋅ply

  [ri-plahy] verb, -plied, -ply⋅ing, noun, plural -plies.
Use Replying in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to make answer in words or writing; answer; respond: to reply to a question.
2. to respond by some action, performance, etc.: to reply to the enemy's fire.
3. to return a sound; echo; resound.
4. Law. to answer a defendant's plea.
–verb (used with object)
5. to return as an answer (usually used in a negative combination or fol. by a clause with that): Not a syllable did he reply. He replied that no one would go.
–noun
6. an answer or response in words or writing.
7. a response made by some action, performance, etc.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME replien (v.) < MF replier to fold back, reply < L replicāre to unroll, fold back; see replicate

Related forms:
re⋅pli⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. rejoin. 6. rejoinder, riposte. See answer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Replying
re·ply   (rĭ-plī')   
v.   re·plied, re·ply·ing, re·plies

v.   intr.

  1. To give an answer in speech or writing.

  2. To respond by an action or gesture.

  3. To echo.

  4. To return gunfire or an attack: The big guns replied.

  5. Law To respond to a defendant's plea.

v.   tr.
To say or give as an answer: I replied that I was unable to help them. See Synonyms at answer.
n.   pl. re·plies

  1. A response in speech or writing.

  2. A response by an action or gesture.

  3. Law A plaintiff's formal response in answer to that of a defendant.


[Middle English replien, from Old French replier, from Latin replicāre, to fold back; see replicate.]
re·pli'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

reply 
c.1385, from O.Fr. replier "to reply, turn back," from L. replicare "to reply, repeat," lit. "fold back," from re- "back, again" + plicare "to fold" (see ply). The noun is first recorded 1560. Mod.Fr. répliquer is directly from L.L.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: re·ply
Function: noun
: a plaintiff's or complainant's response to a plea, allegation, or counterclaim in the defendant's answer
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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