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parlay

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par⋅lay

  [pahr-ley, -lee]
Use parlay in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to bet or gamble (an original amount and its winnings) on a subsequent race, contest, etc.
2. Informal. to use (one's money, talent, or other assets) to achieve a desired objective, as spectacular wealth or success: He parlayed a modest inheritance into a fortune.
–noun
3. a bet of an original sum and the subsequent winnings.
Origin:
1820–30, Americanism; alter. of earlier paroli < F < Neapolitan It, pl. of parolo, perh. deriv. of paro equal < L pār; see pair
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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par·lay   (pär'lā', -lē)   
tr.v.   par·layed, par·lay·ing, par·lays

  1. To bet (an original wager and its winnings) on a subsequent event.

  2. To maneuver (an asset) to great advantage: parlayed some small investments into a large fortune.

n.  A bet comprising the sum of a prior wager plus its winnings or a series of bets made in such a manner.

[Alteration of paroli, staking of double the sum staked before in faro, from French, from obsolete Italian, probably from Italian parare, to place a bet, from Latin parāre, to prepare; see pare.]
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

parlay 
1701, term in the card game faro, from Fr. parole, from It. parole (Neapolitan paroli) "words, promises," pl. of parolo (see parole). Meaning "exploit to advantage" is from 1942.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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