Added 8 October 2026
please
/pliːz/ verb
In Latin: iuvāre, placēre Wiktionary
verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about please at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
To make happy or satisfy; to give pleasure to.
Her presentation pleased the executives.
-
To desire; to will; to be pleased by.
Just do as you please.
adverb
interjection
-
Used as an affirmative to an offer.
May I help you? —(Yes,) please.
-
An expression of annoyance, impatience, or exasperation.
Oh, please, do we have to hear that again?
interjection
-
Said as a request to repeat information.
Customer while ordering: Can I get a [unintelligible]? Restaurant employee: Please?
Origin
From Middle English plesen, plaisen, borrowed from Old French plaise, conjugated form of plaisir or plaire, from Latin placeō (“to please, to seem good”), from the Proto-Indo-European *pleHk- (“pleasingness, permission”). In this sense, displaced native Old English līcian, whence Modern English like.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)