Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “please” come from?

Please comes from Middle English plesen, from Old French plere and plaire, ultimately from Latin placere meaning "to be pleasing or acceptable."

please (English): To make happy or satisfy; to give pleasure to; To...

Definitions

  1. To make happy or satisfy; to give pleasure to; To...

Ancestry of “please”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishEDInitialism of erectile dysfunction; Initialism of...
2Japaneseエンディングending, especially of a broadcast or performance
3EnglishendingA termination or conclusion; The last part of...
4Middle EnglishendingAlternative form of endyng
5Middle EnglishendyngAn ending, termination, or conclusion;...
6Old Englishendung—
7Old Englishendianto end, make an end of; to finish, complete; to...
8Proto-Germanicandijōnąto end, bring to an end, finish
9Proto-Germanicandijazend
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂entíosfront; forehead
11Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
12Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

Words derived from “please”

  • pleasing
  • pleasingly
  • pleasest
  • pleasingness
  • unpleasable
  • pleasable
  • impleasing
  • pleasy
  • overplease
  • unpleasive
  • self-pleasing
  • superplease
  • porfaplís
  • por faplís
  • плиз
  • plezuro
  • plezure
  • plezuri
  • desplezuro
  • plezar
  • प्लीज़
  • প্লিজ
  • প্লীজ
  • plis
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →