Plausible Plau"si·ble adjective [ Latin plausibilis praiseworthy, from plaudere , plausum , to applaud, clap the hands, strike, beat.] 1. Worthy of being applauded; praiseworthy; commendable; ready. [ Obsolete] Bp. Hacket.

2. Obtaining approbation; specifically pleasing; apparently right; specious; as, a plausible pretext; plausible manners; a plausible delusion. " Plausible and popular arguments." Clarendon.

3. Using specious arguments or discourse; as, a plausible speaker.

Syn. -- Plausible , Specious . Plausible denotes that which seems reasonable, yet leaves distrust in the judgment. Specious describes that which presents a fair appearance to the view and yet covers something false. Specious refers more definitely to the act or purpose of false representation; plausible has more reference to the effect on the beholder or hearer. An argument may by specious when it is not plausible because its sophistry is so easily discovered.

Plausibleize Plau"si·ble·ize transitive verb To render plausible. [ R.]

Plausibleness Plau"si·ble·ness noun Quality of being plausible.

Plausibly Plau"si·bly adverb 1. In a plausible manner.

2. Contentedly, readily. [ Obsolete]

The Romans plausibly did give consent.

Shak.

Plausive Plau"sive adjective [ Latin plaudere , plausum , to applaud.] 1. Applauding; manifesting praise. Young.

2. Plausible, specious. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Play Play intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Played ; present participle & verbal noun Playing .] [ Middle English pleien , Anglo-Saxon plegian , plegan , to play, akin to plega play, game, quick motion, and probably to Old Saxon plegan to promise, pledge, Dutch plegen to care for, attend to, be wont, German pflegen ; of unknown origin. √28. Confer Plight , noun ] 1. To engage in sport or lively recreation; to exercise for the sake of amusement; to frolic; to spot.

As Cannace was playing in her walk.

Chaucer.

The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed to-day,
Had he thy reason, would he skip and play !

Pope.

And some, the darlings of their Lord,
Play smiling with the flame and sword.

Keble.

2. To act with levity or thoughtlessness; to trifle; to be careless.

"Nay," quod this monk, "I have no lust to pleye ."

Chaucer.

Men are apt to play with their healths.

Sir W. Temple.

3. To contend, or take part, in a game; as, to play ball; hence, to gamble; as, he played for heavy stakes.

4. To perform on an instrument of music; as, to play on a flute.

One that . . . can play well on an instrument.

Ezek. xxxiii. 32.

Play , my friend, and charm the charmer.

Granville.

5. To act; to behave; to practice deception.

His mother played false with a smith.

Shak.

6. To move in any manner; especially, to move regularly with alternate or reciprocating motion; to operate; to act; as, the fountain plays .

The heart beats, the blood circulates, the lungs play .

Cheyne.

7. To move gayly; to wanton; to disport.

Even as the waving sedges play with wind.

Shak.

The setting sun
Plays on their shining arms and burnished helmets.

Addison.

All fame is foreign but of true desert,
Plays round the head, but comes not to the heart.

Pope.

8. To act on the stage; to personate a character.

A lord will hear your play to- night.

Shak.

Courts are theaters where some men play .

Donne.

To play into a person's hands , to act, or to manage matters, to his advantage or benefit. -- To play off , to affect; to feign; to practice artifice. -- To play upon . (a) To make sport of; to deceive.

Art thou alive?
Or is it fantasy that plays upon our eyesight.

Shak.

(b) To use in a droll manner; to give a droll expression or application to; as, to play upon words.

Play Play transitive verb 1. To put in action or motion; as, to play cannon upon a fortification; to play a trump.

First Peace and Silence all disputes control,
Then Order plays the soul.

Herbert.

2. To perform music upon; as, to play the flute or the organ.

3. To perform, as a piece of music, on an instrument; as, to play a waltz on the violin.

4. To bring into sportive or wanton action; to exhibit in action; to execute; as, to play tricks.

Nature here
Wantoned as in her prime, and played at will
Her virgin fancies.

Milton.

5. To act or perform (a play); to represent in music action; as, to play a comedy; also, to act in the character of; to represent by acting; to simulate; to behave like; as, to play King Lear; to play the woman.

Thou canst play the rational if thou wilt.

Sir W. Scott.

6. To engage in, or go together with, as a contest for amusement or for a wager or prize; as, to play a game at baseball.

7. To keep in play, as a hooked fish, in order to land it.

To play off , to display; to show; to put in exercise; as, to play off tricks. -- To play one's cards , to manage one's means or opportunities; to contrive. -- Played out , tired out; exhausted; at the end of one's resources. [ Colloq.]

Play Play noun 1. Amusement; sport; frolic; gambols.

2. Any exercise, or series of actions, intended for amusement or diversion; a game.

John naturally loved rough play .

Arbuthnot.

3. The act or practice of contending for victory, amusement, or a prize, as at dice, cards, or billiards; gaming; as, to lose a fortune in play .

4. Action; use; employment; exercise; practice; as, fair play ; sword play ; a play of wit. "The next who comes in play ." Dryden.

5. A dramatic composition; a comedy or tragedy; a composition in which characters are represented by dialogue and action.

A play ought to be a just image of human nature.

Dryden.

6. The representation or exhibition of a comedy or tragedy; as, he attends ever play .

7. Performance on an instrument of music.

8. Motion; movement, regular or irregular; as, the play of a wheel or piston; hence, also, room for motion; free and easy action. "To give them play , front and rear." Milton.

The joints are let exactly into one another, that they have no play between them.

Moxon.

9. Hence, liberty of acting; room for enlargement or display; scope; as, to give full play to mirth.

Play actor , an actor of dramas. Prynne. -- Play debt , a gambling debt. Arbuthnot. -- Play pleasure , idle amusement. [ Obsolete] Bacon. -- A play upon words , the use of a word in such a way as to be capable of double meaning; punning. -- Play of colors , prismatic variation of colors. -- To bring into play , To come into play , to bring or come into use or exercise. -- To hold in play , to keep occupied or employed.

I, with two more to help me,
Will hold the foe in play .

Macaulay.

Play Play transitive verb -- To play hob , to play the part of a mischievous spirit; to work mischief.

Playa Pla"ya noun [ Spanish ] A beach; a strand; in the plains and deserts of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, a broad, level spot, on which subsequently becomes dry by evaporation. Bartlett.

Playbill Play"bill` noun A printed programme of a play, with the parts assigned to the actors.

Playbook Play"book` noun A book of dramatic compositions; a book of the play. Swift.

Playday Play"day` noun A day given to play or diversion; a holiday. Swift.

Player Play"er noun 1. One who plays, or amuses himself; one without serious aims; an idler; a trifler. Shak.

2. One who plays any game.

3. A dramatic actor. Shak.

4. One who plays on an instrument of music. "A cunning player on a harp." 1 Sam. xvi. 16.

5. A gamester; a gambler.

Playfellow Play"fel`low noun A companion in amusements or sports; a playmate. Shak.

Playfere Play"fere` noun [ Play + 1st fere .] A playfellow. [ Obsolete] [ Also, playfeer , playphere .] Holinsheld.

Playful Play"ful adjective Sportive; gamboling; frolicsome; indulging a sportive fancy; humorous; merry; as, a playful child; a playful writer. -- Play"ful*ly , adverb -- Play"ful*ness , noun

Playgame Play"game` noun Play of children. Locke.

Playgoer Play"go`er noun One who frequents playhouses, or attends dramatic performances.

Playgoing Play"go`ing adjective Frequenting playhouses; as, the playgoing public. -- noun The practice of going to plays.

Playground Play"ground` noun A piece of ground used for recreation; as, the playground of a school.

Playhouse Play"house` noun [ Anglo-Saxon pleghūs .] 1. A building used for dramatic exhibitions; a theater. Shak.

2. A house for children to play in; a toyhouse.

Playing Play"ing adjective & verbal noun of Play .

Playing cards . See under Card .

Playmaker Play"mak`er noun A playwright. [ R.]

Playmate Play"mate` noun A companion in diversions; a playfellow.

Playsome Play"some adjective Playful; wanton; sportive. [ R.] R. Browning. -- Play"some*ness , noun [ R.]

Playte Playte noun (Nautical) See Pleyt .

Plaything Play"thing` noun A thing to play with; a toy; anything that serves to amuse.

A child knows his nurse, and by degrees the playthings of a little more advanced age.

Locke.

Playtime Play"time` noun Time for play or diversion.

Playwright Play"wright` noun A maker or adapter of plays.

Playwriter Play"writ`er noun A writer of plays; a dramatist; a playwright. Lecky.

Plaza Pla"za noun [ Spanish See Place .] A public square in a city or town.

Plea Plea noun [ Middle English plee , plai , plait , from Old French plait , plaid , plet , Late Latin placitum judgment, decision, assembly, court, from Latin placitum that which is pleasing, an opinion, sentiment, from placere to please. See Please , and confer Placit , Plead .] 1. (Law) That which is alleged by a party in support of his cause; in a stricter sense, an allegation of fact in a cause, as distinguished from a demurrer ; in a still more limited sense, and in modern practice, the defendant's answer to the plaintiff's declaration and demand. That which the plaintiff alleges in his declaration is answered and repelled or justified by the defendant's plea . In chancery practice, a plea is a special answer showing or relying upon one or more things as a cause why the suit should be either dismissed, delayed, or barred. In criminal practice, the plea is the defendant's formal answer to the indictment or information presented against him.

2. (Law) A cause in court; a lawsuit; as, the Court of Common Pleas . See under Common .

The Supreme Judicial Court shall have cognizance of pleas real, personal, and mixed.

Laws of Massachusetts.

3. That which is alleged or pleaded, in defense or in justification; an excuse; an apology. "Necessity, the tyrant's plea ." Milton.

No plea must serve; 't is cruelty to spare.

Denham.

4. An urgent prayer or entreaty.

Pleas of the crown (Eng. Law) , criminal actions.

Pleach Pleach transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Pleached ; present participle & verbal noun Pleaching .] [ Confer Old French plaissier to bend, and also French plisser to plait, Latin plicare , plicitum , to fold, lay, or wind together. Confer Plash to pleach.] To unite by interweaving, as branches of trees; to plash; to interlock. "The pleached bower." Shak.

Plead Plead transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Pleaded (colloq. Plead or Pled ); present participle & verbal noun Pleading .] [ Middle English pleden , plaiden , Old French plaidier, French plaider , from Late Latin placitare , from placitum . See Plea .] 1. To argue in support of a claim, or in defense against the claim of another; to urge reasons for or against a thing; to attempt to persuade one by argument or supplication; to speak by way of persuasion; as, to plead for the life of a criminal; to plead with a judge or with a father.

O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbor!

Job xvi. 21.

2. (Law) To present an answer, by allegation of fact, to the declaration of a plaintiff; to deny the plaintiff's declaration and demand, or to allege facts which show that ought not to recover in the suit; in a less strict sense, to make an allegation of fact in a cause; to carry on the allegations of the respective parties in a cause; to carry on a suit or plea. Blackstone. Burrill. Stephen.

3. To contend; to struggle. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Plead Plead transitive verb 1. To discuss, defend, and attempt to maintain by arguments or reasons presented to a tribunal or person having uthority to determine; to argue at the bar; as, to plead a cause before a court or jury.

Every man should plead his own matter.

Sir T. More.

» In this sense, argue is more generally used by lawyers.

2. To allege or cite in a legal plea or defense, or for repelling a demand in law; to answer to an indictment; as, to plead usury; to plead statute of limitations; to plead not guilty. Kent.

3. To allege or adduce in proof, support, or vendication; to offer in excuse; as, the law of nations may be pleaded in favor of the rights of ambassadors. Spenser.

I will neither plead my age nor sickness, in excuse of faults.

Dryden.

Pleadable Plead"a·ble adjective Capable of being pleaded; capable of being alleged in proof, defense, or vindication; as, a right or privilege pleadable at law. Dryden.

Pleader Plead"er noun [ French plaideur .] 1. One who pleads; one who argues for or against; an advotate.

So fair a pleader any cause may gain.

Dryden.

2. (Law) One who draws up or forms pleas; the draughtsman of pleas or pleadings in the widest sense; as, a special pleader .

Pleading Plead"ing noun The act of advocating, defending, or supporting, a cause by arguments.

Pleadingly Plead"ing·ly adverb In a pleading manner.

Pleadings Plead"ings noun plural (Law) The mutual pleas and replies of the plaintiff and defendant, or written statements of the parties in support of their claims, proceeding from the declaration of the plaintiff, until issue is joined, and the question made to rest on some single point. Blackstone.

Pleasance Pleas"ance noun [ French plaisance . See Please .] 1. Pleasure; merriment; gayety; delight; kindness. [ Archaic] Shak. "Full great pleasance ." Chaucer. "A realm of pleasance ." Tennyson.

2. A secluded part of a garden. [ Archaic]

The pleasances of old Elizabethan houses.

Ruskin.

Pleasant Pleas"ant adjective [ French plaisant . See Please .] 1. Pleasing; grateful to the mind or to the senses; agreeable; as, a pleasant journey; pleasant weather.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Ps. cxxxiii. 1.

2. Cheerful; enlivening; gay; sprightly; humorous; sportive; as, pleasant company; a pleasant fellow.

From grave to light, from pleasant to serve.

Dryden.

Syn. -- Pleasing; gratifying; agreeable; cheerful; good- humored; enlivening; gay; lively; merry; sportive; humorous; jocose; amusing; witty. -- Pleasant , Pleasing , Agreeable . Agreeable is applied to that which agrees with, or is in harmony with, one's tastes, character, etc. Pleasant and pleasing denote a stronger degree of the agreeable. Pleasant refers rather to the state or condition; pleasing , to the act or effect. Where they are applied to the same object, pleasing is more energetic than pleasant ; as, she is always pleasant and always pleasing . The distinction, however, is not radical and not rightly observed.

Pleasant Pleas"ant noun A wit; a humorist; a buffoon. [ Obsolete]

Pleasant-tongued Pleas"ant-tongued` adjective Of pleasing speech.

Pleasantly Pleas"ant·ly adverb In a pleasant manner.

Pleasantness Pleas"ant·ness noun The state or quality of being pleasant.

Pleasantry Pleas"ant·ry noun ; plural Pleasantries . [ French plaisanterie . See Pleasant .] That which denotes or promotes pleasure or good humor; cheerfulness; gayety; merriment; especially, an agreeable playfulness in conversation; a jocose or humorous remark; badinage.

The grave abound in pleasantries , the dull in repartees and points of wit.

Addison.

The keen observation and ironical pleasantry of a finished man of the world.

Macaulay.

Please Please transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Pleased ; present participle & verbal noun Pleasing .] [ Middle English plesen , Old French plaisir , from Latin placere , akin to placare to reconcile. Confer Complacent , Placable , Placid , Plea , Plead , Pleasure .] 1. To give pleasure to; to excite agreeable sensations or emotions in; to make glad; to gratify; to content; to satisfy.

I pray to God that it may plesen you.

Chaucer.

What next I bring shall please thee, be assured.

Milton.

2. To have or take pleasure in; hence, to choose; to wish; to desire; to will.

Whatsoever the Lord pleased , that did he.

Ps. cxxxv. 6.

A man doing as he wills, and doing as he pleases , are the same things in common speech.

J. Edwards.

3. To be the will or pleasure of; to seem good to; -- used impersonally. "It pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell." Col. i. 19.

To-morrow, may it please you.

Shak.

To be pleased in or with , to have complacency in; to take pleasure in. -- To be pleased to do a thing , to take pleasure in doing it; to have the will to do it; to think proper to do it. Dryden.

Please Please intransitive verb 1. To afford or impart pleasure; to excite agreeable emotions.

What pleasing scemed, for her now pleases more.

Milton.

For we that live to please , must please to live.

Johnson.

2. To have pleasure; to be willing, as a matter of affording pleasure or showing favor; to vouchsafe; to consent.

Heavenly stranger, please to taste
These bounties.

Milton.

That he would please 8give me my liberty.

Swift.

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