different between composition vs play

English

Etymology

From Middle English composicioun, from Old French composicion, from Latin compositi?, compositi?nem.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?k?mp??z???n/

Noun

composition (countable and uncountable, plural compositions)

1. The act of putting together; assembly.
2. A mixture or compound; the result of composing. [from 16th c.]
3. The proportion of different parts to make a whole. [from 14th c.]
   • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Exodus 30:37,^[1]

     And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the Lord.

4. The general makeup of a thing or person. [from 14th c.]
   • c. 1595, William Shakespeare, Richard II, Act II, Scene 1,^[2]

     John of Gaunt. O how that name befits my composition!

     Old Gaunt indeed, and gaunt in being old:

     Within me grief hath kept a tedious fast;

     And who abstains from meat that is not gaunt?

   • 1932, Frank Richards, The Magnet - Bunter's Night Out

     It seemed that the milk of human kindness had not been left out of his composition.

5. (obsolete) An agreement or treaty used to settle differences; later especially, an agreement to stop hostilities; a truce. [14th-19th c.]
   • 1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 1-3

     If the Duke, with the other dukes, come not to composition with the king of Hungary, why then all the dukes fall upon the king.

   • c. 1605, William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act I, Scene 2,^[3]

     That now

     Sweno, the Norways’ king, craves composition:

     Nor would we deign him burial of his men

     Till he disbursed at Saint Colme’s inch

     Ten thousand dollars to our general use.

   • 1630, John Smith, True travels, in Kupperman 1988, p.50:

     with an incredible courage they advanced to the push of the Pike with the defendants, that with the like courage repulsed […], that the Turks retired and fled into the Castle, from whence by a flag of truce they desired composition.

   • 1754, David Hume, The History of England, London: T. Cadell, 1773, Volume I, p. 8,^[4]

     […] the Britons, by rendering the war thus bloody, seemed determined to cut off all hopes of peace or composition with the enemy.

6. (obsolete) A payment of money in order to clear a liability or obligation; a settling or fine. [16th-19th c.]
   • c. 1602, William Shakespeare, All’s Well That Ends Well, Act IV, Scene 3,^[5]

     He hath perverted a young gentlewoman here in Florence, of a most chaste renown; and this night he fleshes his will in the spoil of her honour: he hath given her his monumental ring, and thinks himself made in the unchaste composition.

   • 1688, Parliament of England, Toleration Act 1688, section 3:

     That all and every person and persons already convicted or prosecuted in order to conviction of recusancy […] shall be thenceforth exempted and discharged from all the penalties, seizures, forfeitures, judgments, and executions, incurred by force of any of the aforesaid Statutes, without any composition, fee, or further charge whatsoever.

   • 1745, Edward Young, Night-Thoughts, II:

     Insidious death! should his strong hand arrest, / No composition sets the prisoner free.

7. (law) an agreement or compromise by which a creditor or group of creditors accepts partial payment from a debtor.
8. An essay. [from 16th c.]
9. (linguistics) The formation of compound words from separate words. [from 16th c.]
10. A work of music, literature or art. [from 17th c.]
    • 1818, Jane Austen, A letter dated 8 September 1818:

      […] and how good Mrs. West could have written such books and collected so many hard words, with all her family cares, is still more a matter of astonishment. Composition seems to me impossible with a head full of joints of mutton and doses of rhubarb.

11. (printing) Typesetting. [from 19th c.]
12. (mathematics) Applying a function to the result of another.
13. (physics) The compounding of two velocities or forces into a single equivalent velocity or force.
14. (obsolete) Consistency; accord; congruity.
    • c. 1604, William Shakespeare, Othello, Act I, Scene 3,^[6]

      There is no composition in these news

      That gives them credit.

15. Synthesis as opposed to analysis.

    • The investigation of difficult things by the method of analysis ought ever to precede the method of composition.

16. (painting, photography) The arrangement and flow of elements in a picture.
17. (object-oriented programming) Way to combine simple objects or data types into more complex ones.

Synonyms

• (general makeup of a thing or person): configuration, constitution; see also Thesaurus:composition
• (mixture or compound): blend, melange; see also Thesaurus:mixture
• (work of music, literature or art): See also Thesaurus:musical composition

Derived terms

• composition algebra
• composition book, composition notebook
• composition fee
• letter of composition

Related terms

• composite
• compositing
• compositionism
• compositionist

Translations

Anagrams

• monisotopic

French

Etymology

From Old French composicion, borrowed from Latin compositi?, compositi?nem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k??.po.zi.sj??/

Noun

composition f (plural compositions)

1. composition, makeup
2. essay
3. composition, work of art
4. (linguistics) composition, formation of compound words
5. (printing) composition, typesetting
6. (sports) lineup
7. (object-oriented programming) composition

Synonyms

• (essay): essai, dissertation, rédaction
• (work of art): œuvre

Related terms

• composer
• compositeur

Descendants

• ? Turkish: kompozisyon

References

• “composition” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French composicion.

Noun

composition f (plural compositions)

1. agreement; accord; pact

Descendants

• French: composition

English

Etymology

From Middle English pleyen, playen, ple?en, plæien, also Middle English pla?en, plawen (compare English plaw), from Old English ple?an, pleo?an, plæ?an, and Old English plegian, pleagian, plagian (“to play, exercise, etc.”), from Proto-West Germanic *plehan (“to care about, be concerned with”) and Proto-West Germanic *pleg?n (“to engage, move”); both perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *blek- (“to move, move about”), from Proto-Indo-European *bal- (compare Ancient Greek ???? (blú?), ????? (blúz?, “I gush out, spring”), Sanskrit ???????? (balbal?ti, “it whirls, twirls”)). Cognate with Scots play (“to act or move briskly, cause to move, stir”), Saterland Frisian pleegje (“to look after, care for, maintain”), West Frisian pleegje, pliigje (“to commit, perform, bedrive”), Middle Dutch pleyen ("to dance, leap for joy, rejoice, be glad"; compare Modern Dutch pleien (“to play a particular children's game”)), Dutch plegen (“to commit, bedrive, practice”), German pflegen (“to care for, be concerned with, attend to, tend”). Related also to Old English pl?on (“to risk, endanger”). More at plight, pledge.

The noun is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæ?, plega, plæ?a (“play, quick [ motion, movement, exercise; (athletic) sport, game; festivity, drama; battle; gear for games, an implement for a game; clapping with the hands, applause”), deverbative of plegian (“to play”); see above.

Pronunciation

• enPR: pl?, IPA^(key): /ple?/, [pl?e?]
• Rhymes: -e?

Verb

play (third-person singular simple present plays, present participle playing, simple past and past participle played)

1. (intransitive) To act in a manner such that one has fun; to engage in activities expressly for the purpose of recreation or entertainment.
   • 2003, Anne-Nelly Perret-Clermont et al. (eds.), Joining Society: Social Interaction and Learning in Adolescence and Youth, Cambridge Univ. Press, p.52:

     We had to play for an hour, so that meant that we didn't have time to play and joke around.

2. (transitive, intransitive) To perform in (a sport); to participate in (a game).

   Hypernym: try

   Hyponym: replay

   1. (transitive) To compete against, in a game.

      We're playing one of the top teams in the next round.
   2. (transitive) (in the scoring of games and sports) To be the opposing score to.

      Look at the score now ... 23 plays 8!

3. (intransitive) To take part in amorous activity; to make love.

   Synonyms: get it on, make out, have sex; see also Thesaurus:copulate
4. (transitive) To act as the indicated role, especially in a performance.
   • 1984, Chris Robinson, commercial for Vicks Formula 44:
5. (heading, transitive, intransitive) To produce music or theatre.
   1. (intransitive, of a music) To produce music.

      Synonyms: cook, jam; see also Thesaurus:play music

      • 2007, Dan Erlewine, Guitar Player Repair Guide ?ISBN, page 220:

        If your guitar plays well on fretted strings but annoys you on the open ones, the nut's probably worn out.

   2. (intransitive, especially of a person) To produce music using a musical instrument.

   3. (transitive, especially of a person) To produce music (or a specified song or musical style) using (a specified musical instrument).

   4. (transitive, ergative) To use a device to watch or listen to the indicated recording.

   5. (intransitive, of a theatrical performance) To be performed; (or of a film) to be shown.

   6. (transitive, of a theatrical company or band, etc.) To perform in or at; to give performances in or at.
      • 2008, My Life: From Normandy to Hockeytown ?ISBN, p.30:

        I got a hold of Louis (Satchmo) Armstrong's agent and I explained to him on the phone that, "I know you're playing London on Wednesday night. Why don't you come and play the Arena in Windsor on Saturday night?"

   7. (transitive) To act or perform (a play).

6. (heading) To behave in a particular way.
   1. (copulative) Contrary to fact, to give an appearance of being.
      • 1985, Sharon S. Brehm, Intimate Relationships:

        Playing hard to get is not the same as slamming the door in someone's face.

      • 1996, Michael P. Malone, James J Hill: Empire Builder of the Northwest:

        Now, surveying his final link, he had the nice advantage of being able to play coy with established port cities that desperately wanted his proven railroad.

      • 2003, John U. Ogbu, Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb: A Study of Academic Disengagement, p.194:

        Instead, they played dumb, remained silent, and did their classwork.

   2. (intransitive) To act with levity or thoughtlessness; to trifle; to be careless.
   3. (intransitive) To act; to behave; to practice deception.
   4. (transitive) To bring into sportive or wanton action; to exhibit in action; to execute.
7. (transitive, intransitive) To move in any manner; especially, to move regularly with alternate or reciprocating motion; to operate.
   • 1705, George Cheyne, Philosophical Principles of Religion:

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

   • The colonel and his sponsor made a queer contrast: Greystone [the sponsor] long and stringy, with a face that seemed as if a cold wind was eternally playing on it.

8. (intransitive) To move to and fro.
   • The setting sun / Plays on their shining arms and burnished helmets.
9. (transitive) To put in action or motion.

10. (transitive) To keep in play, as a hooked fish in order to land it.
11. (transitive, colloquial) To manipulate, deceive, or swindle someone.

    Synonym: defraud

Conjugation

Translations

Noun

play (countable and uncountable, plural plays)

1. (uncountable, formerly countable) Activity for amusement only, especially among the young.
   • 1803, Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

     She was fond of all boys' plays, and greatly preferred cricket […] to dolls […]

2. (uncountable) Similar activity in young animals, as they explore their environment and learn new skills.

3. (uncountable) The conduct, or course, of a game.

4. (uncountable) An individual's performance in a sport or game.

5. (countable) A short sequence of action within a game.

6. (countable, turn-based games) An action carried out when it is one's turn to play.

   Synonym: move

   • 2009, Joe Edley, John Williams, Everything Scrabble: Third Edition (page 85)

     AWARD is better than either WARED or WADER. However, there's an even better play! If you have looked at the two-to-make-three letter list, you may have noticed the word AWA.

7. (countable) A literary composition, intended to be represented by actors impersonating the characters and speaking the dialogue.

   Synonyms: drama; see also Thesaurus:drama

8. (countable) A theatrical performance featuring actors.

9. (countable) An attempt to move forward, as in a plan or strategy, for example by a business, investor, or political party.

10. (countable) A geological formation that contains an accumulation or prospect of hydrocarbons or other resources.
11. (uncountable) The extent to which a part of a mechanism can move freely.

12. (uncountable, informal) Sexual activity or sexual role-playing.
    • 1996, "toptigger", (on Internet newsgroup alt.personals.spanking.punishment)

      Palm Springs M seeks sane F 4 safe bdsm play
13. (countable) An instance of watching or listening to digital media.

    Synonyms: (of visual media) view, (of audio) listen
14. (countable) A button that, when pressed, causes media to be played.
15. (archaic, now usually in compounds) Activity relating to martial combat or fighting.

    handplay, swordplay

Translations

Derived terms

See also

• outdoor

Further reading

• play on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• play at OneLook Dictionary Search
• play in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• paly, pyla

Chinese

Etymology

Borrowed from English play, possibly via Japanese ??? (purei).

Pronunciation

Suffix

play

1. play (sexual roleplaying)

   ??play / ??play  ?  xi?ch? play  ?  erotic humiliation

   ??play / ??play  ?  n?zhu?ng play  ?  crossdressing

   ?????play / ?????play  ?  gèzh?ng qíguài de play  ?  all kinds of strange sexual roleplaying

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English play.

Noun

play m (invariable)

1. play (theatrical performance; start key)

Interjection

play!

1. used to announce the start a game of tennis

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English play.

Noun

play m (plural playes)

1. play (button)