different between play vs wanton
play
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)
- (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.
- 2003, Anne-Nelly Perret-Clermont et al. (eds.), Joining Society: Social Interaction and Learning in Adolescence and Youth, Cambridge Univ. Press, p.52:
- (transitive, intransitive) To perform in (a sport); to participate in (a game).
- Hypernym: try
- Hyponym: replay
- (transitive) To compete against, in a game.
- We're playing one of the top teams in the next round.
- (transitive) (in the scoring of games and sports) To be the opposing score to.
- Look at the score now ... 23 plays 8!
- (intransitive) To take part in amorous activity; to make love.
- Synonyms: get it on, make out, have sex; see also Thesaurus:copulate
- (transitive) To act as the indicated role, especially in a performance.
- 1984, Chris Robinson, commercial for Vicks Formula 44:
- 1984, Chris Robinson, commercial for Vicks Formula 44:
- (heading, transitive, intransitive) To produce music or theatre.
- (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.
- (intransitive, especially of a person) To produce music using a musical instrument.
- (transitive, especially of a person) To produce music (or a specified song or musical style) using (a specified musical instrument).
- (transitive, ergative) To use a device to watch or listen to the indicated recording.
- (intransitive, of a theatrical performance) To be performed; (or of a film) to be shown.
- (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?"
- 2008, My Life: From Normandy to Hockeytown ?ISBN, p.30:
- (transitive) To act or perform (a play).
- (intransitive, of a music) To produce music.
- (heading) To behave in a particular way.
- (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.
- 1985, Sharon S. Brehm, Intimate Relationships:
- (intransitive) To act with levity or thoughtlessness; to trifle; to be careless.
- (intransitive) To act; to behave; to practice deception.
- (transitive) To bring into sportive or wanton action; to exhibit in action; to execute.
- (copulative) Contrary to fact, to give an appearance of being.
- (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.
- 1705, George Cheyne, Philosophical Principles of Religion:
- (intransitive) To move to and fro.
- The setting sun / Plays on their shining arms and burnished helmets.
- (transitive) To put in action or motion.
- (transitive) To keep in play, as a hooked fish in order to land it.
- (transitive, colloquial) To manipulate, deceive, or swindle someone.
- Synonym: defraud
Conjugation
Translations
Noun
play (countable and uncountable, plural plays)
- (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 […]
- 1803, Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
- (uncountable) Similar activity in young animals, as they explore their environment and learn new skills.
- (uncountable) The conduct, or course, of a game.
- (uncountable) An individual's performance in a sport or game.
- (countable) A short sequence of action within a game.
- (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.
- (countable) A literary composition, intended to be represented by actors impersonating the characters and speaking the dialogue.
- Synonyms: drama; see also Thesaurus:drama
- (countable) A theatrical performance featuring actors.
- (countable) An attempt to move forward, as in a plan or strategy, for example by a business, investor, or political party.
- (countable) A geological formation that contains an accumulation or prospect of hydrocarbons or other resources.
- (uncountable) The extent to which a part of a mechanism can move freely.
- (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
- 1996, "toptigger", (on Internet newsgroup alt.personals.spanking.punishment)
- (countable) An instance of watching or listening to digital media.
- Synonyms: (of visual media) view, (of audio) listen
- (countable) A button that, when pressed, causes media to be played.
- (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
- 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)
- play (theatrical performance; start key)
Interjection
play!
- used to announce the start a game of tennis
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from English play.
Noun
play m (plural playes)
- play (button)
play From the web:
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wanton
English
Etymology
From Middle English wantoun, wantowen, wanto?en, wantowe (“uneducated; unrestrained; licentious; sportive; playful”), from wan- (“not, un-, mis-”) + towen, i-towen (“educated”, literally “towed; led; drawn”), from Old English togen, ?etogen, past participle of t?on (“to train, discipline”), equivalent to wan- +? towed.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /?w?nt?n/
- (US) enPR: wän't?n, IPA(key): /?w?nt?n/
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /?w?nt?n/, /?w?nt?n/
- Rhymes: -?nt?n
- Homophone: wonton (some accents)
Adjective
wanton (comparative wantoner, superlative wantonest)
- (archaic) Undisciplined, unruly; not able to be controlled.
- 1605, William Shakespeare, King Lear, IV.1:
- As Flies to wanton Boyes are we to th' Gods, / They kill us for their sport.
- 1785, William Cowper, “The Garden”, in The Task, a Poem, in Six Books. By William Cowper [...] To which are Added, by the Same Author, An Epistle to Joseph Hill, Esq. Tirocinium, or a Review of Schools, and The History of John Gilpin, London: Printed for J[oseph] Johnson, No. 72 St. Paul's Church-Yard, OCLC 221351486; republished as The Task. A Poem. In Six Books. To which is Added, Tirocinium: or, A Review of Schools, new edition, Philadelphia, Pa.: Printed for Thomas Dobson, bookseller, in Second-street, second door above Chestnut-street, 1787, OCLC 23630717, page 87:
- 'Tis the cruel gripe, / That lean hard-handed poverty inflicts, / The hope of better things, the chance to win, / The wi?h to ?hine, the thir?t to be amus'd, / That at the found of Winter's hoary wing, / Unpeople all our counties, of ?uch herds, / Of flutt'ring, loit'ring, cringing, begging, loo?e, / And wanton vagrants, as make London, va?t / And boundless as it is, a crowded coop.
- 1605, William Shakespeare, King Lear, IV.1:
- (obsolete) Playful, sportive; merry or carefree.
- 1776, Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 1:
- The grave simplicity of the philosopher was ill calculated to engage her wanton levity, or to fix that unbounded passion for variety, which often discovered personal merit in the meanest of mankind.
- 1776, Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 1:
- Lewd, immoral; sexually open, unchaste.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones:
- if wenches will hang out lures for fellows, it is no matter what they suffer: I detest such creatures; and it would be much better for them that their faces had been seamed with the smallpox: but I must confess I never saw any of this wanton behaviour in poor Jenny [...].
- 1874, Thomas Hardy, Far From the Madding Crowd:
- I know I ought never to have dreamt of sending that valentine—forgive me, sir—it was a wanton thing which no woman with any self-respect should have done.
- 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.21:
- People should not marry too young, because, if they do, the children will be weak and female, the wives will become wanton, and the husbands stunted in their growth.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones:
- Capricious, reckless of morality, justice etc.; acting without regard for the law or the well-being of others; gratuitous.
- 1811, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility:
- Edward himself, now thoroughly enlightened on her character, had no scruple in believing her capable of the utmost meanness of wanton ill-nature.
- 2009, Ben White, The Guardian, 10 Aug 2009:
- these developments in Gaza are a consequence of the state of siege that the tiny territory has been under – a society that has been fenced-in, starved, and seen its very fabric torn apart by unemployment and wanton military destruction.
- 1811, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility:
- (archaic) Extravagant, unrestrained, excessive.
- 1776, Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, Book I:
- the market price will rise more or less above the natural price, according as either the greatness of the deficiency, or the wealth and wanton luxury of the competitors, happen to animate more or less the eagerness of the competition.
- 1876, John Ruskin, Letters, 19 Jan 1876:
- But do not think it argues change of temper since I wrote the Frère review, or a wanton praise of one man and blame of another.
- 1776, Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, Book I:
Synonyms
- (undisciplined): see Thesaurus:wanton
- (playful, overly happy): frolicsome, playful
- (lewd): lewd, lustful, unchaste
- (capriciously violent): inhumane, callous, merciless
- (luxuriant): extravagant, lavish, luxuriant, prodigal, unrestrained
Derived terms
- wanton kittens make sober cats
Translations
Noun
wanton (plural wantons)
- A pampered or coddled person.
- c. 1591-1595, William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
- I would have thee gone — / And yet no farther than a wanton's bird, / That lets it hop a little from her hand, / Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves, / And with a silken thread plucks it back again […]
- c. 1591-1595, William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
- An overly playful person; a trifler.
- 1611, Ben Jonson, Oberon, the Faery Prince
- Peace, my wantons; he will do / More than you can aim unto.
- 1898: Charles Dickens: A Critical Study by George Gissing
- This quiet remark serves to remind one, among other things that, Dickens was not without his reasons for a spirit of distrust towards religion by law established, as well as towards sundry other forms of religion--the spirit which, especially in his early career, was often misunderstood as hostility to religion in itself, a wanton mocking at sacred things.
- A self-indulgent person, fond of excess.
- (archaic) A lewd or immoral person, especially a prostitute.
- 1891: Jerusalem: Its History and Hope by Mrs. Oliphant
- ...paints with tremendous force the adulteries of the two wantons Aholah and Aholibah, Israel and Judah, and their love of strangers...
- 1936: Like the Phoenix by Anthony Bertram
- However, terrible as it may seem to the tall maiden sisters of J.P.'s in Queen Anne houses with walled vegetable gardens, this courtesan, strumpet, harlot, whore, punk, fille de joie, street-walker, this trollop, this trull, this baggage, this hussy, this drab, skit, rig, quean, mopsy, demirep, demimondaine, this wanton, this fornicatress, this doxy, this concubine, this frail sister, this poor Queenie—did actually solicit me, did actually say ‘coming home to-night, dearie’ and my soul was not blasted enough to call a policeman.
- 1891: Jerusalem: Its History and Hope by Mrs. Oliphant
Translations
Verb
wanton (third-person singular simple present wantons, present participle wantoning, simple past and past participle wantoned)
- (intransitive) To rove and ramble without restraint, rule, or limit; to revel; to play loosely; to frolic.
- c. 1593, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, Prologue,[1]
- […] We will fetch thee straight
- Adonis painted by a running brook,
- And Cytherea all in sedges hid,
- Which seem to move and wanton with her breath
- Even as the waving sedges play wi’ th’ wind.
- 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 5, lines 294-296,[2]
- […] Nature here
- Wantond as in her prime, and plaid at will
- Her Virgin Fancies […]
- c. 1820, Charles Lamb, “Christ’s Hospital, Five and Thirty Years Ago” in Essays of Elia, Paris: Baudry’s European Library, 1835, p. 15,[3]
- How merrily we would sally into the fields; and strip under the first warmth of the sun; and wanton like young dace in the streams […]
- 1927, Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse, London: Hogarth Press, 1930, Part 2, 9, p. 217,[4]
- It might well be, said Mrs. McNab, wantoning on with her memories […]
- c. 1593, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, Prologue,[1]
- (transitive) To waste or squander, especially in pleasure (most often with away).
- The young man wantoned away his inheritance.
- 1660, Samuel Pepys, diary entry for 28 April, 1660, in Henry B. Wheatley (ed.), The Diary of Samuel Pepys, London: George Bell, 1905, Volume 8, p.290,[5]
- […] with this money the King shall wanton away his time in pleasures […]
- 1881, Christina Rossetti, Called to Be Saints, London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, “St. Matthias, Apostle,” p. 153,[6]
- […] Samson, having wantoned away his strength and paying the penalty […]
- 1929, Witter Bynner and Jiang Kanghu (translators), “A Song of an Old General” in The Jade Mountain, New York: Vintage, 1972, p. 203,[7]
- And never would he wanton his cause away with wine.
- 1948, Digby George Gerahty (as Robert Standish), Elephant Walk, New York: Macmillan, 1949, Chapter 15, p. 214,[8]
- If either of us felt the respect for George that you imply by your manner, you know perfectly well that we wouldn’t have wantoned away the day as we have.
- (intransitive) To act wantonly; to be lewd or lascivious.
- 1677, Hannah Woolley, The Compleat Servant-Maid, London: T. Passinger, p. 62,,[9]
- Be loving and courteous to your fellow Servants, not gigling or idling out your time, or wantoning in the society of men […]
- […] whole herds or flocks of other women securely, and scarce regarded, traverse the park, the play, the opera, and the assembly; and though, for the most part at least, they are at last devoured, yet for a long time do they wanton in liberty, without disturbance or controul.
- 1677, Hannah Woolley, The Compleat Servant-Maid, London: T. Passinger, p. 62,,[9]
Synonyms
- (to act wantonly): See Thesaurus:harlotize
Translations
Related terms
- wantonly
- wantonness
- wantonry
Anagrams
- Antwon
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