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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

parlay.

To carry forward the stake and winnings from a bet on to a subsequent wager or series of wagers.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ˈpɑːleɪ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈpɑɹˌleɪ/General-American/ˈpɑɹli/General-American
  1. To carry forward the stake and winnings from a bet on to a subsequent wager or series of wagers.

    ambitransitive
  2. To increase (an asset, money, etc.) by gambling or investing in a daring manner.

    broadly · transitive
    Shall we parlay the value of our products?
  3. To convert (a situation, thing, etc.) into something better.

    broadly · transitive
  4. Alternative spelling of parley (“to have a discussion, especially one between enemies”).

    alt-of · alternative · intransitive
Where this word comes from

The verb is derived from paroli (“cumulative bet in card games”), possibly modified under the influence of French parler (“to speak, talk”). Paroli is derived from French paroli (“double stake”), from Italian paroli, plural of parolo (first-person singular present indicative of parare (“to protect or shield (from); to prepare”), from Latin parāre, present active infinitive of parō (“to arrange, prepare; to furnish, provide”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to go through; to carry forth, fare”)) + Italian -lo (suffix meaning ‘it; this or that thing’). The noun is derived from the verb.

noun/ˈpɑːleɪ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈpɑɹˌleɪ/General-American/ˈpɑɹli/General-American
  1. A bet or series of bets where the stake and winnings are cumulatively carried forward; an accumulator.

Where this word comes from

The verb is derived from paroli (“cumulative bet in card games”), possibly modified under the influence of French parler (“to speak, talk”). Paroli is derived from French paroli (“double stake”), from Italian paroli, plural of parolo (first-person singular present indicative of parare (“to protect or shield (from); to prepare”), from Latin parāre, present active infinitive of parō (“to arrange, prepare; to furnish, provide”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to go through; to carry forth, fare”)) + Italian -lo (suffix meaning ‘it; this or that thing’). The noun is derived from the verb.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.