Etymology From Middle English plesen, plaisen, borrowed from Old French plaise, conjugated form of plaisir or plaire, from Latin placeō (“to please, to seem good”), from the Proto-Indo-European *pleHk- (“pleasingness, permission”). In this sense, displaced native Old English līcian, whence Modern English like.
1
Ambitransitive To make happy or satisfy; to give pleasure to.
Her presentation pleased the executives.
I'm pleased to see you've been behaving yourself.
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Our new range of organic foods is sure to please.
And so it had always pleased M. Stutz to expect great things from the dark young man whom he had first seen in his early twenties ; and his expectations had waxed rather than waned on hearing the faint bruit of the love of Ivor and Virginia—for Virginia, M. Stutz thought, would bring fineness to a point in a man like Ivor Marlay, […].1922, Michael Arlen, “Ep./1/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:
World tour, media whore / "Please the Press in Belgium!" / This was your life1987, “Paint a Vulgar Picture”, in Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music), Strangeways, Here We Come, performed by The Smiths:
How can an operator be, at the same time, top for overall satisfaction and bottom for value for money? I turned to Anthony Smith for the answer, leaning on his 20 years running Transport Focus and its predecessors. It's commuters, he explained. "You can't please commuters, you can only not displease them."2024 October 2, Philip Haigh, “Different types of passengers require different types of fare”, in RAIL, number 1019, page 54:
He doesn't think, he just says whatever he pleases.
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Whatsoeuer the Lord pleased, that did he in heauen and in earth: in the Seas, and all deepe places.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 135:6:
“Will any gentleman please to get outside and make room for a lady?”1870 July 16, “Our Idler’s Gossip”, in Bell’s Life in Sydney and Sporting Chronicle, volume XXVII, number 708, new series, [Sydney, N.S.W.], page [3], column 2:
Etymology Short for if you please, an intransitive, ergative form taken from if it please you which is a calque of French s'il vous plaît, which replaced pray. If it please you is a present subjunctive form, but most current uses of please are not parsed that way.
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Used to make a polite request.
Please, pass the bread.
Would you please sign this form?
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Could you tell me the time, please?
May I take your order, please?
Q: Should I call him to confirm? A: Please do.
LIST OF LETTERS remaining in the Post-Office at New Orleans, September 19, 1857. Persons calling will please mention that they are advertised.1857 September 20, “List of Letters”, in Sunday Times, volume I, number 140, New Orleans, La.: Times Printing Association, →OCLC, page 566, column 2:
Etymology Short for if you please, an intransitive, ergative form taken from if it please you which is a calque of French s'il vous plaît, which replaced pray. If it please you is a present subjunctive form, but most current uses of please are not parsed that way.
1
Often, With yes Used as an affirmative to an offer.
Near-synonym: thank you
May I help you? —(Yes,) please.
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D'you mind if I open the window? —Please do.
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An expression of annoyance, impatience, or exasperation.
Oh, please, do we have to hear that again?
So it's safe to let a 10-year-old use a gun? Please.
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So now I have to go back there a third time? Please!
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An expression of annoyance, impatience, or exasperation.
Followed by with + noun or noun phrase
Near-synonyms: enough, enough already, that's enough, no more, cut it out, knock it off, shut up, STFU
Please with that damn harmonica!
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Please with all the ads, I just want to watch the movie.
please
intj
Etymology Semantic loan from German bitte (“please; excuse me”).
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Cincinnati Said as a request to repeat information.
Customer while ordering: Can I get a [unintelligible]? Restaurant employee: Please?
Fellow: May I have a few days off to get married? Reply, in the Cincinnati idiom by a boss who had heard the sound but not the sense: Boss: Please?August 1973, “Bitte or Bitter?”, in Cincinnati, page 109:
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Even though I heard it was supposed to be German-Catholic background, there’s only one thing German — they say ‘please’ [for the more common ‘pardon me’], which comes from bitte.September 1978, Virginia Watson-Rouslin, “A Foreign View”, in Cincinnati, page 110:
[…] He explained in broken English that one of his daughters was ill and he probably could not be there. I did not understand all that he said, so asked, ‘Please?’ per Cincinnati custom. ‘There is no need to plead. I will be there if she is feeling better,’ he replied.September 1979, “Winners: Contest No. 13—The Laugh’s On Us”, in Cincinnati, volume 12, number 12, page 15:
Cincinnati are some of the most polite persons I have ever met in the US. When asking someone a question, instead of saying “Excuse me,” or “Pardon,” they say “Please?”5 May 1998, Jose I. Sarasua, “Come to Cincinnati... Please?”, in Cost Engineering, volume 40, number 5, page 9:
By the same token, one contestant who doesn’t hear a particular question could say “Pardon me?” while another could say “Please?” Again, neither would be lying if he said he was from Ohio.April 2001, Jeff Robinson, “Say what?”, in Ohio Magazine, archived from the original on 02 Apr 2019, page 77: