parlay

parlay
1 of 2
verb
par·;lay ;p;r-;l;  -l;
parlayed; parlaying; parlays
Synonyms of parlay
transitive verb

1
: to bet in a parlay
2
a
: to exploit successfully
He hoped to parlay his basketball skills into a college scholarship.
b
: to increase or otherwise transform into something of much greater value
She parlayed $5,000 and years of hard work into a multimillion-dollar company.
parlay

2 of 2
noun
: a series of two or more bets so set up in advance that the original stake plus its winnings are risked on the successive wagers
broadly : the fresh risking of an original stake together with its winnings


Did you know?
The word parlay originally belonged exclusively to gambling parlance, where to parlay is to take winnings from a previous bet, along with one’s original stake of money, and use them to make another bet or series of bets. The verb comes from the noun paroli, a borrowing from French—itself borrowed from Italian—that refers to a system of such betting. After decades of this specific use, not only did parlay start to be used as a noun synonymous with paroli, but English speakers upped the ante by using the verb figuratively in situations where someone uses or develops something—such as a skill or hard work—for the purpose of getting something else of even greater value.

Examples of parlay in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
The Wicked musical has a large and passionate fan base, which has parlayed into the first film's success.
—George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 31 Dec. 2024
Burbank police added that Kennedy, who has also parlayed his TV fame into a career as a successful DJ, was booked for misdemeanor domestic violence.
—Anna Chan, Billboard, 12 Dec. 2024
Noun
Even major sports networks have started presenting parlay bets before kickoff.
—Brian Curcio, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024
Bettors can expect a full list of available betting options on USA Olympic basketball games, including player parlays, similar to what is available for the NBA.
—Bill Speros, Boston Herald, 23 July 2024

Word History
Etymology
Verb

verbal derivative (perhaps with conformation to parley entry 2 or French parler "to speak") of paroli "series of bets set up so that the original stake and winnings are placed on successive wagers," borrowed from French, borrowed from Italian, plural of parolo (stress on first syllable), of uncertain origin

Note: Apparently the earliest attestation of the Italian word is in the Italian-English dictionary of John Florio, Queen Anna's New World of Words, or Dictionarie of the Italian and English Tongues (London, 1611), in which P;roli is defined as "a grand part set or cast at dice," with a corresponding verb Parol;re "to set or play at a grand part at dice." French paroli first appears as a gloss of the Italian word in the Italian-French dictionary of Antoine Oudin, Recherches italiennes et fran;oises, ou Dictionnaire, contenant outre les mots ordinaires, une quantit; de Proverbes & de Phrases (Paris, 1640), where Italian Paroli is glossed as "paroli, aux dez" ("paroli, at dice"). C. Battisti and G. Alessio (Dizionario etimologico italiano, Florence, 1954) characterize parolo as Neapolitan ("voce napoletano") and adduce additionally Sicilian p;rula "doppia posta nel giuoco del faraone o bassetta" ("double stake in the game of faro or basset [a game similar to faro]"), which they aver to be a derivative of paro "equal." Opposing these conjectures is the entry p;rolo in a list of dialect words from Lucca in Tuscany, along with their etymologies, compiled by Silvio Pieri ("Appunti etimologici," Zeitschrift f;r romanische Philologie, Band 30 [1903], p. 302). Pieri proposes that the word is a univerbation of paro lo "I offer it (hold it out)," referring to the sum wagered. This etymology is seconded by the Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, and the Tr;sor de la langue fran;aise.

Noun

derivative of parlay entry 1

First Known Use
Verb

1828, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1904, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of parlay was in 1828
See more words from the same year