parlay
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpɑːleɪ/
ipa: /ˈpɑɹˌleɪ/
ipa: /ˈpɑɹli/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)leɪ
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)li
homophone: parley (US, one pronunciation)
Forms: form: parlays
form: parley
Etymology: 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.
Senses: examples: text: GARNETT. (Sharply.) Would someone mind telling a visitor the details of this Operation Snitch? / DENNIS. Kind of a three-horse-parlay, Cliff: Posenleben, Schweinhafen … (Eyes Prescott and Jenks.) And one other.
ref: 1947, William Wister Haines, Command Decision: Play in Three Acts, acting edition, New York, N.Y.: Dramatists Play Service, published 1974, →OCLC, act I, page 17:
text: They heard the placing of bets of $1, $2 and $3 and $5 "round robin parlays" on horses with names such as Ham Bone, Little Colleen, Miss Ellaneous, Fighting Thru, Papa Charlie, Dandy Foot, William Tell, Knot Hole, Betsy Marie, Poocha and Under the Rug.
ref: 1955 March 14, Michael Musmanno, Justice, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, “Appendix: Dissenting Opinion of Musmanno, J., of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania”, in In the Supreme Court of the United States: No. 111: October Term, 1955. Isaac Chaitt, Petitioner, v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Respondent. Petition for Writ of Certiorari and Appendix, Philadelphia, Pa.: Lemuel B. Schofield, attorney for petitioner, page 52:
text: The officer's affidavit was to the effect that he and another officer had made "extensive investigation of gambling operations" locally; he had information that a local printing company "printed parlay cards which were being used for betting on college and professional football games;" [...]
ref: 1973 October 1, Frank Holt, Associate Justice, Arkansas Supreme Court, “Appendix A: … Claude Earl Flaherty and Gene Whipple, Appellants v. State of Arksansas, Appellee”, in In the Supreme Court of the United States: October Term, 1973: Claude Earl Flaherty and Gene Whipple, Petitioners, v. State of Arkansas, Respondent. Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court of Arkansas, Fort Smith, Ark.: Franklin Wilder, counsel for petitioners, published 1973, page 21:
text: One of the most common and important types of probability problems is what gamblers call "parlays." When you bet a parlay, you are betting on the outcome of two or more events with the stipulation that all of your selection must be right in order for you to win. [...] Most gamblers think solely of sporting events when they think of parlays. Actually, any time you figure the probability that all of a number of events (each with its own separate probability) will occur you are figuring a parlay.
ref: 2005 March, David Sklansky, “Mathematics of Parlays”, in Getting the Best of It, Las Vegas, Nev.: Two Plus Two Publishing, →ISBN, part 1 (Probability: The Mathematics of Gambling), page 17:
topics: gambling
games
glosses: A bet or series of bets where the stake and winnings are cumulatively carried forward; an accumulator.