parlay

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 16, 2025 is: parlay PAHR-lay verb What It Means To parlay something is to use or develop it in order to get something else of greater value. Parlay is often used with the word into. // He hoped to parlay his basketball skills into a college scholarship. cynosure in Context “Sometimes, celebrities parlay their name and following into big-time sales and hype—though, of course, not all of them (or their projects) are created equal.” — Lora Kelley, The Atlantic, 26 Nov. 2024 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.