Reply \Re*ply"\ (r?-pl?"), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Replied (-pl?d"); p. pr. & vb. n. Replying.]

[OE. replien, OF. replier, F. r['e]pliquer, fr. L. replicare to fold back, make a reply; pref. re- re- + plicare to fold. See Ply, and cf. Replica.]

1. To make a return in words or writing; to respond; to answer.

O man, who art thou that repliest against God? --Rom. ix. 20.

2. (Law) To answer a defendant's plea.

3. Figuratively, to do something in return for something done; as, to reply to a signal; to reply to the fire of a battery.

Syn: To answer; respond; rejoin.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Reply \Re*ply"\, v. t. To return for an answer. --Milton.

Lords, vouchsafe To give me hearing what I shall reply. --Shak.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Reply \Re*ply"\, n.; pl. Replies (-pl?z"). [See Reply, v. i., and cf. Replica.]

That which is said, written, or done in answer to what is said, written, or done by another; an answer; a response.

Syn: Answer; rejoinder; response.

Usage: Reply, Rejoinder, Answer. A reply is a distinct response to a formal question or attack in speech or writing. A rejoinder is a second reply (a reply to a reply) in a protracted discussion or controversy. The word answer is used in two senses, namely (1), in the most general sense of a mere response; as, the answer to a question; or (2), in the sense of a decisive and satisfactory confutation of an adversary's argument, as when we speak of a triumphant answer to the speech or accusations of an opponent. Here the noun corresponds to a frequent use of the verb, as when we say. ``This will answer (i.e., fully meet) the end in view;'' ``It answers the purpose.''

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)