the.com/ply
The layer count that turns toilet paper into a luxury decision.
means A single layer or strand that, when folded, twisted, or stacked with others, builds up into something thicker — used for paper, wood, thread, or rope.
from From Old French 'plier' (to fold or bend), tracing back to Latin 'plicare' — the same root that gives us 'complicated' (folded together) and 'supple' (easily folded). The 'bend' sense also gave English the verb 'ply,' as in plying a trade or plying someone with questions — originally the idea of bending your efforts toward something, pliably.
- origin
- from latin plicare, to fold
- shipbuilding use
- plywood layers run grain crosswise for strength
- verb form
- also means to work steadily, as in ply a trade
- marketing trick
- higher ply numbers often just mean thinner sheets