The Origin of “Please”

Welcome!

Remember last week we spoke about saying “thank you“?

Well today we will continue with the mini lesson in politeness.

“Please”  is short for “if you please”. For example, in the past we would have said “close the door, if it pleases you!”. We would do this to let the other person know they are under no obligation to do so; they do not have to close the door. If they do, they would be doing us a favour.

How do you say please in YOUR language?