An obsolete verb meaning to pay or settle a debt, used in Middle and Early Modern English.
From Old French 'apayer,' combining 'a-' (to) and 'payer' (to pay), derived from Latin 'pacare' meaning to pacify or settle. The term fell out of use as 'pay' became the standard English verb.
This is a ghost word—'pay' and 'appay' meant the same thing, but one survived and one vanished. It's a reminder that language is constantly competing with itself, and the winner isn't always the 'best' word, just the luckier one.
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