/pahr"lay, -lee/
v.t.
1. to bet or gamble (an original amount and its winnings) on a subsequent race, contest, etc.
2. Informal. to use (one's money, talent, or other assets) to achieve a desired objective, as spectacular wealth or success: He parlayed a modest inheritance into a fortune.
n.
3. a bet of an original sum and the subsequent winnings.
[ 1820-30, Amer.; alter. of earlier paroli parolo, perh. deriv. of paro equal par; see PAIR ]