'imply' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'implicare', where 'in-' meant 'in' and 'plicare' meant 'to fold'.

'imply' changed from Old French words such as 'emplier' or 'empliquer' and Middle English forms (for example 'emplien'), and eventually became the modern English word 'imply'.

Initially it meant 'to fold in' or 'to entwine', but over time it evolved into meanings such as 'to involve as a consequence' and 'to suggest indirectly'.