parlay

• POS: Noun, Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: par=lay

CIDE DICTIONARY

parlay, v. t. 

•  To wager the winnings plus the initial stake of one bet on a subsequent wager, or to engage in a series of such increased wagers.

  "This is the characteristic act in a common betting system used by gamblers to try to achieve a large win from a small initial stake. Statistically, it is similar to betting a small stake on a game with a large payoff and a proportionately small chance of winning."  [PJC]
•  To exploit success in one endeavor so as to achieve greater success in subsequent endeavors.  [PJC]
•  Fig., to transform a gain into something of greater value.  [PJC]

parlay, n. 

 The act of betting the winnings from a prior bet, plus the original stake, on a subsequent bet; the second or later such bet in a series; also, a series of such bets, with the stakes for later bets coming from the winnings of earlier bets.
"This is the characteristic act in a common betting system used by gamblers to try to achieve a large win from a small initial stake. Statistically, it is similar to betting a small stake on a game with a large payoff, but with a proportionately small chance of winning."  [PJC]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

parlay, v. & n. US
--v.tr.
1 use (money won on a bet) as a further stake.
2 increase in value by or as if by parlaying.
--n.
1 an act of parlaying.
2 a bet made by parlaying.

Etymology

F paroli f. It. f. paro like f. L par equal

THESAURUS

parlay

add to, aggrandize, amplify, ante, ante up, augment, back, bet, bet on, book, boost, broaden, build, build up, call, chunk, cover, enlarge, exalt, expand, extend, fade, fatten, fill out, gamble, handbook, hazard, hike, hike up, increase, inflate, jack up, jump up, lay, lay a wager, lay down, lengthen, make a bet, maximize, meet a bet, pass, play, play against, plunge, punt, put up, pyramid, raise, see, shot, stake, stand pat, thicken, up, wager