The Spanish verb 'emplear' (to employ) traces its roots back to Latin through Old French. It began with the Latin prefix 'in-' meaning 'in, into' combined with the verb 'plicare' meaning 'to fold'. These elements merged to form 'implicare', which meant 'to entangle or involve'. The word then evolved into Old French 'empleiier' before finally reaching Spanish as 'emplear'.

The semantic development from 'to fold into' to 'to employ' makes sense when you think about how employment involves becoming entangled or involved with a job or task. The original notion of folding or weaving something into something else metaphorically extended to the idea of incorporating someone into a work role.

Several common Spanish words share roots with 'emplear', including 'plegar' (to fold), 'pliegue' (fold, crease), and 'aplicar' (to apply). All these words come from the Latin 'plicare'. You can see how the basic meaning of folding or putting something into something else appears in different forms: 'plegar' maintains the original meaning of folding, while 'aplicar', like 'emplear', has developed a more abstract meaning of applying or putting something to use.

English speakers will recognize many cognates from the same Latin root 'plicare', including 'employ', 'implicate', 'apply', 'ply', 'pliant', and 'comply'. All these words retain some connection to the original meaning of folding or putting into: 'employ' (put into use), 'implicate' (to fold into a situation), 'apply' (to put onto), 'ply' (to work with or bend), 'pliant' (easily bent), and 'comply' (to fold oneself to rules).