Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a prostitute.

1675		Head Nugae Venales 255: She would put on her own Femal Habit, and sitting in the House as a customary plyer, the Daughter [...] did play Bawd for the Mother.
1703		Shortest-Way with Whores and Rogues 37: I hear there are several Divisions amongst you, as the Keeping Lady, the Plyer to Bawdy Houses, the Common Night-walker and the Bawd. [Ibid.] 39: As for you that are Plyers at Bawdy Houses, and follow the ungodly course of Life for a Living, (as you call it) such as you often Dye like Jane Shore (Miss to a King) in a Ditch or Hospital.

2. (UK Und.) a crutch.

1674		Head Canting Academy (2nd edn) 176: Plyer A Crutch.
c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Plyer, c. a crutch.
1725		New Canting Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: Plyer, a crutch.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum [as cit. 1785].
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1895		C. Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 59: Plyer, a crutch.

3. a tradesman.

1725		New Canting Dict. n.p.: plyer c. [...] a trader.
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. 1725].
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: Plyer, [...] a trader.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum [as cit. 1785].
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.

4. a hand.

1937–84

Partridge DSUE (1984) 898/2: from ca. 1830 [...] in C.20 ob.