Advertisement

Origin and history of plait

plait(v.)

late 14c., pleiten, "to fold (something), gather in pleats, double in narrow strips," also "to braid or weave (something)," from plait (n.) and also from Old French pleir "to fold," variant of ploier, ployer "to fold, bend," from Latin plicare "to fold" (from PIE root *plek- "to plait"). Related: Plaited; plaiting.

plait(n.)

late 14c., pleit, "a fold, a crease, a flattened gather made by doubling cloth or similar fabric in narrow strips upon itself," also "interlaced strands of hair," from Anglo-French pleit, Old French ploit, earlier pleit, "fold, manner of folding," from Latin plicatus, past participle of plicare "to lay, fold, twist" (from PIE root *plek- "to plait").

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to plait

plat(v.)

"to interweave," late 14c., a variant of plait (v.). Related: Platted; platting.

pleat(n.)

"a fold," 1580s, variant of plait (n.). With a gap in the printed record 17c.-18c., but according to OED probably it was in continuous oral use. Compare the verb.

Advertisement

More to explore

plight
"to pledge, engage by solemn promise" (obsolete except in archaic plight one's troth), Middle English plighten, from Old English pligtan, plihtan "to endanger, imperil, compromise," verb form of pliht (n.) "danger, risk" (see plight (n.2)), from Proto-Germanic *plehti-, which ult
braid
"plait, knit, weave, twist together," c. 1200, breidan, from Old English bregdan "move quickly, pull, shake, swing, throw (in wrestling), draw (a sword); bend, weave, knit, join together; change color, vary; scheme, feign, pretend" (class III strong verb, past tense brægd, past p
twist
mid-14c., "flat part of a hinge" (now obsolete), probably from Old English -twist "divided object; fork; rope" (as in mæsttwist "mast rope, stay;" candeltwist "wick"), from Proto-Germanic *twis-, from PIE root *dwo- "two." Original senses suggest "dividing in two" (source also of
complicity
complicare "to fold together," from com "with, together" (see com-) + plicare "to fold, weave" (from PIE root *plek- "to plait...
complicate
literally "to fold together," from com "with, together" (see com-) + plicare "to fold, weave" (from PIE root *plek- "to plait...
implicit
from assimilated form of in- "into, in, on, upon" (from PIE root *en "in") + plicare "to fold" (from PIE root *plek- "to plait...
simplex
"one-fold," from PIE compound of root *sem- (1) "one; as one, together with" + *plac- "-fold," from PIE root *plek- "to plait...
weave
Old English wefan "to weave, form by interlacing yarn," figuratively "devise, contrive, arrange" (class V strong verb; past tense wæf, past participle wefen), from Proto-Germanic *weban (source also of Old Norse vefa, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, Dutch weven, Old High German
crease
1660s, "long or thin mark made by doubling or folding," altered from creaste "a ridge," perhaps a variant of crest (n.), via meaning "a fold in a length of cloth" (mid-15c.) which produces a "crest." In sports, first in cricket (1779), where originally it was cut into the ground.
tuck
late 14c., "to pull or gather up," earlier "to pluck, stretch" (implied in tucker "one who finishes clothes by stretching them on tenters, late 13c. as a surname), probably from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch tucken "pull up, draw up, tug" (cognate with Old English tucian "mis

Share plait

Advertisement
Trending
Dictionary entries near plait
Advertisement