Plait
/pleɪt/noun
A fold or braid of hair, cloth, or other material.
Did you know?Plait comes from a French word for a fold or pleat, and its deeper ancestry is tied to the same Latin root behind words of bending, folding, and layering.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*plek-
“to weave, plait, fold”
Latin
Latin
plicāre
“to fold, bend, entwine”
Late Latin
Latin
plattus
“flat, broad, spread out”
Old French
Old French
pleit
“fold, pleat, plait”
Middle English
English
plait
“a braid or fold in cloth or hair”
Modern English
English
plait
“a braid or fold in cloth or hair”