Pleach
/pliːtʃ/noun
To interweave and train branches so they grow together, or to weave cloth tightly.
Did you know?Pleach comes from a Germanic root for folding or plaiting, and in medieval English it was used for shaping hedges and branches into living barriers—basically botanical engineering with an almost ritual feel.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*plektaną
“to plait, braid, twist together”
Old English
OE
plǣċan
“to plait or braid”
Middle English
ME
plechen
“to interweave branches or twist together”
16th Century
English
pleach
“to interweave or train branches, especially in hedging”
Modern English
English
pleach
“to weave or interlace branches; to plait cloth or hair”