Plot
/plɒt/noun
A small piece of ground, or a secret plan, story line, or scheme.
Did you know?The secret-plan sense of plot grew from the idea of a small marked patch or plan of land, showing how English can turn a physical boundary into a mental scheme.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*plotaz
“a small piece or patch of ground”
Old English
OE
plot
“a small piece of ground”
Middle English
ME
plot
“a piece of land marked out for a purpose”
16th Century
English
plot
“a secret plan or conspiracy”
17th Century
English
plot
“the arrangement of incidents in a play or narrative”
Modern English
English
plot
“a small area of land; a secret scheme; the storyline of a book, film, or play”