English

Noun

plait ‎(plural plaits)

1. A flat fold; a doubling, as of cloth; a pleat.

   a box plait

   • Addison

     the plaits and foldings of the drapery

2. A braid, as of hair or straw; a plat.

Related terms

• pleat

Translations

Verb

plait ‎(third-person singular simple present plaits, present participle plaiting, simple past and past participle plaited)

1. (transitive) To fold; to double in narrow folds; to pleat; as, to plait a ruffle.
2. (transitive) To interweave the strands or locks of; to braid; to plat; as, to plait hair; to plait rope.
   • 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars, Chapter I,

     Her abundant hair, of a dark and glossy brown, was neatly plaited and coiled above an ivory column that rose straight from a pair of gently sloping shoulders, clearly outlined beneath the light muslin frock that covered them.

Translations

Anagrams

• Patil

French

Verb

plait

1. Alternative form of plaît (third-person singular present indicative of plaire)

Usage notes

• This spelling was a product of the 1990 French spelling reforms.

Anagrams

• pilât, pliât

Middle English

Alternative forms

• plaid

Etymology

From Old French plait, plet.

Noun

plait (plural plaits)

1. an argument or debate

Old French

Alternative forms

Noun

plait m ‎(oblique plural plaiz or plaitz, nominative singular plaiz or plaitz, nominative plural plait)

1. agreement
2. argument; dispute
3. court (of law)
4. plea; ask; demand

Related terms

• plaidier

Descendants

• Middle English: plait (borrowed)
  • English: plea
  • Scots: plaid

References

• (fr) Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (plait)
• plai on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub