See Also: plait(medicine)
plait(dictionary)
French plait(dictionary)
plait 1, verb(dictionary)
plait 2, noun(dictionary)
White bread plait(recipes)

plait (iou)



plait noun & verb. [plat] LME.
[Old French pleit from Proto-Romance use as noun of neut. of Latin plicitus pa. pple of plicare to fold: see PLY verb1. Cf. PLAT noun3, verb2, PLEAT noun, verb, PLET noun1 & verb.]
A. noun.
A fold, wrinkle, or crease, esp. in a fabric or natural structure; spec. = PLEAT noun 2. arch. LME.
S. Richardson A grave formal young man, his prim mouth set in plaits. D. G. Mitchell And then smoothed down the plaits of her apron.
b. fig. A twist of character; a quirk, a dodge, a trick; a hidden recess in the mind etc. arch. L16.
Ld Macaulay Two characters..of which he knew all the plaits and windings.
An interlaced length of three or more strands of hair, ribbon, straw, or any cordlike substance; esp. a tress of interwoven strands of hair. LME.
Grecian plait: see GRECIAN adjective.
Sian Evans Her dark hair, braided in two plaits, hung outside the bedclothes. C. Lassalle Along the walls, garlic plaits and heavy baskets.
Comb.: plait-dance: in which the participants hold ribbons which are plaited and unplaited in the course of the dance; plait-stitch = PLAITED stitch; plait-work a decorative pattern, common in ancient and medieval art, in the form of interlacing or plaited bands.
b. verb.
verb trans. = PLEAT verb 1. arch. LME.
b. Fold, double up; knit (the brows). LME-M17.
verb trans. Interweave; interlace three or more strands of (hair, ribbon, straw, or any cordlike substance) so as to form a plait. LME.
Sir W. Scott The little wild boy..who used to run about and plait rushes. Rachel Anderson Alice..taught her how to plait her hair.
b. Make (a braid, garland, mat, etc.) by plaiting. E19.
Keats And with her finger old and brown she plaited Mats o' Rushes.
verb trans. & intrans. Twist, cross (esp. the feet). Long rare. E17.
plaiter noun M18.
plaiting noun the action of the verb; something plaited: LME.
plaitless adjective (rare) L19.