Etymology

plait

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Today it means: A flat fold; a doubling, as of cloth; a pleat. Full definition →

Middle English pleit ← Anglo-Norman pleit ← Latin plectō
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromplectō
  2. Anglo-Norman · derived frompleit
  3. Middle English · inherited frompleit
  4. English todayplait

From Middle English pleit, from Anglo-Norman pleit (compare Old French ploit), from Latin plectō, which is akin to Old Norse flétta (Danish flette), Russian плести́ (plestí) and also to Old English fleohtan, which it displaced. Doublet of plight (“plait, fold”) and pleat.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishpleit all →

ply

Anglo-Normanpleit all →

plight

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.