plait

plural plaits

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

   a box plait

   1 more example

   the plaits and foldings of the drapery

   1705, J[oseph] Addison, Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC

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

   Only the hair as it arched so beautifully from her temples was mixed with silver, and the two simple plaits that lay on her shoulders were filigree of silver and brown.

   1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC

present singular third person plaits · participle present plaiting · participle past plaited · past plaited

1. transitiveTo fold; to double in narrow folds; to pleat

   to plait a ruffle

2. transitiveTo interweave the strands or locks of; to braid

   to plait hair

   2 more examples

   plaiting rope

   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.

   1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars