braid

[breyd]

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verb (used with object)

to weave together strips or strands of; plait: to braid the hair.

to form by such weaving: to braid a rope.

to bind or confine (the hair) with a band, ribbon, etc.

to trim with braid, as a garment.

noun

a braided length or plait, especially of hair.

a hair style formed by interweaving three or more strands of hair.

a narrow, ropelike band formed by plaiting or weaving together several strands of silk, cotton, or other material, used as trimming for garments, drapery, etc.

a band, ribbon, etc., for binding or confining the hair.

Origin of braid

before 950; Middle English braiden, breiden (v.), Old English bregdan to move quickly, move to and fro, weave; cognate with Old Norse bregtha, Dutch breien

Related formsbraid·er, nounwell-braid·ed, adjective

Can be confusedbraid brayed

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for braid

pigtail, ponytail, queue, plait, twine, intertwine, lace, cue, mesh, twist, interlace, entwine, ravel, weave, complect, interknit

Examples from the Web for braid

Contemporary Examples of braid

Boys let me know they liked me, too, and I realized that I looked good, tall and slim, my long hair in a braid down my back.
My Vanished Liberia
Leymah Gbowee
October 7, 2011
(9 p.m.) WEDNESDAY Braid Paisley and Carrie Underwood host the 42nd annual CMA Awards on ABC.
What to Watch on TV This Week
Nicole Ankowski
November 9, 2008

Historical Examples of braid

I think, on the whole, I shan't be obliged to learn to braid straw.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
She did not braid her hair, but let it hang over her shoulders.
The Dream
Emile Zola
Call her a Harvest Hamper, and braid her lovely locks with strings of onions!
The Green Satin Gown
Laura E. Richards
She had put her own hair down into a braid to be like the girl Dinney had told of.
Gloria and Treeless Street
Annie Hamilton Donnell
They attire themselves with care, they braid the garland, and they tune the pipe.
Imogen
William Godwin

British Dictionary definitions for braid

braid

verb (tr)

to interweave several strands of (hair, thread, etc); plait

to make by such weavingto braid a rope

to dress or bind (the hair) with a ribbon, etc

to decorate with an ornamental trim or borderto braid a skirt

noun

a length of hair, fabric, etc, that has been braided; plait

narrow ornamental tape of woven silk, wool, etc

Derived Formsbraider, noun

Word Origin for braid

Old English bregdan to move suddenly, weave together; compare Old Norse bregtha, Old High German brettan to draw a sword

braid

adjective

broad

adverb

broadly; frankly

Word Origin for braid

Scot variant of broad

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for braid

"to plait, knit, weave, twist together," c.1200, breidan, from Old English bregdan "to move quickly, pull, shake, swing, throw (in wrestling), draw (a sword); bend, weave, knit, join together; change color, vary; scheme, feign, pretend" (class III strong verb, past tense brægd, past participle brogden), from Proto-Germanic *bregthan "make sudden jerky movements from side to side" (cf. Old Norse bregða "to brandish, turn about, braid;" Old Saxon bregdan "to weave;" Dutch breien "to knit;" Old High German brettan "to draw, weave, braid"), from PIE root *bherek- "to gleam, flash" (cf. Sanskrit bhrasate "flames, blazes, shines"). In English the verb survives only in the narrow definition of "plait hair." Related: Braided; braiding.

in part from stem found in Old English gebrægd "craft, fraud," gebregd "commotion," Old Norse bragð "deed, trick," and in part from or influenced by related braid (v.). Earliest senses are "a deceit, stratagem, trick" (c.1200), "sudden or quick movement" (c.1300); meaning "anything plaited or entwined" (especially hair) is from 1520s.