plait

American  

[pleyt, plat] / pleɪt, plæt /

noun

1. a braid, especially of hair or straw.

2. a pleat or fold, as of cloth.

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verb (used with object)

1. to braid, as hair or straw.

2. to make, as a mat, by braiding.

3. to pleat.

plait British  

/ plæt /

noun

1. a length of hair, ribbon, etc, that has been plaited

2. (in Britain) a loaf of bread of several twisting or intertwining parts

3. a rare spelling of pleat

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verb

1. (tr) to intertwine (strands or strips) in a pattern

Other Word Forms

• interplait verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of plait

1350–1400; Middle English pleyt < Middle French pleit < Latin plicitum, neuter of plicitus, past participle of plicāre to fold; ply ²

Explanation

You might get an odd look if you ask your hairdresser to put your hair in a plait, but she’ll eventually figure out what you want: a braid. Plait, which sounds the same as plate, feels a bit like it’s from a bygone era, though the word is still in use today. A woman wearing a hairstyle with plaits might be on her way to meet Lord Something-or-Other, in the hopes of receiving a marriage proposal. Meanwhile, someone wearing a braided hairdo might be preparing for a night on the town or just a trip to the grocery store.

Example Sentences

For the unaware, that classic acronym comes from the French phrase Répondez s'il vous plait.

From Salon • Nov. 22, 2023

"When we saw the photo and she's sitting there with her plait and her doll she would say, 'I wonder who the other two girls are?',"

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2023

Assembling a loaf of challah, the briochelike Jewish bread coated with a soft brown egg wash and braided in a classic plait, is another undertaking entirely.

From New York Times • Dec. 1, 2021

Sisters from El Salvador plait one another’s hair; men from Cameroon await an asylum hearing on the far side.

From The Guardian • Feb. 12, 2019

She straightened from her place on the riverbank, holding her plait of amber hair, much the way Clare held his own tail for comfort.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman