plica

American  

[plahy-kuh] / ˈplaɪ kə /

noun

plural

plicae

1. Zoology, Anatomy. a fold or folding.

2. Also called plica polonica.  Pathology. a matted, filthy condition of the hair, caused by disease, vermin, etc.

3. (in medieval music) a vertical mark attached to a neume, standing for an interpolated melodic ornament.

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plica British  

/ ˈplaɪkə /

noun

1. Also called: fold.  anatomy a folding over of parts, such as a fold of skin, muscle, peritoneum, etc

2. pathol a condition of the hair characterized by matting, filth, and the presence of parasites

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Other Word Forms

• plical adjective

Etymology

Origin of plica

1675–85; < Medieval Latin: a fold, back formation from Latin plicāre to fold, ply ²

Example Sentences

“There’s an expression in Latin for this: plica polonica,” she told me later.

From The New Yorker • Jul. 29, 2019

Noel has been experiencing soreness and, after consulting with several specialists, elected to have inflamed plica removed from his knee, the Sixers announced.

From Washington Times • Oct. 21, 2016

Eyes will seem “unnervingly large” — as least from our viewpoint today — and will feature eye-shine and even a sideways blink from the re-introduced plica semilunaris to further protect from cosmic ray effects.

From Forbes • Jun. 7, 2013

A sideways blink of the reintroduced plica semilunaris seen in the light gray areas of the eyes, while miniature bone-conduction devices implanted above the ear work with the communications lenses on the eyes.

From Forbes • Jun. 7, 2013

Amongst the whimsical ideas to which the plica has given rise, the most extraordinary effort of the imagination was that of Hercules Saxoniæ.

From Curiosities of Medical Experience by Millingen, J. G. (John Gideon)