plica

American  

[plahy-kuh] / ˈplaɪ kə /

noun

plicae plural

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

Derived Forms

• plical
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• plicae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of plica

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

plica

“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

Yesterday your daughter took a medicine intended to bring out her disease, the plica polonica; until that horrible disease shows itself on the surface you cannot see her.

From The Brotherhood of Consolation by Wormeley, Katharine Prescott