plaid

plaid

English

Etymology 1

From Scots plaid, of uncertain origin; perhaps from a past participle form of ply. Scottish Gaelic plaide (“blanket”) is probably a borrowing from Scots.[1]

Also compare Scottish Gaelic peall (“covering, veil, blanket”) << Latin pellis (“hide, covering”), but the OED finds the sound changes problematic.[2]

Pronunciation

• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /pled/, /plad/
• (Received Pronunciation, UK) IPA^(key): /plæd/
• (General American, US) IPA^(key): /plæd/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æd

Noun

plaid (countable and uncountable, plural plaids)

1. (textiles) A type of twilled woollen cloth, often with a tartan or chequered pattern. [from 16^thc.]
   • 1906, Stanley J[ohn] Weyman, chapter I, in Chippinge Borough, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., OCLC 580270828, page 01:

     It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street. He wore shepherd's plaid trousers and the swallow-tail coat of the day, with a figured muslin cravat wound about his wide-spread collar.

2. A length of such material used as a piece of clothing, formerly worn in the Scottish Highlands and other parts of northern Britain and remaining as an item of ceremonial dress worn by members of Scottish pipe bands. [from 16^thc.]
   • 2009, John Sadler, Glencoe, Amberley 2009, p.47:

     In battle, the plaid was customarily shrugged off before the charge bit home, and the warrior came into contact with only his long, saffron shirt (‘leine chrochach’) to preserve modesty.

3. The typical chequered pattern of a plaid; tartan. [from 19^thc.]

Translations

material

Bulgarian: шотландски кариран плат m (šotlandski kariran plat) French: tissu écossais m Manx: breckan m Norwegian: Bokmål: pledd n Russian: плед (ru) m (pled), шотла́ндский плед m (šotlándskij pled) Scots: plaid Spanish: tela escocesa f Tagalog: eskosesa Welsh: plod m

piece of clothing

French: plaid (fr) m German: Plaid (de) n, Schulerdecke f, Umhangtuch n Polish: pled (pl) m Russian: плед (ru) m (pled), шотла́ндка (ru) f (šotlándka) Scots: plaid Scottish Gaelic: féileadh Tagalog: eskosesa Welsh: plod m

pattern

French: motif écossais m German: Schottenstoff m, Schottenmuster n Polish: w kratkę Russian: кле́тчатый (ru) (klétčatyj) (chequered, adjective) Scots: plaid Spanish: cuadros escoceses m pl, cuadrillé m Welsh: plod m

Adjective

plaid (comparative more plaid, superlative most plaid)

1. Having a pattern or colors which resemble a Scottish tartan; checkered or marked with bars or stripes at right angles to one another.

Etymology 2

Alternative forms.

Verb

plaid

1. (archaic) simple past tense and past participle of play
   • 1774, Dr Samuel Johnson, Preface to the Works of the English Poets, J. Nichols, Volume II, Page 134,

     "...then plaid on the organ, and sung..."

References

1. Dictionary of the Scots Language
2. Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.

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French

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

plaid m (plural plaids)

1. plaid

Further reading

• “plaid”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English plaid.

Noun

plaid m (invariable)

1. tartan rug (especially one used when travelling/traveling)

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Middle English

Etymology

From Old French plait, plaid.

Noun

plaid

1. Alternative form of ple

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Old French

Noun

plaid m (oblique plural plaiz or plaitz, nominative singular plaiz or plaitz, nominative plural plaid)

1. Alternative form of plait

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Romansch

Alternative forms

• (Rumantsch Grischun, Sutsilvan, Surmiran, Puter, Vallader) pled

Noun

plaid m (plural plaids)

1. (Sursilvan) word

Related terms

• pledari

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Scots

Etymology

Uncertain; perhaps from a past participle form of ply.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pled/

Noun

plaid (plural plaids)

1. plaid

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Welsh

Etymology

The original meaning was "row," "rank," later "partition,"[1] possibly related to Irish pluid/Scottish Gaelic plaide (“blanket”); as Proto-Celtic had no p, the term was likely a borrowing, such as English/Scots plaid.[2]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /plai̯d/
• Rhymes: -ai̯d

Noun

plaid f (plural pleidiau)

1. (politics) (political) party

Derived terms

• o blaid (“in favour (of)”)
• pleidiol (“partial, partisan”)
• pleidiwr (“party member”)

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
plaid	blaid	mhlaid	phlaid
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

1. R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “plaid”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
2. Etymological and Pronouncing Dictionary of Difficult Words, p. 862