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plaid

(plăd)

a. Cloth, often made of wool, with a tartan or checked pattern.

b. A pattern of this kind.

2. A rectangular woolen scarf of a tartan pattern worn over the left shoulder by Scottish Highlanders.

[Probably Scots plaid, plyd, past participle of ply, to fold, from Middle English plien; see PLY¹.]

plaid, plaided adj.

(click for a larger image)

plaid

clockwise from top left: Malcolm, Gordon Dress, and Stewart Dress plaid patterns

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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