plaid
/plæd/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.33 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A type of twilled woollen cloth, often with a tartan or chequered pattern.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
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.
Countable; Uncountable
adj
Having a pattern or colors which resemble a Scottish tartan; checkered or marked with bars or stripes at right angles to one another.
name
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "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."
- "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...""
Etymology
From Scots plaid, of uncertain origin; perhaps from a past participle form of ply. Scottish Gaelic plaide (“blanket”) is probably a borrowing from Scots. Also compare Scottish Gaelic peall (“covering, veil, blanket”) << Latin pellis (“hide, covering”), but the OED finds the sound changes problematic.
Word Breakdown
- Root: plaid
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /plæd/
- British English: /plæd/