plaid
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plaid¹
- /pled/ Scotland
- /plad/ Scotland
- /plæd/ US, UK
Rhymes with -æd
Where it comes from
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.
noun plaids
- A type of twilled woollen cloth, often with a tartan or chequered pattern. 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.
- 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. 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.
- The typical chequered pattern of a plaid; tartan.
adjective more plaid · most plaid
- Having a pattern or colors which resemble a Scottish tartan; checkered or marked with bars or stripes at right angles to one another.
plaid²
Where it comes from
Alternative forms.
verb
- simple past 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..."
Plaid³
proper noun
- Short for Plaid Cymru
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: tartan, belted, scot, scottish, scots, played, plaiden, sett, paisley, belted plaid, plait, windowpane tweed, pleat, shawl pattern, tartana, plight
Translations
Every language
noun pattern
| Español | cuadros escoceses, cuadrillé |
|---|---|
| Français | motif écossais |
| Deutsch | Schottenstoff, Schottenmuster |
| Русский | кле́тчатый klétčatyj |
noun material
| Español | tela escocesa |
|---|---|
| Français | tissu écossais |
| Русский | плед pled, шотла́ндский плед šotlándskij pled |
noun piece of clothing
| Français | plaid |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Plaid, Schulerdecke, Umhangtuch |
| Русский | плед pled, шотла́ндка šotlándka |
Talk about this word "plaid." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/plaid. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. plaid. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/plaid "plaid." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/plaid.Cite this
@misc{plaid_2026,
title = {plaid},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/plaid},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
