Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word plaid. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word plaid, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say plaid in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word plaid you have here. The definition of the word plaid will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofplaid, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
(textiles) A type of twilled woollen cloth, often with a tartan or chequered pattern.
1906, Stanley J Weyman, chapter I, in Chippinge Borough, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., →OCLC, 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.
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.
2009, John Sadler, Glencoe, Amberley, published 2009, page 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.
The original meaning was “row”, “rank”, later “partition”, possibly related to Irishpluid and Scottish Gaelicplaide(“blanket”); as Proto-Celtic had no /p/, the term is likely a borrowing, such as English and Scotsplaid. However, the semantic development is unclear.
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.
References
^ 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
^ Ebenezer Cobham Brewer (1882) Etymological and Pronouncing Dictionary of Difficult Words, New York: Ward, Lock, & Co., page 862