Where does “plaid” come from?

plaid (Middle English) comes from Old French plaid, from Old French plait, from Latin placitum, from Latin placitus, from Latin placeō — to be pleasing or agreeable to; to please, to be nice; to be welcome or acceptable; to satisfy, suit in a mental rather than a sensual way.

plaid (Middle English): Alternative form of ple

Definitions

  1. Alternative form of ple

Ancestry of “plaid”, step by step

plaid traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old French plaid

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old FrenchplaidAlternative form of plait
2Old Frenchplaitagreement; argument; dispute; court
3Latinplacitumopinion, teaching, theory; decree, sentence,...
4Latinplacituspleasing, agreeable, acceptable, agreed upon
5Latinplaceōto be pleasing or agreeable to; to please, to be nice; to be welcome or acceptable; to satisfy, suit in a mental rather than a sensual way

via Middle English ple

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishpledisputation, arguing, debate; warfare, conflict,...
Every word from Latin placeō