Plaid Meaning
/pled/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA type of twilled woollen cloth, often with a tartan or chequered pattern.
nounA 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.
Sentence Examples
Tom was wearing an ugly plaid jacket and a polka-dot tie.
Do you sell any trousers lined with plaid flannel?
CEFR Practice Quiz
She wore a ____ shirt with a checked pattern of red and black stripes.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She wore a red and green ____ scarf wrapped around her neck against the cold winter wind.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 1906, Stanley J[ohn] Weyman, chapter I, in Chippinge Borough, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., →OCLC, page 01:
"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."
— 2009, John Sadler, Glencoe, Amberley, published 2009, page 47:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She wore a ____ shirt with a checked pattern of red and black stripes.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She wore a red and green ____ scarf wrapped around her neck against the cold winter wind.