/ plæt; NAmE / ( BrE ) (also braid NAmE , BrE ) noun , verb
■ noun
a long piece of sth, especially hair, that is divided into three parts and twisted together :
She wore her hair in plaits .
■ verb
[ vn ] to twist three or more long pieces of hair, rope, etc. together to make one long piece
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Old French pleit a fold, based on Latin plicare to fold. The word was formerly often pronounced like “plate”; since late Middle English there has been an alternative spelling plat , to which the current pronunciation corresponds.