ˈplīə noun
( -s )
Etymology: Spanish, literally, beach, from Medieval Latin plagia hillside, shoreline, probably from Greek, sides, flanks, from neuter plural of plagios oblique; akin to Greek pelagos sea — more at flake
: the flat-floored bottom of an undrained desert basin that becomes at times a shallow lake which on evaporation may leave a deposit of salt or gypsum : salt pan