Other forms: plaids
Plaid is a pattern of crossing bands of several colours. A plaid shirt, plaid trousers, red plaid.
In American use plaid is the pattern itself and is more or less interchangeable with tartan; in Scotland a plaid is the long cloth worn over the shoulder, and the pattern on it is the tartan. So a plaid shirt is American and a tartan one British, for the same shirt. Note that the vowel is unexpected — plaid rhymes with had — and that plaid is one of the few Scots words in general American use.
1adjectiveplaidPatterned with crossing bands of several colours.
“She wrapped a warm plaid blanket around her knees.”
2nounscotlandIn Scotland, a long cloth worn over the shoulder.
“The Highland soldier wore a kilt with a plaid pinned over his shoulder.”
plaid is a checked pattern.
Scots plaid is of uncertain origin, perhaps from ply. Scottish Gaelic plaide, a blanket, is probably a borrowing from Scots rather than the source of it.
Scots
plaid
English, today
plaid
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.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in Colours & Patterns