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Origin and history of plat

plat(n.)

"flat piece of ground," mid-15c. (mid-13c. in surnames), a variant of plot (n.) assimilated to Middle English plat (adj.) "flat," which is from Old French plat "flat, stretched out" (see plateau (n.)). See OED plat sb.3 for full explanation.

plat(v.)

"to interweave," late 14c., a variant of plait (v.). Related: Platted; platting.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to plat

plait(v.)

late 14c., pleiten, "to fold (something), gather in pleats, double in narrow strips," also "to braid or weave (something)," from plait (n.) and also from Old French pleir "to fold," variant of ploier, ployer "to fold, bend," from Latin plicare "to fold" (from PIE root *plek- "to plait"). Related: Plaited; plaiting.

plateau(n.)

1796, "elevated tract of relatively level land," from French plateau "table-land," from Old French platel (12c.) "flat piece of metal, wood, etc.," diminutive of plat "flat surface or thing," noun use of adjective plat "flat, stretched out" (12c.), perhaps from Vulgar Latin *plattus, from or modeled on Greek platys "flat, wide, broad" (from PIE root *plat- "to spread"). Meaning "stage at which no progress is apparent" is attested from 1897, originally in psychology of learning. In reference to sexual stimulation from 1960.

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plot
late Old English plot "small piece of ground of defined shape," a word of unknown origin. The sense of "ground plan," and thus "map, chart, survey of a field, farm, etc." is from 1550s. Plat is a Middle English collateral form. The meaning "a secret, plan, fully formulated scheme
plane
Greek platanos, earlier platanistos "plane tree," a species from Asia Minor, associated with platys "broad" (from PIE root *plat...
platform
ground-plan, drawing, sketch," senses now obsolete, from French plateforme, platte fourme, literally "flat form," from Old French plat...
map
"drawing upon a plane surface representing a part or whole of the earth's surface or the heavens, with the various points drawn in proportion and in corresponding positions," 1520s, a shortening of Middle English mapemounde "map of the world" (late 14c.), and in part from French
exile
c. 1300, from Old French essillier "exile, banish, expel, drive off" (12c.), from Late Latin exilare/exsilare, from Latin exilium/exsilium "banishment, exile; place of exile," from exul "banished person," from ex "away" (see ex-); according to Watkins the second element is from P
fob
1650s, "men's small waist pocket for valuables," of uncertain origin, probably related to Low German fobke "pocket," High German fuppe "pocket," "a dialectal word used in Livonia" [Klein]. Meaning "chain or ornament attached to a watch carried in the fob" is by 1888, shortened fr
clever
1580s, "handy, dexterous, having special manual ability," apparently from East Anglian dialectal cliver "expert at seizing," perhaps from East Frisian klüfer "skillful," or Norwegian dialectic klover "ready, skillful," and perhaps influenced by Old English clifer "claw, hand" (ea
empty
c. 1200, from Old English æmettig, of persons, "at leisure, not occupied; unmarried" (senses now obsolete), also, of receptacles, "containing nothing," of places, "unoccupied," from æmetta "leisure." Watkins explains it as from Proto-Germanic *e-mot-ja-, with a prefix of uncertai
curious
mid-14c., "subtle, sophisticated;" late 14c., "eager to know, inquisitive, desirous of seeing" (often in a bad sense), also "wrought with or requiring care and art;" from Old French curios "solicitous, anxious, inquisitive; odd, strange" (Modern French curieux) and directly from
frank
c. 1300, "free, liberal, generous;" 1540s, "outspoken," from Old French franc "free (not servile); without hindrance, exempt from; sincere, genuine, open, gracious, generous; worthy, noble, illustrious" (12c.), from Medieval Latin francus "free, at liberty, exempt from service,"

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