braid
pronunciation
How to pronounce braid in British English:
UK [breɪd]
How to pronounce braid in American English:
US [breɪd]
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- Noun:
- a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair
- trimming used to decorate clothes or curtains
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- Verb:
- make by braiding or interlacing
- decorate with braids or ribbons
- form or weave into a braid or braids
Word Origin
- braid
- braid: [OE] The ultimate source of braid was West and North Germanic *bregthan, whose underlying meaning was probably ‘make sudden jerky movements from side to side’. This was carried through into Old English bregdan, but had largely died out by the 16th century. However, ‘making swift side-to-side movements’ had early developed a special application to the intertwining of strands or threads, and it is this ‘plaiting’ sense which has survived. The Germanic base *bregth- was also the ultimate source of bridle, but the superficially similar embroider had a different origin.=> bridle, upbraid
- braid (v.)
- "to plait, knit, weave, twist together," c. 1200, breidan, from Old English bregdan "to move quickly, pull, shake, swing, throw (in wrestling), draw (a sword); bend, weave, knit, join together; change color, vary; scheme, feign, pretend" (class III strong verb, past tense brægd, past participle brogden), from Proto-Germanic *bregthan "make sudden jerky movements from side to side" (compare Old Norse bregða "to brandish, turn about, braid;" Old Saxon bregdan "to weave;" Dutch breien "to knit;" Old High German brettan "to draw, weave, braid"), from PIE root *bherek- "to gleam, flash" (compare Sanskrit bhrasate "flames, blazes, shines"). In English the verb survives only in the narrow definition of "plait hair." Related: Braided; braiding.
- braid (n.)
- in part from stem found in Old English gebrægd "craft, fraud," gebregd "commotion," Old Norse bragð "deed, trick," and in part from or influenced by related braid (v.). Earliest senses are "a deceit, stratagem, trick" (c. 1200), "sudden or quick movement" (c. 1300); meaning "anything plaited or entwined" (especially hair) is from 1520s.
Example
- 1. They may stroll arm in arm or sit close on the touch , or even brush or braid each other 's hair .
- 2. Then , for luck , the princess unwound her long braid , pulled out a single hair and handed it to the littlest knight .
- 3. Administrators told him he would have to wear his hair in one long braid , tucked into the back of his shirt at all times .
- 4. Bett hair fashion , a company based in the central chinese province of henan , has an outlet in the tianxiu building selling wigs and hairpieces with names such as afro curl and jumbo braid .
- 5. Messrs. yen and kaneshiro arrive on the set in full costume -- mr. yen dressed as an ordinary villager with a long , single braid of hair that was customary of the era , and mr. kaneshiro looking elegant in a gray robe and brimmed hat -- and prepare for a scene on a small cliff over the riverbank .