Plaid (pattern)
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Plaid (pronounced /ˈplæd/) is a Scots language word meaning blanket, usually referring to patterned woollen cloth; it is unclear if the Gaelic word Plaide came first.
- A plaid or full plaid is a pleated cloth worn with the modern kilt, made from the same tartan and worn cast over the shoulder and fastened at the front. A similar plaid in checked cloth was formerly worn by Scottish lowlands shepherds but is now most common as a dress uniform.
- The belted plaid or great kilt is an earlier form of the kilt. It consists of a double width of thick woollen cloth worn pleated and fastened around the waist by a belt, with the upper half often cast over the shoulder but sometimes hanging down over the belt and gathered up at the front or brought up over the head for protection against weather. This was worn over a leine (or shirt) and formed an all-weather outfit that also served as a blanket or bedroll for sleeping outdoors. It is mostly associated with the Scottish highlands, but was also used in lowland rural areas.
- A plaid rug is a large thick woolen twill cloth, often tartan, used as a travel rug or as a blanket. It may be laid on the ground as a groundcloth for a picnic.
- "Plaid" is also American English for tartan. Tartan is cloth made with alternating stripes and bands of color woven into or dyed onto the fabric. This makes blocks of color that repeat vertically and horizontally in a pattern of squares and lines.
