pleach

Meaning

Verb

To unite by interweaving, as (horticulture) branches of shrubs, trees, etc., to create a hedge; to interlock, to plash.

Noun

1. An act or result of interweaving; specifically, (horticulture) a hedge or lattice created by interweaving the branches of shrubs, trees, etc.
2. A branch of a shrub, tree, etc., used for pleaching; a pleacher.
3. A notch cut into a branch so that it can be bent when pleaching is carried out.

Synonyms

braid

plait

plash

embroil

enmesh

entangle

entwine

interlace

mystify

palaver

perplex

prevail

puzzle

tangle

twist

web

bedevil

work

bewilder

complicate

Pronounced as (IPA)

/pliːtʃ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: pleshe

Inherited from Middle English: plechen

In summary

The verb is from Late Middle English pleshe, Middle English plechen, pleche (“to layer; to propagate (a plant) by layering, to pleach”), possibly from Anglo-Norman and Middle French plesser, plessier, Middle French plescer, variants of Middle French, Old French plaissier, plessier (“to plash”), from Late Latin *plaxus, from Latin plexus (“braided, plaited, woven; bent, twisted”), perfect passive participle of plectō (“to braid, plait, weave; to bend, turn, twist”).
The noun is derived from the verb.