Braid

How to spell braid

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce braid

What does braid mean?

1. verbTo weave three or more strands of hair, thread, or material together into one length.
2. nounA length of hair or material formed by interweaving several strands.

Braid in a sentence

• verb

  She likes to braid her daughter's hair before school.

• noun

  A thick braid hung down the middle of her back.

• verb

  The craftsman will braid leather strips into a sturdy belt.

• noun

  Gold braid trimmed the edges of the officer's jacket.

Where does braid come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Braid descends from the Old English verb bregdan, which carried a surprisingly wide bundle of meanings: to move suddenly, to pull or jerk, and to weave or plait. That sense of quick, darting movement makes sense once you picture the fingers flicking strands of hair over one another, and the weaving sense gradually became the dominant one. The word has solid Germanic roots, with relatives in Old Norse bregda 'to move quickly, knit, braid' and Old High German brettan. By the Middle English period the spelling and the meaning had narrowed toward the familiar idea of interlacing three or more strands, and a related noun grew up alongside it for the woven result. The same old verb also lurks behind the now-archaic 'upbraid', meaning to scold, which preserves the older sense of jerking or throwing something at someone.

How the word is built

• braid (from Old English bregdan: to weave, plait, move quickly)