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plight

Etymology and origin of the English word plight

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /plaɪt/[1]

Etymology

Plight “condition, predicament” is inherited from Middle English plit,[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Anglo-Norman plit (“condition; fold”),[2][3][6][4][5] from Old French pleit “way of folding”,[3][6] from Latin plicitum (“folded”), from plicāre “to fold”.[2][6] It is a doublet of plait.[6][4] Plight “pledge” is inherited from Old English pliht (“danger, risk”),[2][3][6][4][5] with the verb plihtan “to endanger”,[2][3][4] related to Dutch plicht (“duty”) and German Pflicht (“duty”).[3][6][5] The spelling with -gh- of both words comes from the pledge word.[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a noun, “peril, danger” (c. 825), now obsolete;[7] as a verb, “to endanger” (before 1016).[7][3]

Semantic evolution

To plight something such as one's troth was to put it at risk of forfeiture, that is, to pledge it;[6][7] this sense of the verb dates from before 1225,[7] especially of betrothal or marriage.[7] The other plight first meant a fold or pleat (1399) and a condition or state, originally neutral or even good;[7] its present sense of a bad or unfortunate condition probably comes from confusion with the pledge word through the notion of entangling risk.[6][3]

Timeline

  • c. 825 – pliht, danger, risk.[7]
  • before 1016 – verb, to endanger.[7][3]
  • before 1225 – verb, to pledge.[7]
  • c. 1250 – noun, a pledge.[7][3][6]
  • 14th century – noun, a condition or state.[7][1]
  • 1399 – a fold, a pleat (obsolete).[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A situation, especially a bad or unfortunate one; a predicament.
  2. (archaic) A solemn pledge.

Verb

  1. To promise or bind by a solemn pledge, especially to betroth.
  2. To give in pledge, as one's word or troth.

Word family

  • plighter
  • plait
  • pleat
  • ply
  • pledge
  • troth

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Plight.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/plight. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·