plek-

To plait. Extension of pel-². Oldest form *plek̑-, becoming *plek- in centum languages.

Derivatives include flax, pliant, and perplex.

1. Suffixed o-grade form *plok-so-. flax, from Old English fleax, flax, from Germanic *flahsam, flax.

2. Full-grade form *plek-. multiplex, from Latin -plex, -fold (in compounds such as duplex, twofold; see dwo-).

3. plait, pleat, pliant, plica, plicate, plight¹, plissé, ply¹; apply, complicate, complice, deploy, display, employ, explicate, explicit, exploit, implicate, implicit, replicate, reply, splay, from Latin plicāre, to fold (also in compounds used as denominatives of words in -plex, genitive -plicis).

4. Suffixed forms *plek-to- and *plek-t-to-. pleach, plexus; amplexicaul, amplexus, complect, complex, perplexed, from Latin plectere (past participle plexus), to weave, plait, entwine.

5. plecopteran, plectognath, from Greek plekein, to plait, twine, and plektos, twisted.

 

[Pokorny plek̑- 834.]

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