braid

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /breɪd/ UK /breɪd/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like bread /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/ Sounds like blade /l/ vs /r/

Meanings

1

noun
a length of interwoven strands; to weave such strands together

She wore her hair in a single thick braid down her back.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a length of interwoven... plait weave interlace entwine intertwine twist tress

Opposites

unravelunbraid

Word family

Derived forms braidedbraidingbraider

Etymology

From Old English bregdan ('to move quickly, weave, plait, braid'), from Proto-Germanic *bregdaną ('to make sudden jerky movements, weave'), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerēḱ- ('to gleam, flash').

bregdan Old English *bregdaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# braid

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /breɪd/
**IPA (UK):** /breɪd/

## Meanings
1. a length of interwoven strands; to weave such strands together

## Examples
- She wore her hair in a single thick braid down her back.

## Synonyms
- plait
- weave
- interlace
- entwine
- intertwine
- twist
- tress

## Antonyms
- unravel
- unbraid

## Derived Forms
- braided
- braiding
- braider

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bregdan
- Root: *bregdaną

## Etymology
From Old English bregdan ('to move quickly, weave, plait, braid'), from Proto-Germanic *bregdaną ('to make sudden jerky movements, weave'), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerēḱ- ('to gleam, flash').

## AI Etymology
Braid comes from Old English bregdan ('to move quickly, weave, plait, braid'), from Proto-Germanic *bregdaną ('to make sudden jerky movements, weave'), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerēḱ- ('to gleam, flash'). The historical trail runs through bregdan in Old English and *bregdaną in Proto-Germanic. Used as a noun and verb, braid now means "a length of interwoven strands; to weave such strands together", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as braided, braiding, and braider. The word is therefore part of the inherited Germanic layer of English, even where later usage has narrowed, broadened, or specialized the sense.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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