Bible Dictionary
PLAITING
Plaiting is the braiding or interweaving of hair or other material. The New Testament warns against making elaborate hair arrangement the chief source of outward adornment.
Definition
Plaiting is the interweaving, braiding, or knotting of material. In particular, it may describe the elaborate gathering of hair into ornamental knots. The word therefore concerns both the physical method of braiding and the resulting arrangement.
Biblical Usage
The New Testament refers to the plaiting of hair as outward adornment. The term is also related to the plaited crown of thorns placed on Jesus.
Historical Background
The English word reflects terms associated with folding and interweaving. Biblical usage includes both braided hair and material that has been platted together.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>plat'-ing, plat'-ing (from the Old French, pleit, which is from the Latin plicatum, "fold"): An interweaving, a braiding, a knot; an elaborate gathering of the hair into knots; emploke, "outward adorning of plaiting the hair" (1Pe 3:3). Compare "platted" (crown of thorns) (Mt 27:29 parallel Mr 15:17; Joh 19:2).</p><p>See BRAIDED, BRAIDING.</p>