pliant (adj.)

late 14c., pliaunt, "capable of being easily bent, flexible, supple," from Old French ploiant "bending, supple; compliant, fickle," as a noun, "turncoat" (13c.), present participle of ploier "to bend," from Latin plicare "to fold, lay" (from PIE root *plek- "to plait"). Figurative sense of "readily influenced (for good or ill), easily persuaded" is from c. 1400. Related: Pliancy.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to pliant

*plek-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to plait." It is an extended form of root *pel- (2) "to fold."

It forms all or part of: accomplice; application; apply; complex; complexion; complicate; complication; complicity; deploy; display; duplex; duplicate; duplicity; employ; explicate; explicit; exploit; flax; implex; implicate; implication; implicit; imply; multiply; perplex; perplexity; plait; plash (v.2) "to interlace;" pleat; -plex; plexus; pliable; pliant; plie; plight (n.1) "condition or state;" ply (v.1) "work with, use;" ply (v.2) "to bend; ply (n.) "a layer, fold;" replica; replicate; replication; reply; simplex; splay; triplicate.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit prasna- "turban;" Greek plekein "to plait, braid, wind, twine," plektos "twisted;" Latin plicare "to lay, fold, twist," plectere (past participle plexus) "to plait, braid, intertwine;" Old Church Slavonic plesti "to braid, plait, twist," Russian plesti; Gothic flahta "braid;" Old Norse fletta, Old High German flehtan "to plait;" Old English fleax "cloth made with flax, linen."

Trends of pliant

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

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pliable

late 14c., "easy to be bent, readily yielding to force or pressure without rupture," from Old French ploiable "flexible, bendable," from plier "to bend," from Latin plicare "to fold, lay" (from PIE root *plek- "to plait"). The figurative sense of "flexible in disposition, readily

elastic

1650s, formerly also elastick, coined in French (1650s) as a scientific term to describe gases, "having the property of recovering its former volume after compression," from Modern Latin elasticus, from Greek elastos "ductile, flexible," related to elaunein "to strike, beat out,"

flexible

early 15c., "capable of being bent; mentally or spiritually pliant," from Old French flexible or directly from Latin flexibilis "that may be bent, pliant, flexible, yielding;" figuratively "tractable, inconstant," from flex-, past participle stem of flectere "to bend," which is o

supple

c. 1300, "soft, tender," from Old French souple, sople "pliant, flexible; humble, submissive" (12c.), from Gallo-Roman *supples...Meaning "pliant" is from late 14c.; figurative sense of "artfully obsequious, capable of adapting oneself to the wishes and...

inflexible

inflexible and directly from Latin inflexibilis "that cannot be bent," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + flexibilis "pliant...

meek

injury or annoyance; humble, unassuming;" of a woman, "modest," from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse mjukr "soft, pliant...

limber

"pliant, flexible," 1560s, of uncertain origin, possibly from limb (n.1) on notion of supple boughs of a tree [Barnhart],...

plastic

1630s, "capable of shaping or molding a mass of matter," from Latin plasticus, from Greek plastikos "fit for molding, capable of being molded into various forms; pertaining to molding," also in reference to the arts, from plastos "molded, formed," verbal adjective from plassein "

Castile

medieval Spanish county and later kingdom, from Vulgar Latin *castilla, from Latin castella, plural of castellum "castle, fort, citadel, stronghold" (see castle (n.)); so called in reference to the many fortified places there during the Moorish wars. The name in Spanish is said t

ductile

mid-14c., "hammered, beaten out or shaped with a hammer," from Old French ductile or directly from Latin ductilis "that may be led or drawn," from past participle of ducere "to lead" (from PIE root *deuk- "to lead"). From 1560s as "flexible, pliable;" 1620s as "capable of being d

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updated on July 11, 2020

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Dictionary entries near pliant

pleuro-

-plex

Plexiglas

plexus

pliable

pliant

plie

plier

pliers

plight

Plimsoll