plight1
/plʌɪt
/- They wept over the plight of the unfortunate individual and his difficult life of travail.
- Never mind the irony of the situation - the plight of those we went to help along the coast, just a few kilometres south.
- I am fully sympathetic with their plight and the difficult conditions under which they often have to survive.
Origin
Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French plit 'fold'. The -gh- spelling is by association with plight2.
In the traditional marriage ceremony the bride and groom each say ‘I plight thee my troth’, meaning ‘I pledge my word’. Plight means ‘to promise solemnly’, and pledge (Middle English) is probably a distant relative. Troth is an old variant of truth, meaning ‘giving your word’ and still preserved in betroth (Middle English). The other meaning of plight, ‘a predicament’, is from Old French plit ‘fold’, suggesting the idea of a difficult or complicated situation. Other words from plit include Middle English pliant (Late Middle English) literally ‘foldable’; and pliable (Late Middle English); pliers (mid 16th century) tools for bending things; and ply (Late Middle English) in the sense of ‘thickness’ as in plywood (early 20th century). (The other ply as in ply with drink, is simply a shortening of apply, see appliance). Pleat and plait (Middle English) are further relatives. Compliant (mid 17th century) looks as if it should be a relative, but its immediate source, to comply (early 17th century), originally came from Latin complere ‘to fulfil, accomplish’, although compliant later developed senses influenced by its similarity to pliant.
Rhymes
plight2
/plʌɪt/- Betrothal vows were often as binding as wedding vows, and ‘plighting the troth’ was often an excuse to consummate the marriage ahead of the actual ceremony.
- It was further matured, and the faith of all the then thirteen States expressly plighted and engaged that it should be perpetual, by the Articles of Confederation in 1778.
- When she reaches the subject of current events, however, she seems to me to verge on the fantasy to which policy now appears plighted, and which events seem unable to dislodge.
- The hero tells the heroine that he has nothing to give her, and is plighted to another woman.
Phrases
plight one's troth
Origin
Old English plihtan 'endanger', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch plicht and German Pflicht 'duty'. The current sense is recorded only from Middle English, but is probably original, in view of the related Germanic words.