plissé

noun

plis·​sé pli-ˈsā 

variants or plisse

1

: a fabric with a plissé finish

2

: a textile finish of permanently puckered designs formed by treating with a sodium hydroxide solution

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, noun derivative from masculine past participle of plisser "to fold, pleat, crease," going back to Middle French, probably verbal derivative of plis, plural of pli "fold, pleat" — more at ply entry 2

Note: Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (vol. 9, p. 74, note 16) suggests that alternatively the derivation may have been modeled on plais "hedge made from interweaved branches" : plaissier "to interweave branches to form a hedge".

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined at sense 1