plication
English
editEtymology
editFrom Middle French plicacion, and its source, Latin plicatio.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editplication (countable and uncountable, plural plications)
- (now chiefly biology, geology) An act of folding. [from 15th c.]
- (now chiefly biology, geology) A fold or pleat. [from 18th c.]
- 2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 96:
- But the recognition of nappes set out the research project: you need not simply throw up your hands in despair at perverse plications and ceaseless crenelations in the Alps.
- (surgery) A surgical procedure in which a body part is strengthened or shortened by pulling together folds of excess material, and suturing them into place. [from 20th c.]
Synonyms
editSee also
editSee Category:English terms suffixed with -pexy, many of which involve plication of tissue (e.g., connective tissue, mucosae, others)