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

Examples of plissé in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Carpenter highlights accents like scalloping along chair edges, shapely profiles, and linear textures like plisse. —Kristina McGuirk, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Feb. 2023

Wood paneling, rattan, and plisse cabinetry accents add of-the-moment dimension to the natural, neutral hues. —Kristina McGuirk, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Dec. 2022

Wallpaper print has enjoyed a revival in 2020, as plisse, damask and toile de jouy prints made their return onto whimsical apparel this spring. —Rachel Besser, Vogue, 13 Oct. 2020

An intarsia velvet plisse dress, which took 960 hours to make, had blown-up baroque motifs. —Thomas Adamson, The Seattle Times, 5 July 2017

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