In the world of kilts and tartans there are many terms thrown back and forth. I was just thinking some of us may find it interesting in origins, meanings, and what we THINK they mean. I am interested in word origins and how meaning change and mutate over time.

Here is a start:

PLAID is (based on) an old word and basically means "blanket"

TARTAN is a term that originally seems to have referred to the fabric itself, much as corduroy and chiffon do today Tartan was a thick, course, wool made of worsted theads and in a "knit" (2 over, 2 under) weave. Thus, a purist would be correct in saying that only 13 or 16oz worsed wool is tartan he would be right (though most use the term much more loosely). Therefore, a kilt could be made out of tartan, canvas or another material. At some point (it is debated when this happened) it shifted from the fabric to the pattern of colors woven into it. Thereby, a pattern can be a tartan on a non-tartan fabric, such as a Carolina (or a clan) tartan woven in 11oz cotton.

SETT refers to pattern that the pattern follows. I'm not sure of the origin or history of this one. Now, the sett refers DIRECTLY to the thread count between repeats.

Often, there is a combining of the above three into the same thing, though they are not at all the same, but different parts.

Of note is "Belted Plaid," which refers to three differnt things:
-the oldest is also, and less accurately, called a "Great Kilt" (as it predates the smaller "waist-down" kilt, there is NO need for it to be called anything large or great without a smaller version).
-it is also used to refer to the fly, which is a piece of tartan attatched to the top of a kilt to approximate a great kilt.
-thirdly, it is used for a piper's plaid
As the third is simply a folded piece of plaid flung on the shoulder (no belt), the term is inaccurate. For the second, "fly" is better for it is an upper part added to flap in the breeze. I prefer the older meaning because that is what it is-> a large tartan blanket that is held onto the body by a belt (hence, a "belted plaid").

What ya'll think?
I'm I inaccurate? imprecise? off base? lost in the outfield?