v. (UN-2 3.)
c. 1374. Chaucer, Boeth., II. pr. viii. (1868), 61. It is a wondyr þat I desyre to telle, and forthi vnnethe may I vnpleyten [L. explicare] my sentense with wordes.
c. 1586. C’tess Pembroke, Ps. CIV. vii. Oile, whose juyce unplaites the folded brow.
1638. N. Whiting, Albino & B., 76. Dull-aged Saturne … his waightie head did bow, And with a smile unplaited every frowne.
1865. Cornh. Mag., Oct., 487. She unplaited her hair and threw it back … over her shoulders.
1867. Miss Bowden, Fathers of Desert, 160. Paul unplaited all the fifteen ells, and then plaited them together again.
Hence Unplaiting vbl. sb.
1611. Cotgr., Desplissure, an vnfoulding, vnplaiting.
1902. Barnes Grundy, Thames Camp, iv. This seemed a sensible idea, but why the unplaiting of her hair?
