pleGar

Plegar is a verb found in several Romance languages, most commonly in Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan, with the general meaning to fold, bend, or crease. It is used for actions such as folding paper, fabric, or sails, and can also refer to bending a body part or any object along a line. In reflexive form, plegarse, the word can denote yielding or submitting to pressure or complying with a demand.

Etymology and cognates trace plegar to Latin plicare, meaning to fold, with intermediaries in the various Romance languages such as Old French plier. The root is related to other words describing bending or folding, and cognate forms appear across Ibero-Romance and Catalan varieties.

Usage and regional notes: In Spanish, plegar exists but is typically more formal or literary, and for many everyday folding actions speakers prefer doblar or plegar in nautical or technical contexts. Plegar can occur in expressions like plegar velas (to furl sails) or plegarse a la voluntad (to yield to one’s will). In Portuguese, the verb pleGar is less common in daily speech, where dobrar is the standard term for folding; pleGar appears mainly in technical or historical texts, with participle plegado. In Catalan, pleGar is the standard verb for folding, while plegat can appear as the past participle.

See also: plegado, plegar-se, plegado, doblar.