Why is the word "plait" pronounced "plat" when it looks like it ought to be pronounced "plate"?

@LeopoldBloom I am familiar with the surname Platt. I used to live next door to a guy called Dave Platt.

@Crazychick "Plaît" in French is pronounced like the English word "play."

@LeopoldBloom I wasn't talking about the French word, I was talking about the English word.

@Crazychick I think the English pronunciation comes from the French, but I'm not sure. "Plaît" of course doesn't refer to plaited hair; it means "please" as in "s'il vous plaît." So it could be a coincidence, like the name "Salmon" being pronounced with the "l" (because it's from "Solomon") while with the fish "salmon" the "l" is silent because it's from the Latin "salmo" but comes to English through the French "saumoun."

@LeopoldBloom I don't believe there's such a thing as coincidence. It could much more feasibly be that they are unrelated.

@Crazychick "Solomon" has nothing to do with "salmon." Solomon is a Hebrew name while salmon is Indo-European. The two language families are completely unrelated.

That being said, it's considered good luck if your name means something in more than one language.

@LeopoldBloom I never said "Solomon" had anything to do with "salmon", nor did I put a full stop before the inverted commas.

I don't know about good luck but Charlotte (my real name) is a French name and it's also the name of a place in America. A charlotte is also a type of dessert or trifle that can be served hot or cold. Is that good luck?

@Crazychick Yes, it is.

@LeopoldBloom Next time I go shopping I'll see if they've got any charlottes and I'll treat the kids to one each. Let's see what happens.

@Crazychick I've never heard of the dessert charlotte. Charlotte is in North Carolina, and what's interesting is that both Charlotte and Carolina are female versions of Charles.

@LeopoldBloom So they are. Lol :)