I came across the word “plight” recently, and that’s the first time I wondered about it. The context meant “danger,” and I conjectured that plight was some past tense of plow, the way wrought and wright is from work.

Not so, according to the dictionaries I’m consulting. It appears that “plight” has two different meanings, and they arise from different parent words.

The first listed definition means to pledge or engage, to bind yourself, as in “plight one’s troth” (yes, troth appears related to truth and as used in betrothal). It’s from the Middle English plihten, from the Anglo-Saxon pliht, pledge. As a noun, this plight means a pledge, an assurance given.

Next comes plight meaning a condition, a state of affairs, a dangerous or awkward situation, and (obsolete) a fold. This plight is from the Middle English plit (a state or condition) from the Old French ploit (a fold or, obviously, plait). As a verb, this plight means weave or braid.

Sometimes words appear related but aren’t. Plight looks like plight but pliht isn’t ploit. It reminds me of the time I sought the connection between iron and irony. I couldn’t find any. Iron the weighty metal is from the Middle English iron, iren, from Anglo-Saxon iren, isen, isern = the magnetic element we all know. Irony comes from the Greek eironeia (a dissimulation), from eiron (a dissembler in speech), from eirein = to speak.