PLIGHT  , an homonymous word now used chiefly with two meanings, (I)

pledge, and (2) condition or state . The first appears more generally in the verbal form, " to plight one's troth," &c., and the second with a direct or implied sense of misfortune . The derivations of the two words show they are quite distinct in origin . The O . Eng. pliht meant danger or risk, hence risk of obligation (cf . Ger . Pflicht, Du. plicht, care, duty) . The root pleh- or pleg- is probably also to be seen in the much disputed word " pledge." The M . Eng. plit or plyt, on the other hand, is an adaptation of O . Fr. ploit, fold, and therefore a doublet of " plait," but appears in the 14th century with the neutral sense of condition or state in general .