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From Middle English plasch, plasche, plash, plashe (“pool of standing water, marshy place; torrent of water (?)”), from Late Old English plæsċ, plesċ (“pool; puddle”), probably from Proto-West Germanic *plask (“pool”); further etymology unknown, probably ultimately onomatopoeic, referring to the sound of splashing. cognates * German platschen (“to splash”) * Middle Dutch plasch, plas (“pool”) (modern Dutch plas (“pool, watering hole”), plassen (“to splash, splatter”); Middle French plache (“pool”), plascq (“damp meadow”); Anglo-Norman plasseis (“marshes”, plural)) * West Frisian plaskje (“to splash, splatter”)

Probably onomatopoeic, referring to the sound of splashing. The noun is attested earlier than the verb. It is not clear whether this word is related to plash (“small pool of standing water”) (see etymology 1). The interjection is derived from the noun. As regards the noun, compare German Platsch (noun), platsch (interjection). As regards the verb, compare Early Dutch plasschen, plassen (“to splash in water”); Middle Low German plasken, plassen (“to splash”); Swedish plaska (“to splash”).

The verb is derived from Late Middle English *plashen (attested by the present participle form plashynge), from Anglo-Norman plaissier, plaisser, Old French plaissier, plaisser, and Old French plaissier (“to bend; to interlace”) (modern French plaisser (regional)), from Late Latin *plaxus, a variant of Latin plexus, the perfect passive participle of plectō (“to braid, plait, weave; to bend; to turn; to twist”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- (“to fold; to plait, weave”). Doublet of pleach. The noun is derived from the verb. cognates * Old French plesce (“enclosure surrounded by hedges”) (Middle French plesse, Middle English plaishes (“hedges forming an enclosure, palisade of hedges or wattles”), modern French plaisse, plesse (“enclosure surrounded by hedges; hedge; branch of a hedge”))