plication

From Middle French plicacion, and its source, Latin plicatio.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /plɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/

plication (countable and uncountable, plural plications)

1. (now chiefly biology, geology) An act of folding. [from 15th c.]
2. (now chiefly biology, geology) A fold or pleat. [from 18th c.]
   • 2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 96:

     But the recognition of nappes set out the research project: you need not simply throw up your hands in despair at perverse plications and ceaseless crenelations in the Alps.

3. (surgery) A surgical procedure in which a body part is strengthened or shortened by pulling together folds of excess material, and suturing them into place. [from 20th c.]

• plicature

See Category:English terms suffixed with -pexy, many of which involve plication of tissue (e.g., connective tissue, mucosae, others)