Definition of "plication"

plication

/plɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural plications
1. (now chiefly biology, geology) An act of folding.
2. (now chiefly biology, geology) A fold or pleat.
  Quotations
  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.
  2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 96
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.