Can the word check be a synonym for the word plaid?

Answer 1

Fabrics:Whereas 'check' refers to the visual pattern that resembles, to a greater or lesser degree, the pattern of squares on a Chess/checker board, the word 'plaid' refers to the type of cloth produced by a weaving method that results in a pattern of divided colors. (See notes)

However, although the words 'check' and 'plaid' mean fundamentally quite different things, they are sometimes used synonymously, especially when the plaid cloth has a check pattern.

NOTES
'CHECK'. The English word 'chess' is from the French word 'echec.' The German word is 'schach'.

The word 'PLAID', pronounced /plad/, is from the Welsh 'plaid' which means a partition. Plaid cloth can be striped or variegated, or can have a checker pattern. Traditional Scottish plaids are made from wool, but there are also silk plaids which are very soft and light.
Traditional woollen plaid is often a coarse woollen cloth, differing from plain flannel by the 'plaid' (partitioned/divided) weaving method which produces patterns.