raveln.1
/ˈreɪvl/, U.S. /ˈreɪv(ə)l/, Scottish English /ˈrevl/, Irish English /ˈreːvl/ΚΠ
1467 Registrum de Dunfermelyn 359 And keip thar boundis hafand nettis in the ald stell alslang as the Inglismen oys fornent thaim ay quhill the kingis water balȝe mak revlis in the watir.
2. Scottish.† a. A rail, a railing, esp. on a staircase; (also) something serving as a stair-rail, as a rope, etc. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > stairs > [noun] > handrail
ravel1548
ravelin1626
rail1663
handrail1675
handrailing?1762
baluster-rail1906
1548 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1911) IX. 259 Ane spar..to be ane ravill to the turnpik.
1583 Edinb. Dean of Guild Accts. 184 Fyr sparris to be rawellis for the skaffaldis.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. vi. 264 A foure squared stone; inclosed about with an yron Reuele, on which..the dead body of our Sauiour lay, and was imbalmed.
1702 R. Wodrow Analecta 1842 I. 33 He was going up the Tolbooth stair, which then wanted a ravell.
1792 New Year's Morning 12 A cellar, upo' the high street, But ony ravel, bare.
1821 J. Galt Ayrshire Legatees v. 124 We then ran..up an old timber-stair with a rope ravel.
1840 G. Webster Ingliston xxxv. 333 He hauled aff his big coat, and flung't ower the ravel o' the stair that gangs doun to the kitchen.
1841 Laird of Logan 55 An inside stair, that had what is called a wooden ravel.
b. The parapet of a bridge. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1695 in D. D. Black Hist. Brechin (1839) v. 92 [The] east ravell [of the bridge is ordered to be repaired].
1722 in J. Grant et al. Rec. County of Banff (1922) 368 The said bridge..must be twenty foot of an arch in widness betwixt the land stools, nine foot on the top betwixt the revels.
1920 A. Robb Memories of Mormondside in Sc. National Dict. (1968) VII. 362/1 I gaed the length o' the brig and sat doon on the ravel to think fat I wad dae.
3. Chiefly Scottish and Irish English (northern). The horizontal beam in a byre, to which the tops of the vertical stakes for the cows' tethers are fastened. Frequently attributive, esp. as ravel-tree (cf. rail tree n. at rail n.2 Compounds 2).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping of cattle > [noun] > housing or sheltering of cattle > cattle house > part of
settle-gangc1000
ravel1707
settle1799
1707 in Sc. National Dict. (1968) VII. 362/1 Byre with two couples, all sufficient, with stocks revells and doors.
1751 Session Papers in Sc. National Dict. (1968) VII. 362/1 To Nolt Stakes and Ravel-trees, Hecks, and Mangers..6s. 0d.
1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down 82 Rannel-tree, Raivel-tree, the cross-beam in a byre to which the cows' stakes are fastened.
1894 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words 568 Ravel-tree, ravel-stick, the cross beam in a byre, to which the cow stakes are fastened.
1903 S. MacManus Lad of O'Friels x. 74 Bein' short of a revel-tree in his byre, he cut wan off a sciog bush and fitted it in.
1929 M. Mulcaghey Ballymulcaghey 15 ‘I'll hang him,’ sez he, ‘on the reviltree in the byre.’
1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. 272/1 Ravel, revel, raivel,..also ravel-tree, revel-tree, raivel-tree, the cross-beam in a byre to which the vertical stakes are fastened.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
raveln.2
/ˈravl/, U.S. /ˈræv(ə)l/, Scottish English /ˈrevl/α. 1600s 1800s– ravel; English regional 1800s raul (Shropshire), 1800s revel (southern), 1800s– raivel (Northumberland), 1900s– reavel (northern), 1900s– reeavel (Northumberland), 1900s– rivel, 1900s– rivvel; Scottish 1800s raevl (Shetland), 1800s– raivel, 1800s– ravel, 1900s– raevel (Shetland), 1900s– ravl (Shetland), 1900s– reevel (Aberdeenshire), 1900s– revel, 1900s– revil (southern); Irish English (northern) 1900s– raivel, 1900s– ravel.
β. Scottish (southern) 1800s rewl, 1800s reyle, 1900s– riel (Dumfriesshire), 1900s– rile (Dumfriesshire).
γ. English regional 1900s– raffle (Northumberland); Scottish (Orkney and Shetland) 1900s– raeffle, 1900s– raffle, 1900s– raifle, 1900s– reffle.
δ. Scottish 1900s– raivellt, 1900s– ravelt.
1. A tangle, a knot; a tangled mass, a cluster. Also in extended use: a confused or muddled state or situation. Chiefly Scottish and literary in later use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > entanglement or entangled state > [noun] > that which is entangled > a tangle
node1572
knarl1598
snarl1609
rivel1625
ravel1634
snick-snarl1649
mare1688
harla1697
tangle1757
round turn1769
fankle1824
twist1858
twitter1876
taut1887
1634 T. Jackson Knowledg of Christ Jesus vii. xxvi. §1 The thread which we are to unwind as far as possibly we can without knot or ravel.
1853 W. Jerdan Autobiogr. IV. 150 The act by which numerous political ravels seemed to be so happily disentangled.
1858 G. Roy Generalship 34 This yarn she had left in the cats' way, who left it in one mass of unreddable raivels.
1891 J. M. Barrie Little Minister I. iii. 47 Mr. Urquhart was in sic a ravel after it.
1913 D. H. Lawrence Sons & Lovers xiii. 380 There was a lovely yellow ravel of sunflowers in the garden.
1934 J. M. Caie Kindly North 50 I'm thinkin' that ye'd best come aff yer deece An' try tae redd the raivel up an' quaiten their din.
1975 M. Bradbury Hist. Man (1979) xii. 208 A mysterious ravel of knitting, with needles sticking through it.
1996 G. Goodland Littoral 31 With cold fingers I undo the ravels of her hair.
2. A broken or frayed thread; a loose end; (also) the fact of becoming unravelled. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [noun] > woven > thread(s) > frayed or unravelled
ravelling1577
ravel1825
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. 272/2 Ravels,..ravelled thread.
1832 T. Carlyle Note Bk. in J. A. Froude T. Carlyle: First Forty Years (1882) II. xiii. 307 Great is self-denial... Life goes all to ravels and tatters where that enters not.
1838 A. M. Hall Groves of Blarney i. iii. 16 in B. Webster Acting National Drama IV. Uli. Why did you not tell me this before? Mab. The nearer the stocking's end the worse the ravel; comprenez vous, as the Frinch says.
1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words II Revels, the broken threads cast away by women at their work.
1894 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words 568 Stop till aa tyek that raivel off yor cwot.
1957 Oxnard (Calif.) Press-Courier 12 Oct. 10/3 Untwist the strands and spread them out over the cap. By clipping and arranging the rope ravels you can make all sorts of hair styles.
1988 M. Atwood Cat's Eye (1989) xl. 214 He's got on..his V-neck maroon sweater with the ravels coming off the elbows.
2007 Ventura County (Calif.) Star (Nexis) 4 Feb. Premium, 100-percent nylon fiber is fused into a tough but flexible vinyl backing to eliminate edge ravel.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
raveln.3
/ˈreɪvl/, U.S. /ˈreɪv(ə)l/, Scottish English /ˈrevl/ Weaving. Chiefly Scottish.
= raddle n.3 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > [noun] > weaving > loom > reed or slay
slayc1050
reed1595
raddle1648
niffler1752
evener1785
ravel1805
sniffle1805
separator1831
rave1888
shed-stick1910
shed-rod1968
1805 J. Austin in Trans. Soc. Arts 23 242 An universal ravel or sniffle, useful at the beaming of all kinds of webs.
1831 G. R. Porter Treat. Silk Manuf. 220 The threads of the warp being separated and guided by means of the ravel.
1860 Chambers's Encycl. I. 772/1 The beamer has merely to take a ravel (a comb-like utensil) with the corresponding number of teeth in the breadth required for the web, and filling each tooth successively with its respective pin, the spreading is completed.
1898 A. M. Earle Home Life Colonial Days x. 219 There is a removable loom attachment which when first shown to me was called a raddle... This attachment is also called a ravel or raivel.
1911 A. Warrack Scots Dial. Dict. Raivel,..a weavers' instrument for spreading yarn.
1979 E. Broudy Bk. of Looms viii. 157/2 A raddle (also called a rake, ravel or wrathe) kept the bouts from tangling during the ‘thumbing in’ or threading of the heddles.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
raveladj.1
/ˈravl/, U.S. /ˈræv(ə)l/ Chiefly English regional (south-eastern). Now historical.
Of bread: made from wholemeal flour, or from flour with the bran left in. Formerly also in extended use. Cf. ravelled adj.1
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > bread > [adjective] > wholemeal
wheaten1530
ravelled1577
ravel1591
1591 J. Florio Second Frutes 51 Here is cheate bread, rauel bread, manchet bread, and houshold bread.
1608 T. Cocks Diary (1901) 37/4 Mr. Deanes boye, that brought me a ravell loafe.
a1690 S. Jeake Λογιστικηλογία (1696) 74 Bread made of the whole Wheat is sometime called Cribble or fine Ravel Bread.
1701 W. Kennett Cowell's Interpreter (new ed.) Panis vocat, Blackwhytlof, Bread of a middle sort, between white and brown, such as in Kent is called Ravel-bread.
c1736 S. Pegge Alphabet of Kenticisms (1876) 43 Ravel-bread, a middling sort of bread, neither white nor brown, but mixt.
1797 J. Nichols Illustr. Manners & Expences Antient Times Eng. 312 There are the same terms for paper respectively [in the North and in Kent], viz. whity-brown paper, and ravel paper.
1887 W. D. Parish & W. F. Shaw Dict. Kentish Dial. 126 Ravel-bread, white-brown bread.
1931 W. E. Mead Eng. Medieval Feast iii. 66 Ravel bread was made of unbolted flour, along with bran.
1982 S. K. Penman Sunne in Splendour (1984) ii. ix. 440 She'd breakfasted on the coarser-grained ravel bread of unbolted flour and bran.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† raveladj.2
Obsolete. rare.
Perhaps: verbose or rambling.
ΚΠ
a1603 T. Cartwright Confut. Rhemists New Test. (1618) Pref. sig. F2 Your Dirigie groats, and Trentall money, will make you lauish and rauill in your translation.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
ravelv.1
/ˈravl/, U.S. /ˈræv(ə)l/α. 1500s–1600s rauel, 1500s–1800s ravell, 1600s rauell, 1600s ravill, 1600s ravle, 1600s reauel, 1600s rouell, 1600s– ravel; English regional 1800s ravvle (Suffolk), 1800s– raivel (Northumberland), 1800s– ravle, 1800s– reavel (northern), 1800s– reavell (Cumberland), 1800s– reavvel (Cumberland), 1800s– reeavle (Westmorland), 1800s– revel (midlands), 1900s– reavvle (Cumberland); Scottish pre-1700 rawel, pre-1700 rawil, pre-1700 reuel, pre-1700 1700s 1900s– revel, pre-1700 1700s– ravel, pre-1700 1800s reavil, 1700s reavel, 1800s rayvle, 1800s reval, 1800s revell, 1800s reyvled (past participle), 1800s– raivel, 1900s– raevel, 1900s– ravl (Shetland), 1900s– reavle, 1900s– reevel, 1900s– reevlan (Orkney, present participle); also Irish English (northern) 1900s– revel.
β. English regional 1600s– raffle (chiefly northern and midlands), 1900s– raaffle (Yorkshire), 1900s– raafle (Yorkshire); Scottish 1800s raeffle (Shetland), 1900s– raffel (Orkney), 1900s– raffle (chiefly Orkney).
γ. English regional 1800s– raul (southern and south-western), 1800s– ryle (Cumberland), 1900s– reyle (Cumberland); Scottish 1700s reill, 1800s rail, 1800s reul, 1800s rewayl, 1800s– rael, 1800s– rewl, 1800s– reyle, 1800s– rile, 1800s– ryle, 1900s– rewel, 1900s– rowl.
I. To entangle or disentangle.† 4. With back.† 5. transitive. To take to pieces, dismantle. Obsolete. rare.
1. † b. intransitive. To become entangled or confused. Obsolete.† c. transitive. To cause (dust) to rise in confusion. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To entangle; to confuse, perplex; to render incoherent or muddled. Also (occasionally) intransitive. In later use chiefly with up, except in Scottish and Irish English (northern). See also ravelled adj.2 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > entanglement or entangled state > entangle or make tangled [verb (transitive)]
windc1315
harlc1400
snarlc1440
tangle1530
ravela1540
crawl1548
entangle1555
intertangle1589
enroot1600
impester1601
fasel1636
perplex1642
fankle1724
warple1768
hankle1781
intertwist1797
taffle1840
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > entanglement or entangled state > complication or complexity > make complicated [verb (transitive)]
entrike?c1425
envolde1451
involve1533
perplex1547
enfold1605
daedalizea1618
fasel1636
interpuzzle1650
puzzle1652
ravel1656
intriguea1677
complicate1832
to twist up1864
a1540 (c1460) G. Hay tr. Bk. King Alexander (1974) 1388 Quhill thair battallis with schot sa maglit ware And with hurt horsis rawillit, thai my na mare.
1582 R. Stanyhurst in tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis To Rdr. sig. Bv Many good verses would bee rauelde and dismembred.
1598 E. Guilpin Skialetheia iii. sig. D3 Like Weauers shuttles which runne to and fro, Rau'ling their owne guts with their running so.
a1634 W. Austin Devotionis Augustinianæ Flamma (1635) 282 When we have crauled, and ravel'd our Soules into Knots, at last..wee fall, like a Weaver, to Cutting.
1656 R. Vines Treat. Lords-supper (1677) 130 The words which are so ravelled and perplexed by contrary senses.
1675 V. Alsop Anti-Sozzo iii. 102 An odde word dropt from his Pen at unawares, that had like infinitely to have ravel'd all his Affairs, and to have quite marred the Musick of this Paragraph.
1706 D. Defoe Jure Divino viii. 30 Those wild, unhappy, Self-defending Few, If not destroy'd in Time, will ravel all the Clew.
1727 G. Berkeley Let. 27 June in Wks. (1871) IV. 145 My affairs were ravell'd by the death of his Majesty.
1796 G. D. Harley Poems 56 That jarring dæmon, Discord, shall..Confuse and ravel every strained string.
1832 A. Henderson Sc. Prov. 22 Fools ravel, and wise men redd.
1845 P. Fairbairn Typology Script. I. i. v. 197 It so ravels and complicates the meaning of the prophecies.
1894 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words 560 ‘'Twad raffle a magistrate.’ Newcastle saying.
1896 J. M. Barrie Sentimental Tommy xxix Make a clerk of him and he would only ravel the figures.
1907 ‘A. Hilliers’ Fanshawe of Fifth xxxiii. 307 The scheme to assassinate Buonaparte which was ravelled up with it [sc. the plan].
1920 G. P. Dunbar Peat Reek 16 He raivel't the bairns wi' their coonts an' sums.
1928 A. E. Pease Dict. Dial. N. Riding Yorks. 100/2 Bless t'bairn! sha's raafl'd oop aal me woostid.
1993 P. N. Dunn Spanish Picaresque Fiction vi. 229 If we disentangle the temporal sequence that Cervantes has deliberately raveled up, we find that [etc.].
1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. 272/1 Ravel, revel,..entangle (yarn, etc.); also figuratively.
2000 Standardization in Lowlands-L (Electronic mailing list) 30 Aug. This verra problem raivelt the spellin comatee an aa.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > entanglement or entangled state > become tangled [verb (intransitive)]
rivelOE
tangle1575
ravela1585
snarl1600
harl1609
twine1658
reeve1821
foul1835
taffle1840
a1585 A. Montgomerie Flyting with Polwart 511 Litill tent to their time the toone leit them take, Bot ay..[they] raveld in their reeles.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) iii. ii. 52 As you vnwinde her loue from him; Least it should rauell,..You must prouide to bottome it on me. View more context for this quotation
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 305 By thir own perplexities involv'd They ravel more. View more context for this quotation
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > agitate [verb (transitive)] > make dust rise in confusion
ravel1647
1647 J. Windet To Authour in J. Hall Poems sig. A6v Summon thy lungs, and with an angry breath Ravell the curious dust.
1647 J. Hall Poems ii. 100 Dust, ravel'd in the Aire will fly Up high.
2.
a. intransitive. Frequently with out. Originally: of a skein of yarn, a spool or reel of thread, etc.: to become unwound. Later (now more usually): (of fabric, an item of clothing, etc.) to fray; to unravel. Also figurative and in figurative context.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > [verb (intransitive)] > ravel out
rivel1530
ravel1603
fuzz1702
fray1721
sleaze1777
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > uncoiling or unwinding > become uncoiled or unwound [verb (intransitive)]
uncurl1594
outwind1596
ravel1603
unravel1643
unwind1656
unreel1749
to wind off1760
unwrap1833
uncoil1854
reel1906
1603 T. Powell Welch Bayte to Spare Prouender sig. C4 This vulgar's like a skaine of many threds Running into a rownd and looser liste, It rauels, and it opens ere ye wiste.
1606 J. Marston Parasitaster ii. i. sig. D Do's my Lord rauell out, do's he fret?
1622 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Phylaster (new ed.) v. 71 Your Royalty shall rauell.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 97/2 Ravell—when threads come out of the edges of the cloth.
1710 J. Groome Dignity & Honour Clergy iv. 47 'Tis the strong Hem which keeps all the Cloth from ravelling out.
1759 News-readers Pocket-bk. 95 The End..is made fast with Marline wove into the Yarns, to keep the Rope from raffling out.
1791 R. Sadler Wanley Penson III. ix. 236 What then is reason?—A child's garter—knitting at one end, ravelling at the other.
?1862 Trans. Philol. Soc. 1860–1 32 The hem of a garment is that which binds it round, and prevents it from ravelling out.
1937 Life 1 Nov. 134/3 (advt.) A Brown's Beach Jacket is perfectly quiet in the woods, can't catch on brush, won't ravel or tear.
1987 William & Mary Q. 44 189 The network of frontier exchange stitched by inhabitants over the previous decades was beginning to ravel.
1997 Toronto Star (Nexis) 18 Sept. e5 I bought some multi-color tweed..but now I see that it is extremely loosely woven and stretches and ravels badly.
b. transitive. To cause (a garment, piece of woven fabric, etc.) to unravel or fray; to unpick. Also with out, †away. Frequently figurative.
ΚΠ
1607 T. Middleton Revengers Trag. ii. sig. D3 You shall haue one woman knit more in a hower then any man can Rauell agen.
1642 S. Hartlib tr. J. A. Comenius Reformation of Schooles 8 It [sc. philosophy] is..busied altogether in tying of such knots which cannot be loosed, and in raveling out, what her selfe hath woven.
1672 R. Steele Plain Disc. Uprightness iii. 144 Hath he [sc. God], if not the most, yet the heartiest of your thoughts? When your ends are raffled to the bottom, do they end at him, or self?
1726 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey IV. xix. 173 The night still ravell'd, what the day renew'd.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Odyssey in Iliad & Odyssey II. 29 She wove the ample web, and by the aid Of torches ravell'd it again at night.
1809 M. Edgeworth Manœuvring vii, in Tales Fashionable Life III. 169 A fool, who ravels, as fast as one weaves, the web of her fortune!
1889 Cent. Mag. Apr. 841 A favorite gown had been woven by her maids, of cotton, striped with silk procured by raveling the general's discarded stockings.
1914 E. W. Wilcox Poems of Probl. 56 Are you ravelling out the wonderful fabric knit by Time, And throwing away the threads?
1995 Vancouver Sun (Nexis) 16 Sept. e16 Pull the threads away from around the perimeters of the cut shapes, ravelling the edge while forming a decorative fringe.
c. transitive. Frequently with out (formerly also †away). To draw or pull out (a thread, strand, etc.) by unravelling or unwinding. Also figurative and in figurative context.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > uncoiling or unwinding > uncoil or unwind [verb (transitive)] > untwine or untwist
untwinec1407
outtwinea1500
untwist1538
unknit1599
unravel1603
ravel1607
spret1832
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or detachment > loosening or unfastening > loosen, unfasten, or untie [verb (transitive)] > untwist, unravel, etc.
untwinec1407
unlacea1450
untwindc1460
untwist1538
unweave1542
distwine1562
feaze1568
unpleat1572
unspin1587
unplat1589
unwreathe1591
unreave1593
unravel1603
ravel1607
unwrithe1611
uncluea1616
unwork1623
unperplex1660
untwirla1703
unlay1726
disentwine1814
unbraid1828
unmesha1849
disintertwine1861
unplait1865
tiffle out1880
unleeze1889
1607 J. Marston What you Will 252 The Sisters ravell out our twine.
a1627 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Spanish Gipsie (1653) ii. sig. C4 A stich in a mans stocken not taken up in time ravells out all the rest.
1629 Bp. J. Hall Reconciler 3 That any occasion should be taken by ought of mine, to ravell but one thred of that seamless coat.
1650 W. Brough Sacred Princ. 383 How then darest thou ravell away that pretious threed.
1727 P. Longueville Hermit iii. 204 Having Twine to twist, and Thread to ravel out..kept him imploy'd till the following Spring.
1747 W. Arderon in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 44 429 Whenever it [sc. a spider] ascended, it wound its Thread with its Feet into a sort of Coil, and when it descended only ravelled it out again.
1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) II. vii. 164 We find a commission sitting at Lambeth..ravelling out the threads of a story.
1914 Jrnl. Afr. Soc. 13 126 The recipient of a new cloth sets to work to ravel out the thread at the ends and knot it..into a fringe.
1939 H. Footner Charles' Gift xvi. 216 She used to appropriate the castoff bathing suits and sweaters..and, after raveling out the wool, would proceed to knit herself strange, particolored underdrawers.
1966 Daily Rev. (Hayward, Calif.) 18 Sept. ii. 3/4 When you ravel the yarn to reknit the ribbing..you will find that it is quite kinky.
d. intransitive. Of (a piece of) thread, yarn, etc.: to unravel; †to unwind (from a reel) (obsolete).
ΚΠ
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler viii. 154 With such a nick..as may keep the line from any more of it ravelling from about the stick than so much of it as you intend. View more context for this quotation
a1657 G. Daniel Trinarchodia: Richard II lxxxvii, in Poems (1878) III. 158 Shee gives the Clue: and if it can but ravel To the Thred's End, wee seeke no farther travel.
1794 W. Anderson Piper of Peebles 6 Upo' their spindles, near the tap, They biggit ay a bulgy knap O'thread, cross-brath'd, firm to defend The rest frae reav'ling o'er the end.
1873 A. G. Murdoch Lilts on Doric Lyre 13 The threed in Tammie's shuttle Gaed raivelling aff the pirn.
1925 Amer. Mercury Jan. 16/1 She..broke off a thread that had raveled from the lining of her coat.
1955 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Jrnl. 19 Aug. Running through the ‘off Broadway’ scene like a glaring red thread raveling from a theater curtain.
2002 Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press (Nexis) 23 June b3 Threads ravel. Stitches loosen. Knots fray.
3. † b. transitive. With out. To spoil, waste, or destroy (a thing), as by pulling a fabric into threads. Obsolete.
a. transitive. With out. To disentangle, make plain or clear (a matter, a story, etc.); to explicate; to puzzle out. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > explanation, exposition > expound, explain [verb (transitive)]
arecchec885
unloukOE
overrunOE
sutelec1000
trahtnec1000
unfolda1050
belayc1175
openc1175
onopena1200
accountc1300
undo?a1366
remenea1382
interpret1382
unwrap1387
exploitc1390
enlumine1393
declarec1400
expoundc1400
unplait?c1400
enperc1420
planea1425
clearc1440
exponec1440
to lay outc1440
to give (also carry) lightc1449
unwind1482
expose1483
reducea1500
manifest1530
explicate1531
explaina1535
unlock?1536
dilucidate1538
elucidate1538
illustrate1538
rechec1540
explicate1543
illucidate1545
enucleate1548
unsnarl1555
commonstrate1563
to lay forth1577
straighten1577
unbroid1577
untwist1577
decipherc1586
illuminate1586
enlighten1587
resolvec1592
cipher1594
eliquidate1596
to take (a person) with one1599
rivelc1600
ravel1604
unbowel1606
unmist1611
extricate1614
unbolta1616
untanglea1616
enode1623
unperplexa1631
perspicuate1634
explata1637
unravel1637
esclarea1639
clarify1642
unweave1642
detenebrate1646
dismystery1652
undecipher1654
unfork1654
unparadox1654
reflect1655
enodate1656
unmysterya1661
liquidatea1670
recognize1676
to clear upa1691
to throw sidelight on1726
to throw (also cast, shed) light on (also upon)1731
eclaircise1754
irradiate1864
unbraid1880
predigest1905
to get (something) straight1920
disambiguate1960
demystify1963
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iii. iv. 170 Let him..Make you to rouell [1623 rauell] all this matter out. View more context for this quotation
1608 W. Shakespeare Richard II iv. i. 218 Must I rauell out My weaud vp Folly.
a1658 J. Cleveland Wks. (1687) 11 Then roll up, Muse, what thou hast ravel'd out.
1779 H. Cowley Albina iv. 63 A single glance to his suspicious eye, Would be a clue to ravel out our secret.
1832 J. Bree St. Herbert's Isle 89 What there she did, took me full thrice as long To ravel out.
1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise: Pt. IV 195 Asking words from these To ravel out his tale for him.
1973 M. L. Settle Prisons viii. 125 Thankful and I found it hard to ravel out for the others. One day we were an army and subject to military law; on another we were free men with a right to speak.
1988 M. Brodsky X in Paris 166 Less a succession than..an imbrication impossible to ravel out, of story events in their primordial perfection.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > bring to ruin or put an end to
undoc950
shendOE
forfarea1000
endc1000
to do awayOE
aquenchc1175
slayc1175
slayc1175
stathea1200
tinea1300
to-spilla1300
batec1300
bleschea1325
honisha1325
leesea1325
wastec1325
stanch1338
corrumpa1340
destroy1340
to put awayc1350
dissolvec1374
supplanta1382
to-shend1382
aneantizec1384
avoidc1384
to put outa1398
beshenda1400
swelta1400
amortizec1405
distract1413
consumec1425
shelfc1425
abroge1427
downthringc1430
kill1435
poisonc1450
defeat1474
perish1509
to blow away1523
abrogatea1529
to prick (also turn, pitch) over the perka1529
dash?1529
to bring (also send) to (the) pot1531
put in the pot1531
wipea1538
extermine1539
fatec1540
peppera1550
disappoint1563
to put (also set) beside the saddle1563
to cut the throat of1565
to throw (also turn, etc.) over the perch1568
to make a hand of (also on, with)1569
demolish1570
to break the neck of1576
to make shipwreck of1577
spoil1578
to knock on (in) the head (also rarely at head)1579
cipher1589
ruinate1590
to cut off by the shins1592
shipwreck1599
exterminate1605
finish1611
damnify1612
ravel1614
braina1616
stagger1629
unrivet1630
consummate1634
pulverizea1640
baffle1649
devil1652
to blow up1660
feague1668
shatter1683
cook1708
to die away1748
to prove fatal (to)1759
to knock up1764
to knock (or kick) the hindsight out or off1834
to put the kibosh on1834
to cook (rarely do) one's goose1835
kibosh1841
to chaw up1843
cooper1851
to jack up1870
scuttle1888
to bugger up1891
jigger1895
torpedo1895
on the fritz1900
to put paid to1901
rot1908
down and out1916
scuppera1918
to put the skids under1918
stonker1919
liquidate1924
to screw up1933
cruel1934
to dig the grave of1934
pox1935
blow1936
to hit for six1937
to piss up1937
to dust off1938
zap1976
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > misuse > [verb (transitive)] > waste
spilla1000
scatter1154
aspilla1250
rospa1325
waste1340
spend1390
consumec1425
waste1474
miswenda1500
forsumea1510
to cast away1530
to throw away1561
embezzle1578
squander1593
palter1595
profuse1611
squander1611
ravel1614
sport1622
to fool away1628
to stream out1628
to fribble away1633
sweal1655
frisk1665
to fiddle away1667
wantonize1673
slattera1681
swattle1681
drivel1686
swatter1690
to muddle away1707
squander1717
sot1746
slattern1747
meisle1808
fritter1820
waster1821
slobber1837
to cut to waste1863
fringe1863
potter1883
putter1911
profligate1938
to piddle away1942
haemorrhage1978
spaff2002
1614 T. Adams Diuells Banket ii. 72 As many sell their tame beasts in the Countrie, to enrich their wilde beasts in the Citie; so you haue others, that to reuell at a Christmas, will rauell out their Patrimonies.
a1627 W. Rowley & T. Middleton Wit at Severall Weapons v. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Llllll4/1 Shelter, shelter, if you be seene All's ravell'd out agen.
1660 N. Ingelo Bentivolio & Urania iv. 259 [They] slighted those mean Sports which ravell out the time of other people.
a1708 W. Beveridge Private Thoughts Relig. (1709) 182 Why..should I spend and ravel out my Thoughts upon that which will destroy my Soul?
a. transitive. To reduce or strip back to a rudimentary or original state. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1648 C. Walker Relations & Observ. ii. 139 To rauell back all Governments, to the first principles of nature.
1670 M. Medbourne tr. Molière Tartuffe iii. iii. 32 'Tis onely you Madam, can support me, Or ravel me back agen to my first nothing.
b. intransitive. To regress; to go back in time. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > backward movement > move backwards [verb (intransitive)]
reversec1450
recoil1483
back1486
regressa1525
retire1542
flinch1578
retrograde1613
recur1616
retrocede1638
ravel1656
backen1748
regrede1800
regrade1811
retrogress1812
1656 W. Sanderson Compl. Hist. Mary & James VI 487 Let us ravel back to the memory of the Black Prince.
1669 T. Shadwell Royal Shepherdess ii How do men ravel back to childhood.
1716 Enq. Orig. Constit. Eng. & Scotl. 34 It will be needless to ravel so far back as the Year 1637.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or breaking up into constituent parts > separate into constituents [verb (transitive)] > take apart
to-lithec1000
unjoinc1400
joint1530
unpart1536
disjoin1579
disjoint1587
untruss?1605
untack1641
ravela1658
disartuate1660
to take apart1744
demount1756
disarticulate1808
dismount1859
disassemble1881
destructure1951
deconstruct1973
a1658 J. Cleveland To his Hermaphrodite in Wks. (1687) 20 Ravel thy Body, and I find In every Limb a double kind.
6. transitive. figurative and in figurative contexts: to knit or bring together. Frequently with up or in opposition to unravel.With quot. 1948 cf. quot. a1616 at ravelled adj.2 2.
ΚΠ
1833 H. R. Cary tr. Pindar Pindar in Eng. Verse 67 If any speak in season due, And ravel up into a few His many ends combin'd.
1866 N.-Y. Times 27 Jan. 5/1 The author's ingenuity in raveling and unraveling the intricacies of a carefully-constructed plot.
1948 Eng. Jrnl. 37 346 English could ‘ravel up the sleeve of care’ after all the other departments had torn it to shreds.
2000 Advertiser (Adelaide) (Nexis) 9 Dec. (Mag. section) 21 He here ravels and unravels a grandly intricate tale.
7. intransitive. To examine or inquire into something. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > investigate, inspect [verb (intransitive)]
inquirec1330
aska1382
ensearch1382
questiona1500
investigate?1520
vestigatea1561
to look into ——1561
perpend1568
mouse1575
rake1603
undergo1605
fathom1607
ravel1618
examine1628
inquisition1644
to cast abouta1676
inspect1703
sound1793
disquisitea1823
look-see1862
to cast about one1867
1618 Sir H. May in S. R. Gardiner Fortescue Papers (1871) 46 Being unwillinge to ravell into the memory of those offensive particulers.
1669 W. Simpson Hydrologia Chymica 34 We have already sufficiently ravell'd into the nature of both vitriol and iron.
1710 S. Palmer Moral Ess. Prov. 141 The malicious..ravel into the conduct of a man of honour in the dark.
1749 Rep. High Court Chancery 3 In a Decree of Foreclosure against an Infant, though the Infant has six Months after he comes of Age, to shew Cause, &c. yet he cannot ravel into the Account, nor even redeem, but only shew an Error in the Decree.
8. transitive. Apparently: to turn (a matter) over hurriedly or carelessly. Cf. rabble v.1 2. Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
1644 K. Digby Two Treat. Ded. They but ravel it over loosely, and pitch upon disputing against particular conclusions.
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. (citing Digby) Ravel,..to hurry over in confusion. [Also in later dictionaries.]]
III. To talk confusedly.
9. intransitive. Originally and chiefly regional (British and Irish English). To talk incoherently or confusedly; to ramble, waffle.
ΚΠ
1716 Mem. Life Ambrose Barnes (1867) vii. 155 This Doctor, raffling on, after his wonted manner.
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. (at cited word) To Ravel, to speak in an irregular, unconnected manner; to wander in speech. Aberd[een].
1914 G. Fitzmaurice Pie-dish in Five Plays 150 He ravelling in his talk as the like of him do.
1991 J. McGahern Power of Darkness 34 What are you ravelling about?
2002 A. Doerr Shell Collector (2003) 20 The voice raveled on.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† ravelv.2
Obsolete. rare.
transitive. To scratch.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > injure [verb (transitive)] > scratch or graze
cratchc1320
scrat1340
cramse1440
scratch1474
crutch1481
rata1560
razea1586
gravel1608
ravel1621
graze1701
ruffle1731
skin1795
bark1850
1621 J. Reynolds Triumphs Gods Revenge: 1st Bk. ii. 62 A faire thrust..which onely pierced his shirt, and ravelled his skinne.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
† ravelv.3
Obsolete. rare.
transitive. To sift.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > [verb (transitive)] > clean grain > by sieve
temsec950
ridderOE
boltc1175
bunt1340
riddle1440
ree?1523
range1538
succernate1623
ravela1690
reeve1777
a1690 S. Jeake Λογιστικηλογία (1696) 74 Houshold-Bread of the best Wheat unravelled, or ravelled through the coursest Boultel.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
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n.11467n.21634n.31805adj.11591
adj.2a1603
v.1a1540v.21621v.3a1690