wreathev.
/riːð/, U.S. /rið/ I. Senses relating to writhing or wrenching.† 2. transitive. figurative. To twist the meaning of or give a forced interpretation to (a text, communication, etc.); to misinterpret or twist the words of (a person). Cf. writhe v. 9. Obsolete.† 4. † 5. transitive. To make (a bow) by bending one's body. Obsolete. rare.
1. † a. transitive. To contort (the body, limbs, etc.); to cause (the body, limbs, etc.) to writhe. Obsolete.In quot. c1425 reflexive.† b. transitive. To twist or turn (something or someone) forcibly round or to the side; to wrench (something) away or in a particular direction; to wring. Also figurative. Obsolete.In quot. c1429: to torture.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > writhing or twisting movement > writhe or twist [verb (transitive)]
wresta1000
throwOE
twingec1000
wringc1000
wrench?c1225
writhec1400
wreathec1425
wryc1460
screw1600
twist1769
c1425 Edward, Duke of York Master of Game (Vesp. B.xii) (1904) 76 (MED) He..hath fraied the barke of þe tree away and ibroke þe braunches and wrethed him wel hie.
1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos v. sig. M.ivv In vain he sekes to flee, and wrigling wreathes his limmes about.
1695 R. Blackmore Prince Arthur viii. 222 Octa his wounded Body wreaths in Pain.
1697 R. Pierce Bath Mem. ii. v. 318 He was suddenly seized with a violent Convulsion Fit, which wreathed him every way.
1713 J. Gay Rural Sports 8 Impatient of the Wound, He rolls and wreathes his shining Body round.
1787 Minor iii. ix. 187 My mother..wreathed her body,..and cried.
1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna xi. xi. 242 Even in death their lips are wreathed with fear.
1855 E. C. Gaskell North & South I. ix. 112 Margaret wreathed her throat in a scornful curve.
ΘΠ
the world > space > direction > direct [verb (transitive)] > turn (something) to a (different) direction > from normal direction
writheOE
wreathec1429
wryc1460
vertc1590
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > sideways movement or a sideways movement > cause to move sideways [verb (transitive)] > twist or wrench to the side
writheOE
wreathec1429
c1429 Mirour Mans Saluacioune (1986) l. 2753 When thay wilfully synnyng hym eftsones crucifye: And thay synne more wrething Crist in his deitee Then thay þat crucified hym lyving here in humanitee.
?a1475 Promptorium Parvulorum (Winch.) (1908) 546 Wrestyn, or wrethyn [1440 Harl. 221 wrythyn] a-ȝene, reflecto.
1573 J. Sanford tr. L. Guicciardini Garden of Pleasure f. 5v If she [sc. the law] bende, and wreath aside hir face, Both honestie and reason lose their place.
1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 63 To wrest the will of man, or to wreath his hearte to our humours.
1586 A. Day Eng. Secretorie i. sig. D2v Stately trees (some toppes wherof the winde seemeth to wreathe and turne at one side).
1617 S. Purchas Pilgrimage (ed. 3) 139 They killed a man which was a first-borne, wreathing his head from his body.
1674 R. Hooke Animadversions Machina Cœlestis 52 This Plate..must be wrenched or wreithed, so that the Plain thereof must stand parallel to the Plain of the Index-Frame.
a1706 J. Evelyn Sculptura (1906) ii. iii. 15 To wreath, rub, slap and smooth them [sc. blankets] till you have rendred them very soft and gentle.
1712 A. Pope Rape of Locke ii, in Misc. Poems 365 Was it for this you..your Locks..with tort'ring Irons wreath'd around?
1737 W. Whiston tr. Josephus Antiq. Jews ii. ix, in tr. Josephus Genuine Wks. 54 Moses threw it [sc. a diadem] down to the ground; and..wreathed it round, and tread upon it.
c. intransitive and transitive (reflexive). To bend or turn in a particular direction; to twist about; to writhe.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > writhing or twisting movement > writhe or twist [verb (intransitive)] > undergo writhing
wringa1225
wreathea1500
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > change of direction of movement > change direction of movement [verb (intransitive)] > move in winding course
to turn and winda1398
wreathea1500
twine1553
indent1567
virea1586
crank1594
to dance the hay or hays1600
maze1605
serpent1606
to indent the way1612
cringlea1629
indenture1631
circumgyre1634
twist1635
glomerate1638
winda1682
serpentine1767
meander1785
zigzag1787
zag1793
to worm one's way1822
vandyke1828
crankle1835
thread the needle1843
switchback1903
rattlesnake1961
zig1969
a1500 W. Lichefeld Complaint of God (Caius) l. 26 in Anglia (1911) 34 508 To thys thou takyst none entent; Thow wreythest [c1450 Lamb. 853 wriþist] a wey full onkyndly.
1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos iv. sig. K.ivv From their course ye starres to wreath, And soules she coniure can.
1584 T. Twyne tr. Virgil in T. Phaer & T. Twyne tr. Virgil XIII. Bks. Æneidos xi. sig. Si The snake about him wrigling winding wreades with griefe of wound.
1599 ‘T. Cutwode’ Caltha Poetarum xxxi. sig. B6 The Bay tree..seems to sigh..And with the wanton wind to wrig & wreath, against the god.
?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads vii. 236 Aiax a farre greater stone lift up, and, wreathing round, With all his body layd to it, he sent it forth.
a1613 G. Owen Descr. Penbrokshire (1892) viii. 68 To ymagine that the coale should wreth or turne it self in some place to the one [vein].
1753 Adventurer No. 31. ⁋10 Wreathing themselves in various contortions, a new brood of serpents hissed round her head.
1759 Philos. Trans. 1758 (Royal Soc.) 50 585 Like the slugs, they wreath themselves up, and when touched make themselves quite round.
1849 C. Brontë Shirley III. vi. 151 Beauty is never so beautiful as when, if I teaze it, it wreathes back on me with spirit.
1865 C. Kingsley Hereward ii, in Good Words Jan. 82/2 His long snake neck and cruel visage wreathed about in search of prey.
1878 S. Phillips On Seaboard 60 Where..the lithe brown sea-flowers wreathe and sway.
1989 B. James Long Night Dance xxi. 166 The wind wreathed back and forth between them.
2009 Africa News (Nexis) 27 Apr. He wreathes as if in pain when he remembers the horror.
d. transitive. To arrange or compose (one's expression, features, etc.) into a smile. Also reflexive: (of the mouth, lips, etc.) to be arranged in this way. Also with in, to. Cf. wreathed adj. 4.Later passive examples with in (e.g. quot. 2021) probably show the influence of to be wreathed in smiles at sense 7a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > face with expression or expression > face with expression [verb (transitive)] > distort
wringa1300
fleer?a1400
writhec1425
cringe1594
screw1601
scringe1608
grin1681
to screw up1692
prim1707
frown1775
wring1806
wreathe1813
squinch1840
1813 W. Scott Rokeby i. 35 Contempt kept Bertram's anger down, And wreathed to savage smile his frown.
1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. xvi. 302 Gilbert..walked up to the pair, his weather-beaten countenance wreathed into what were meant for paternal smiles.
1868 M. E. Braddon Dead-Sea Fruit I. i. 8 The mobile mouth..will wreathe itself into such a smile that [etc.].
1877 A. B. Edwards Thousand Miles up Nile x. 286 [They] wreathed their countenances in ghastly smiles.
1955 A. Huxley Genius & Goddess (1956) 64 The strawberry lips wreathed themselves into what was intended to be a richly voluptuous smile.
2021 Birmingham Evening Mail (Nexis) 12 Mar. (National ed. 1) 24 Scuttle, his scrubbed features wreathed in a benign smile, turned to my wife.
ΘΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > misinterpretation > distortion or perversion of meaning > pervert or distort [verb (transitive)]
crooka1340
deprave1382
pervertc1390
strainc1449
drawc1450
miswrest?a1475
bewrya1522
wry?1521
to make a Welshman's hose ofa1529
writhea1533
wrest1533
invert1534
wring?1541
depravate1548
rack1548
violent1549
wrench1549
train1551
wreathe1556
throw1558
detorta1575
shuffle1589
wriggle1593
distortc1595
to put, set, place, etc. on the rack1599
twine1600
wire-draw1610
monstrify1617
screw1628
corrupt1630
gloss1638
torture1648
force1662
vex1678
refract1700
warp1717
to put a force upon1729
twist1821
ply1988
1556 [implied in: L. Pollard Fyve Homilies sig. G.ii They vse the scripture with no lesse vnreuerent talke, gestyng, yea with wreathyng of it accordyng vnto theyr fonde braynes and phansies then they wolde or myght do a tale of Robyn hood. (at wreathing n. 2a)].
1566 T. Stapleton Returne Vntruthes Jewelles Replie iv. f. 62v To wreste and wrethe Scriptures at his pleasure.
1656 J. Hammond Leah & Rachel 24 They were resolved to wreth and stretch their commission to the prejudice of Mary-land.
3. transitive (reflexive). To insinuate oneself into a person's thoughts, a situation, etc. Chiefly with into. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming in > go or come in [verb (reflexive)] > surreptitiously or subtly
wringa1525
shuffle1565
wreathea1571
insinuate1598
conveya1656
the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > introduction or bringing in > infuse [verb (reflexive)] > intrude or insinuate > of a person
ingyre1513
thrust1530
wind1548
wreathea1571
insinuate1578
screw1602
foist1603
wimble1605
wriggle1670
worm1711
a1571 J. Jewel Expos. Two Epist. Paul to Thessalonians (1583) (2 Thess. ii. 7) 310 [Antichrist] shall shew forth himselfe at the firste with countenaunce of deuotion and holinesse, that hee may closely and..secretlye, wreath in himselfe.
1663 W. Yonge Englands Shame 23 To wreath himself into this settlement, he first becomes acquainted with this Doctor.
1867 O. W. Holmes Guardian Angel xviii. 206 He wound and wreathed himself into her thoughts.
1930 Hearst's Internat. Apr. 76/2 One of the few delectable viands that wreathe themselves into a good man's dreams.
a. transitive. To take (something) from a person by force; to wrest (something) from a person. Obsolete.
ΘΠ
the mind > possession > taking > seizing > seize [verb (transitive)] > with violence or forcibly
reaveeOE
latchc950
seize1338
rape?1387
wrestc1426
extort1529
redeema1578
wreathe1590
force1602
extend1610
wrencha1616
1590 C. S. Briefe Resol. Right Relig. 15 Authoritie to wreath from kinges their crownes.
1640 J. Man tr. N. Coeffeteau Epitome Hist. Faire Argenis & Polyarchus 12 The gentle Theocrine..layes hold on that traytors sword, wreathes it from him, and presently employes it, against him.
b. transitive. To rend or tear (something). Obsolete.
ΘΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > tearing or tearing apart > tear [verb (transitive)]
tearc1000
renta1325
reavea1400
lacerate?a1425
raise?a1425
rivea1425
shearc1450
unsoundc1450
ranch?a1525
rechec1540
pilla1555
wreathe1599
intertear1603
shark1611
vulture1628
to tear at1848
spalt1876
1599 J. Lok in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (new ed.) II. i. 106 If it should happen to haue lighted on any part of the shippe,..it would rent and wreth sayles, mast, shroudes and shippe and all in manner like a wyth.
1606 N. Baxter Sir Philip Sydneys Ouránia sig. Ej The stemme of an Oke in peeces they wreath.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 487 Lyons..doe not onely bite, but also wreath and teare the wounds.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > respect > [verb (transitive)] > show respect for > bow or curtsey to
lout971
abowOE
aloutc1390
obeishc1400
curtsy1566
cringe1609
leg1628
salaam1684
wreathe1730
bob1847
1730 J. Thomson Autumn in Seasons 185 Let..Those of fairer front..Wreathe the deep bow, diffuse the lying smile.
II. Senses relating to winding, coiling, or intertwining.† 10. transitive. Scottish. To fasten (a yoke or other burden) on a person's neck. Also with about, upon, etc. Only in figurative contexts. Obsolete.The sense is perhaps influenced by Lamentations 1:14 (see quot. 1611 at sense 8b).† 11. intransitive. U.S. Of flour or meal in milling: to cling to the central hole or eye of the millstone so closely as to be hindered in its descent. Obsolete. rare.Apparently only attested in dictionaries or glossaries.
6. transitive. To twist, curl, or coil (something); to form (something) into rings or coils.
ΘΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [verb (transitive)]
writheOE
foldc1330
wrall1398
wreathec1425
enrol1530
twind1548
involve1555
wring1585
invilup1592
rolla1616
entortill1641
convolve1650
coila1691
circumflex1851
serpentine1883
convolute1887
swirl1902
whorl1904
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [verb (reflexive)]
wreathec1425
coil1664
wreathe1776
c1425 [implied in: Edward, Duke of York Master of Game (Vesp. B.xii) (1904) 75 (MED) If he fynde þe fumes iwrethede..of greet fourme and in grete wrethis and wel nessh, it is tokenyng þat it is an hert chaseable. (at wreathed adj. 1a)].
1535 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (rev. ed.) v. xii. f. xl/2 These hooles bene wrethed and wounde [a1398 BL Add. wralled and iwounde, 1495 de Worde wrapped & wounde] as a spyndle of a presse.
1555 R. Eden tr. S. von Herberstein Rerum moscouiticarum commentarii in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 299v Longe heare..which they wreath on both sydes theyr eares.
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Fiij An adder, Wreath'd vp in fatall folds. View more context for this quotation
1660 R. Boyle New Exper. Physico-mechanicall Digress. 379 The Beards of wilde Oats..continually wreath and unwreath themselves according to..the temperature of the ambient Air.
1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) i. x. 22 The Guts are oblong, round, hollow bodies variously wreathed about.
1738 J. Thomson Agamemnon i. vii. 26 Troy..yet wreathing smoke to heaven.
1751 T. Gray Elegy xxvi. 10 Yonder nodding beech That wreathes its old fantastic roots so high.
1826 J. M. Sherer Notes & Refl. Ramble Germany 126 A large hollow spire of open stone-work, wreathed and twisted as fancifully as an elegant toy might be.
2001 USA Today (Nexis) 5 Apr. Bobby Jones rolled up in a golf cart and sat on the hillside, a cigarette wreathing smoke in the air.
7. † e. intransitive. Chiefly Scottish. Of snow: to form into drifts. Cf. wreath n. 9a. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To surround, encircle, or coil around (a person or thing); to enshroud or envelop (a person or thing). Also figurative. Now frequently in passive with in, e.g. wreathed in smoke, wreathed in mystery. to be wreathed in smiles: to be smiling broadly; cf. sense 1d.
ΘΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [verb (transitive)] > coil round (something)
enlacec1374
whipc1500
wreathe1509
enwrap1578
circumvolute1599
twine1602
ingyre1610
wrap?1611
wire1645
serpenta1660
whirl1676
convolute1698
intertwine1717
entwine1796
overtwinea1817
enwind1849
warplea1870
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surrounding > surround or lie around [verb (transitive)] > surround with > as with something twisted
wreathe1509
writhea1522
1509 S. Hawes Pastyme of Pleasure (de Worde) xviii. sig. G.ivv There stode a dragon of fyne golde so pure Upon his tayle of myghty fortytude Wrethed and skaled all wyth asure.
1558 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Queen Elizabeth (1908) 41 vj Corled hed Sculles..wrethen abowte with redd golde sarsnett and sylver Lawne.
1631 T. Heywood Fair Maid of West: 2nd Pt. i. sig. Bv I for this Will wreathe thee in a glorious arch of gold, stuck full of Indian gemmes.
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd iv. 76 Dusk faces with white silken Turbants wreath'd . View more context for this quotation
1842 J. Wilson Christopher North (1857) I. 243 Contentment wreathes with silk and velvet the prisoner's chains.
1854 F. W. Mant Midshipman 90 Like some huge baronial castle wreathed in with smoke.
1876 Serm. Internat. Sunday-school Lessons (Monday Club) 282 The vanguard come marching gayly, fragrant with flowers, wreathed in smiles, rippling with laughter.
1922 C. Somerville Shriek iii. 37 Mauve fag smoke wreathing her pruned, red locks.
1969 C. Beaton Diary Whitsun in Self Portrait with Friends (1979) xxvii. 400 Life is a delightful wonderland for him; much of the time he is wreathed in smiles.
1986 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 21 June The British SAS is wreathed in mystery.
1991 L. Sante Low Life iv. iii. 335 The sense of might-have-been that wreathes our image of the freewheeling prewar bohemia.
2002 Sight & Sound Apr. 35/1 We see the car wrapped around a tree,..the engine wreathed in smoke.
b. transitive. With about, around, round. To wind or twist (something) around a person or thing; to surround or encircle a person or thing with (something). Frequently in passive.
ΘΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [verb (transitive)] > coil round (something) > coil (something) round or upon itself
windc1325
wrap?1523
to roll up1530
wreathe1530
upwind1560
twist1582
twinec1585
circumvolute1599
bottom1612
rolla1616
overwhelm1634
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 785/1 He had a kercher wreathed about his heed.
1578 M. Jennings tr. E. de Maisonneufve Gerileon of Englande i. f. 80v [This] dismeasured Crocodile..wreathyng his Tayle..all aboute his [sc. a horse's] Feete afore.
1605 B. Jonson Sejanus v. i. 217 A new Head being set vpon your Statue, A Rope is since found wreath'd about it. View more context for this quotation
1622 H. Peacham Compl. Gentleman v. 42 A Serpent wreathed about a Sword, placed vpright.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 30 Round that, they wreath a white or red Turban.
1835 J. C. Mangan tr. F. von Matthisson in Dublin Univ. Mag. Oct. 411 The white flowers wreathed Around my temples by thy whiter hand.
1877 Ld. Tennyson Achilles over Trench in 19th Cent. Aug. 1 Around his head The glorious goddess wreath'd a golden cloud.
1905 R. B. Cunninghame Graham Progress 63 Camelotes brought down by the flood were wreathed about them like gigantic eels.
1966 N. Marsh Killer Dolphin x. 292 Trevor gazed admiringly into his face and wreathed his arms round his neck.
2017 Toronto Star (Nexis) 1 July gt 4 An orange-coloured motorcycle frame sits idle on the garage floor, a mess of wires wreathed around a 400 cc engine.
c. intransitive and transitive (reflexive). With about, around, round. To coil around something.
ΘΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [verb (intransitive)] > coil round something or itself
winda1577
wreathe1580
reeve1821
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [verb (reflexive)] > coil round something
twine1543
wreathe1580
1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 105 When the Vine riseth, it wreatheth about ye Elme.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iv. iii. 109 About his necke A greene and guilded snake had wreath'd it selfe. View more context for this quotation
1631 R. Brathwait Eng. Gentlewoman 122 The Iuye..windes and wreathes it selfe about the Plant.
1850 H. Melville White-jacket viii. 41 It..wreathes and serpentines round the cable and messenger like an elegantly-modeled garter-snake round the twisted stalks of a vine.
1935 C. Bush Case of Chinese Gong xvii. 306 Men's teeth were gripping tightly, but the fingers of Travers were as imperturbably unmoving where they wreathed about the lapels.
1991 Omni Feb. 60/2 He tore away the vines that had wreathed themselves around the driver's door pillar.
d. intransitive. Of smoke, flame, fog, etc.: to move with a twisting or coiling motion; to coil about, around, or round a person or thing. Also transitive (reflexive) in same sense. Also figurative. Cf. wreath n. 4b.
ΘΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [verb (intransitive)]
twinec1300
foldc1330
writhea1413
twind1575
spire1607
wreathe1776
coil1798
scroll1868
threada1879
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [verb (reflexive)]
wreathec1425
coil1664
wreathe1776
1776 J. Barclay Psalms, Paraphrased 88 The flames of fire shall round him wreathe.
a1853 F. W. Robertson Lect. & Addr. Lit. & Social Topics (1858) i. 20 The clouds wreathing themselves in that strange wild way.
1867 W. Morris Life & Death of Jason vii. 133 Real fire of pine-wood..Wreathing around my body greedily.
1875 E. C. Stedman Victorian Poets (1887) iii. 81 The weary penman who could send a smile wreathing from Land's End to John o' Groats.
1964 J. Cleary Fall of Eagle v. 165 Smoke was wreathing up from several fires.
2008 S. Laurens Edge of Desire xvii. 503 Fog had already thickened, wisps wreathing about their greatcoated shoulders.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > snow > snow or fall (of snow) [verb (intransitive)] > from specific accumulation
snowball1684
wreathe1861
1861 R. Quinn Heather Lintie 56 We'd na be rad o' scath frae wather, Though snaw was wreathin'.
1882 A. Thomas Best for Her xi. 99 The run from London to Chester is a slow one this evening, in consequence of the snow wreathing in several places on the line.
1887 D. Donaldson Jamieson's Sc. Dict. Suppl. 280/1 The snaw was wraithin' in the glen.
8. † a. transitive. To make (something) by intertwining or interweaving separate elements; to interweave (something) with another. Also figurative. Obsolete except as in sense 9a.† c. transitive. English regional (south-eastern). To stabilize (a bank of earth) with a wattle hurdle (hurdle n. 1a). Cf. wreath n. 3. Obsolete.† d. intransitive. To become intertwined with something. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΠ
the world > space > relative position > intertwining or interweaving > intertwine or interweave [verb (transitive)]
wind971
braidc1000
writheOE
biwevec1300
enlacec1374
winda1387
tracec1400
bredec1440
knit1470
embraid1481
interlace1523
entrail?1530
wreathea1547
beknit1565
twist1565
wand1572
embroid1573
mat1577
complect1578
intertex1578
inweave1578
lace1579
plight1589
entwine1597
bewreath1598
interweave1598
implicate1610
twine1612
complicatea1631
implex1635
intertwine1641
plash1653
enwreathe1667
raddle1671
intertwist1797
pleach1830
impleach1865
the world > space > relative position > intertwining or interweaving > intertwine or interweave [verb (transitive)] > form by
wind971
writheOE
weave1495
contex1542
wreathea1547
twista1592
comply?1611
inweave1667
entwine1697
a1547 Earl of Surrey Poems (1964) 95 Cables brayded thre fould.., to gether wrethed swer [= sure].
1579 E. K. in E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Dec. 81 Gloss. A kind of woodde..fit to wreath and bynde in leapes to catch fish withall.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies v. xxix. 420 A great cord wreathed of chaines of roasted mays.
a1771 T. Gray Death of Hoel in Poems (1775) 59 Chains..Wreath'd in many a golden link.
a1800 W. Cowper Gratitude in W. Hayley Life & Posthumous Writings Cowper (1803) II. 267 She gave..me beside Wreath'd into an elegant bow The Ribon with which it is tied.
1811 T. Davis Gen. View Agric. Wilts. (new ed.) 263 Hurdles..made of hazel rods closely wreathed.
1844 W. Barnes Poems Rural Life in Dorset Dial. 289 Bliake, a bar of wood..with holes to take the soles of a hurdle while the maker wreaths it.
1872 A. B. Whiting in R. A. Whiting Golden Memories of Earnest Life 225 Truth and goodness wreathe a chain Of purity.
1887 D. Donaldson Jamieson's Sc. Dict. Suppl. 280 Wrethin' strae-rapes.
b. transitive. To join (two or more things or people) by twisting, entwining, or interweaving. Also figurative. Frequently in passive, and often with together.Sometimes: spec. to cross or fold (the arms); now rare.
ΘΠ
the world > space > relative position > intertwining or interweaving > intertwine or interweave [verb (reflexive)]
wreathe1553
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [verb (transitive)] > coil or twist together
entertain1481
wreathe1553
wringle1572
weave1578
entwine1616
intertwine1641
encurl1647
betwine1661
intervolve1667
twine1679
interwind1693
implicate1826
interwreathe1866
thong1888
the world > space > relative position > posture > position of specific body parts > position specific body part [verb (transitive)] > arms or hands > specific arms
foldc1374
shut1614
wreathea1616
crucify1633
hyperabduct1945
1553 [implied in: J. Brende tr. Q. Curtius Rufus Hist. vi. f. 105 By reason that the wreathing & wrappinge togither of the bowes kept them of from the bodies of the tres. (at wreathing n. 1)].
1555 R. Eden tr. G. F. de Oviedo y Valdés Summarie Gen. Hist. West Indies in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde (new ed.) f. 193v The leaues of this Cocus grow owte of the trunkes of the tree as doo the fyngers owt of the hande, wreathynge them selues one within an other and so spreadynge abrode.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 61 You shall wynde and wreathe the greene blades [of the garlic] togeather, and treade them to the grounde.
1602 J. Marston Hist. Antonio & Mellida iv. sig. H (stage direct.) Enter Andrugio and Antonio wreathed together.
1611 Bible (King James) Lament. i. 14 The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are wreathed, and come vp vpon my necke. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. i. 18 You haue learn'd..to wreath your Armes like a Male-content. View more context for this quotation
1692 R. South 12 Serm. I. 568 In such base, noysom Hearts, you shall ever see Pride and Ingratitude indivisibly wreathed, and twisted together.
1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna i. viii. 5 I behold..An Eagle and a Serpent wreathed in fight.
1847 F. Madden Laȝamon's Brut III. 31 Twelve swine, tied together, with withies exceeding great wreathed altogether.
1975 Art Bull. 57 424/1 Wreathing his arms, he conceals his hands in his bosom.
1991 E. Peters Summer of Danes (1992) iii. 48 Two brisk figures,..amiably wreathed together, collided with Bledri in mid-passage, and untwined themselves to embrace him.
2009 Indo-Asian News Service (Nexis) 17 Jan. The selected video entries of the musical ensembles will be wreathed together into a live YouTube symphony.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [verb (transitive)] > with wattled work
wreathe1569
1569 in Court Minutes Surrey & Kent Sewer Comm. (London County Council) (1909) 34 That he stake wreth & lande vppe so mutche earth as neade ys.
1572 in Court Minutes Surrey & Kent Sewer Comm. (London County Council) (1909) 120 To stake walle or wreath his banke against the riuer of thames.
1576 in Court Minutes Surrey & Kent Sewer Comm. (London County Council) (1909) 252 To scale watle and wretche [read wrethe] the outer side of the saied shewer.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [verb (intransitive)] > coil or twist together
wreathe1631
entwine1665
intertwine1782
interwind1876
intervolve1886
1631 R. Brathwait Eng. Gentlewoman Table sig. †2v The Ivie while it is winding, decayes the plant, with which it is wreathing.
9.
a. transitive. To make (a garland, crown, etc.) from flowers, leaves, and stems; to arrange (flowers, leaves, etc.) in a wreath. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > floriculture and flower arranging > [verb (transitive)] > arrange into garland or wreath
garlandc1420
wreathe1558
1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos vii. sig. U.iv Him tame at euery beck their sister Siluia deere did loue, And wrething garlond floures, wold trimly trick his hornes aboue.
1595 W. S. Lamentable Trag. Locrine ii. vi. 14 A flowring garland wreath'd of bay.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 892 From his slack hand the Garland wreath'd for Eve Down drop'd. View more context for this quotation
1817 R. Southey Wat Tyler i. 11 Your friend..Wreath'd me this cowslip garland for my head.
1849 J. Ruskin Seven Lamps Archit. iv. 95 His next step was to gather the flowers themselves, and wreathe them in his capitals.
1892 Ld. Tennyson Akbar's Dream 23 Gathering..From each fair plant the blossom choicest-grown To wreathe a crown..for the king.
1968 K. W. Eyre Sandalwood Fan (1970) xvii. 174 I could think of nothing else but the laughing child who no longer would have a reason to wreathe flowers, or to pin them in her hair.
1973 E. M. Galvin in Portraits: Peterborough Area Women Past & Present (1975) ii. 98 He has wreathed a daisy crown.
b. transitive. To adorn or encircle (a person or thing) with a wreath or garland.
ΘΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > floriculture and flower arranging > [verb (transitive)] > adorn with flowers, garlands, or wreaths
wreathe1579
engarlanda1586
garland1593
laurela1627
festoon1769
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 792 He came to Cæsar, and presented him a Diadeame wreathed about with laurell.
1602 A. Munday tr. 3rd Pt. Palmerin of Eng. xlviii. f. 143v Two Siluane young men, cirkled and wrethed with Iuie both alike.
1678 J. Dryden All for Love i. 5 With Laurels wreath your posts, And strow with Flow'rs the Pavement.
1712 A. Pope tr. Ovid Sapho to Phaon in tr. Ovid Epist. (ed. 8) 8 Wou'd you with Ivy wreath your flowing Hair.
1796 S. T. Coleridge Poems Var. Subj. 28 With one fresh garland of Pierian flowers..My languid hand shall wreath thy mossy urn.
1848 E. Bulwer-Lytton Harold I. i. i. 6 Doors and windows were..wreathed with garlands.
1887 C. Bowen tr. Virgil Æneid v, in tr. Virgil in Eng. Verse 224 Then with the myrtle of Venus the chieftain wreathes him.
1982 L. Tarnoi Wingless Victory xiv. 148 Faunus was the victor of the drinking bout. Aspasia wreathed his brow with vine leaves.
2007 S. Friar Compan. Cathedrals & Abbeys 161/2 The Green Man is the May King..wreathed in garlands of oak and hawthorn.
c. transitive. Of flowers, leaves, etc.: to form a wreath about (something). Also in figurative contexts.
ΘΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surrounding > surround or lie around [verb (transitive)] > wind around
bewindc1200
to wind about1586
circumplicate1623
wreathe1718
1718 M. Prior Solomon on Vanity ii, in Poems Several Occasions (new ed.) 436 In the Flow'rs that wreath the sparkling Bowl, Fell Adders hiss.
1796 S. T. Coleridge Lines Autumnal Evening 10 Each flower that wreath'd the dewy locks of Spring.
1879 Rose-Belford's Canad. Monthly Mar. 360/1 The cypress rather than the laurel wreathed his brow.
1908 Westm. Gaz. 10 Dec. 2/3 Flowers of heaven!..wreathing The God-centred vision of all coming years!
1994 Atlanta Jrnl. & Constit. (Nexis) 5 July e7 A man in a toga..with a laurel wreathing his head.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fact or action of being joined or joining > attachment > attach or affix [verb (transitive)]
fastenOE
fasta1225
tachec1315
to-seta1340
catcha1350
affichea1382
to put ona1382
tacka1387
to put to1396
adjoina1400
attach?a1400
bend1399
spyndec1400
to-tachc1400
affixc1448
complexc1470
setc1480
attouch1483
found?1541
obligate1547
patch1549
alligate1563
dight1572
inyoke1595
infixa1616
wreathe1643
adlige1650
adhibit1651
oblige1656
adent1658
to bring to1681
engage1766
superfix1766
to lap on1867
accrete1870
1643 in Rec. Parl. Scotl. to 1707 (2007) 1643/6/21 Not knowing the greatnes of the ill from which we have bein delyvered, nor considering the heavines of that antichristian yock if it salbe again wraithed upon our neckes.
1650 J. Nicoll Diary (1836) 17 These men..labour to wreith the yok of thair oppressiounes upon thair bodyes and soules.
a1732 T. Boston Crook in Lot (1805) 46 A yoke, which the wretched sufferers can neither bear, nor yet shake off, is wreathed about their necks.
1759 W. Robertson Hist. Scotl. (1817) I. ii. 399 Troops..employed as instruments for subduing the Scots, and wreathing the yoke about their neck.
1777 R. Watson Hist. Reign Philip II I. iv. 92 Till, the yoke being wreathed about their necks, the most secret murmurings became..fatal to those who uttered them.
1827 R. Pollok Course of Time II. vii. 78 Not those who..sailed To purchase human flesh; or wreath the yoke Of vassalage on savage liberty.
1852 J. Jarvie Disc. 108 The burden of man's guilt is wreathed to the neck of the Only Begotten.
ΚΠ
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1020/1 Wreathe, the food is said to wreathe when its particles hug the eye so closely as to retard or prevent their descent.
Compounds
wreathewort n. now historical (John Ruskin's name for) an orchid.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > orchids
satyrionOE
bollockwort?a1300
sanicle14..
bollock?a1425
martagon1548
orchis1559
dogstones1562
hare's-ballocks1562
stone1562
bollock grass1578
dog's cods1578
dog's cullions1578
double-leaf1578
fly-orchis1578
goat's cullions1578
goat's orchis1578
priest's pintle1578
twayblade1578
bee-orchis1597
bifoil1597
bird's nest1597
bird's orchis1597
butterfly orchis1597
fenny-stones1597
gelded satyrion1597
gnat satyrion1597
humble-bee orchis1597
lady's slipper1597
sweet ballocks1597
two-blade1605
cullions1611
bee-flower1626
fly-flower1640
man orchis1670
musk orchis1670
moccasin flower1680
gnat-flower1688
faham tea1728
Ophrys1754
green man orchis1762
Arethusa1764
honey flower1771
cypripedium1775
rattlesnake plantain1778
Venus's slipper1785
Adam and Eve1789
lizard orchis179.
epidendrum1791
Pogonia?1801
Vanda1801
cymbidium1815
Oncidium1822
putty-root1822
Noah's Ark1826
yellow moccasin1826
gongora1827
cattleya1828
green man1828
nervine1828
stanhopea1829
dove-flower1831
catasetum1836
Odontoglossum1836
Miltonia1837
letter plant1838
spread eagle1838
letter-leaf1839
swan-plant1841
orchid1843
disa1844
masdevallia1845
Phalaenopsis1846
faham1850
Indian crocus1850
moccasin plant1850
pleione1851
dove orchis1852
nerve root1854
Holy Ghost flower1862
basket-plant1865
lizard's tongue1866
mousetail1866
Sobralia1866
swan-neck1866
swanwort1866
Indian shoe1876
odontoglot1879
wreathewort1879
moth orchid1880
rattlesnake orchid1881
dendrobe1882
dove-plant1882
Madeira orchis1882
man orchis1882
swan-flower1884
slipper-orchid1885
slipper orchis1889
mayflower1894
scorpion orchid1897
moederkappie1910
dove orchid1918
monkey orchid1925
man orchid1927
1879 J. Ruskin Proserpina I. xi. 201 The name of the family, in Proserpina, will therefore be ‘Contorta’ in Latin, and ‘Wreathe-wort’ in English...And its individual name [i.e. that of the early purple orchid, Orchis mascula] will be, therefore, ‘Contorta purpurea’—Purple Wreathe-wort.
1996 R. Mabey Flora Britannica 444/2 Orchis means testicle... John Ruskin was shocked when he learned the derivation of the word, and suggested that orchids be renamed ‘wreatheworts’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2021).
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v.c1425- child welfare
- child within
- child worker
- child world
- child's bed
- child's-eye view
- child'seye view
- child, or man, of sin
- child, son of shame
- child-bereft
- child-bishop
- child-bride
- child-centred
- child-cheek
- child-crowing
- child-directed speech
- child-eater
- child-eating
- child-eyed
- child-faced
- child-farming
- child-free
- child-friendliness
- child-friendly
- child-geared