wreath
/riːθ
/noun (plural wreaths /riːðz/ /riːθs/)
1An arrangement of flowers, leaves, or stems fastened in a ring and used for decoration or for laying on a grave: the Queen laid a wreath at the Cenotaph a laurel wreath...
- Orders are now being taken in time for Christmas for Christmas cakes, puddings, mince pies, flower arrangements, holly wreaths and crafts.
- Mourners placed flowers and wreaths at the graves, including one where two sisters Alina, 12 and Ira, 13, were laid to rest together.
- Rabbits have been in abundance in the area this year and have been upsetting some grieving relatives by eating flowers and wreaths from the graves.
1.1A carved representation of a wreath.This space was ornamented with low relief sculpture of winged sun disks and wreaths located on the pedimented impost blocks between the arches....
- You will be amazed at the beauty and crispness of this hand carved wood floral rose wreath.
- Amazing wood decorations depicting cherubs, crowns and wreaths of flowers surround marble fireplaces.
1.2A ring made of or resembling soft, twisted material: a gold wreath...
- Tsaneva was responsible for the speedy restoration of the gold wreath and ring, which are the first of the treasures from the latest discovery to be put on display.
- It was a time when the Italian world bedecked itself with rare golden trinkets, wreaths for women's hair, girdles, brooches, and the like, and the finest skill was needed to satisfy the taste.
- In the Middle Ages young women wore wreaths of gold and eventually gave way to chaplets.
Synonyms
garland, chaplet, circlet, coronet, crown, diadem, festoon, lei, swathe, fillet;
ring, loop, circle
1.3 Heraldry A representation of a ring of twisted material below a crest (especially where it joins a helmet).The crest wreath came into use about the third quarter of the fourteenth century, and consisted of a roll formed of two pieces of material of the principal colour and metal of the arms twisted together, worn round the top of the helmet level with the base of the crest....
- This was a pennon-shaped scarf of material, usually silk, lined with another colour, and placed on the helmet underneath the crest and crest wreath.
2A curl or ring of smoke or cloud: wreaths of mist swirled up into the cold air...
- The fire hissed as it went out, and around them the cave went dark again as pale wreaths of grey smoke curled through the air.
- She sat behind her desk, a blue wreath of cigarette smoke encircling her head, while I leaned against the doorframe.
- The mountain itself is just behind the town, looming so high it creates its own weather and often wears a wreath of clouds (check the weather before planning a hike).
3 archaic, chiefly Scottish A snowdrift.Join a Ranger for a walk around the upper part of Coire Cas, getting closer to the snow wreath and listening for singing snow buntings....
- However be aware of cornices and unstable snow wreaths that linger long into summer.
- A great snow wreath still wrapped itself across the upper confines of the crags, a feature that often remains until well into the summer and is recognisable from as far as Kingussie.
Origin
Old English writha, related to writhe.