Dictionary

wreathe en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ɹið/ (General-American)
• /ɹiːð/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ɹiːv/ th-fronting
• (Southern-England) audio
• rēth (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English wrethen (“to twist”), partly: * from wrethen (“twisted, wreathed”) (whence modern English wreathen (“(obsolete) made into a wreath; twisted”, adjective)), the past participle of writhen, wrythen (“to twist into a braid, coil, or wreath; to twist out of position or shape, deform; to twist together, intertwine; to twist about, writhe; to bend; to swathe, wrap; etc.”), from Old English wrīþan (“to twist; to bind; to wrap”), from Proto-West Germanic *wrīþan (“to twist; to weave”), from Proto-Germanic *wrīþaną (“to twist; to weave”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyt- (“to twist”); and * from wreth, wrethe (“coiled or rounded shape; decorative garland, wreath; chaplet, crown; ring”, noun), from Old English *wreoþa, wriþa (“band, coil, ring”), from Proto-West Germanic *wriþō, from Proto-Germanic *wriþô, from *wrīþaną (see further above).

Meanings

1. (also, figuratively, transitive) Senses relating to intertwining or twisting. ▸ To coil, curl, or twist (something); to shape (something) into circles or coils.
   • [S]he ſtarts like one that ſpies an adder, / VVreath'd vp in fatall folds iuſt in his vvay, / The feare vvhereof doth make him ſhake, & ſhudder, […] 1594, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC, [verse 147], signature Fiij, recto, lines [878–880]:
   • There at the foot of yonder nodding beech / That vvreathes its old fantaſtic roots ſo high, / His liſtleſs length at noontide vvou'd he ſtretch, / And pore upon the brook that babbles by. 1750 June 12 (date written; published 1751), T[homas] Gray, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”, in Designs by Mr. R[ichard] Bentley, for Six Poems by Mr. T. Gray, London: […] R[obert] Dodsley, […], published 1753, →OCLC, page 35:
   • [W]e ſpread our Sails, / And left that Bay, […] vvhile Troy, / Or vvhat vvas Troy, yet vvreathing Smoak to Heaven, / And Ida’s vvoody Top, receding, ſunk / Beneath the trembling Main: […] 1738, James Thomson, Agamemnon. A Tragedy. […], London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, Act I, scene vii, page 13:
   • The Guts are oblong, round, hollovv bodies variouſly vvreathed about, joyning vvith the Pylorus and reaching to the Fundament; ſerving to receive the Chylus and the Excrements of the firſt Concoction. 1662, Bartholinus [i.e., Thomas Bartholin], “Of the Guts in General”, in Nicholas Culpeper, Abdiah Cole, transl., Bartholinus Anatomy; […] (The Physitian’s Library), London: […] Peter Cole […], →OCLC, 1st book (Of the Lower Belly), page 22, column 1:
   • [T]he Beards of vvilde Oates, and thoſe of divers other vvilde Plants; […] almoſt continually vvreath and unvvreath themſelves according to, even, the light variations of the temperature of the ambient Air. 1659 December 30 (date written), Robert Boyle, “A Digression Containing Some Doubts Touching Respiration”, in New Experiments Physico-Mechanicall, Touching the Spring of the Air, and Its Effects […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] H[enry] Hall, printer to the University, for Tho[mas] Robinson, published 1660, →OCLC, page 379:
2. (also, figuratively, transitive) Senses relating to intertwining or twisting. ▸ To adorn (someone or something) with a garland or wreath.
   • Eſcap'd the flaſhing of the noontide hours / VVith one freſh garland of Pierian flovvers / (Ere from thy zephyr-haunted brink I turn) / My languid hand ſhall vvreath thy moſſy urn. 1796, S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, “Lines to a Beautiful Spring in a Village”, in Poems on Various Subjects, London: […] G[eorge] G[eorge] and J[ohn] Robinsons, and J[oseph] Cottle, […], →OCLC, page 28:
   • So, entering London about sunrise, doors and windows were duly wreathed with garlands; and every village in the suburbs had its May-pole, which stood in its place all the year. 1848, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter I, in Harold, the Last of the Saxon Kings; […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, book I (The Norman Visitor, the Saxon King, and the Danish Prophetess), page 6:
   • [W]ith Laurels vvreath your poſts, / And ſtrovv vvith Flovv'rs the Pavement; […] 1677 (first performance), John Dryden, All for Love: Or, The World Well Lost. A Tragedy, […], [London]: […] Tho[mas] Newcomb, for Henry Herringman, […], published 1678, →OCLC, Act I, page 5:
   • Old Nico wreathed the tomb of maiden Melitê. Hades, was this your judgment righteous? 1968, Philip [i.e., Philippus of Thessalonica], “LXXVII: The Young Buried by the Old”, in A[ndrew] S[ydenham] F[arrar] Gow, D[enys] L[ionel] Page, editors, The Greek Anthology: The Garland of Philip and Some Contemporary Epigrams, volume I, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, →ISBN, page 349:
3. (also, figuratively, transitive) Senses relating to intertwining or twisting. ▸ Of flowers, leaves, etc.: to form the shape of a wreath around (something).
   • "Come see my everlasting flowers, Small—my flowers that never die." […] The flowers crackled at Anne's touch. "Enough to wreathe the winter's dead," she said with a happy little sigh and, taking a pink bud from the pile, twined it in the lace of her black cap. 1942, Emily Carr, “The Orange Lily”, in The Book of Small, Toronto, Ont.: Oxford University Press, →OCLC; republished as The Book of Small (eBook; 0400201.txt), [Australia]: Project Gutenberg Australia, February 2004:
   • O'er Diſappointment's vvintry deſart fling / Each flovver, that vvreath'd the devvy locks of Spring, / VVhen bluſhing, like a bride, from Hope's trim bovver / She leapt, avvaken'd by the pattering ſhovver. 1796, S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, “Effusion XXXVI. Written in Early Youth, the Time, an Autumnal Evening.”, in Poems on Various Subjects, London: […] G[eorge] G[eorge] and J[ohn] Robinsons, and J[oseph] Cottle, […], →OCLC, page 102:
   • Death's Harbingers, lye latent in the Draught: / And in the Flovv'rs that vvreath the ſparkling Bovvl, / Fell Adders hiſs, and poys'nous Serpents roll. 1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “Solomon on the Vanity of the World. A Poem in Three Books.”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], and John Barber […], →OCLC, book II (Pleasure), page 436:
4. (also, figuratively, qualifier:chiefly passive voice, transitive) Senses relating to intertwining or twisting. ▸ Often followed by in and the thing encircling: to coil or spiral around, or encircle, (someone or something); (by extension) to cover or envelop (someone or something).
   • We have lingered in the chambers of the sea / By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown / Till human voices wake us, and we drown. 1915 June, T[homas] S[tearns] Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, in Prufrock and Other Observations, London: The Egoist […], published 1917, →OCLC, page 16:
   • When, in the darkness over me, / The fourhanded mole shall scrape, / Plant thou no dusky cypresstree, / Nor wreathe thy cap with doleful crape, / But pledge me in the flowing grape. 1832 December (indicated as 1833), Alfred Tennyson, “To ——”, in Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, stanza III, page 3:
   • The bundells of roddes vvhich the ſergeaunts caried before them, vvere vvreathed about vvith lavvrell braunches for the victories they had both atchieued: […] 1579, Plutarke of Chæronea [i.e., Plutarch], “The Life of Lucius Lucullus”, in Thomas North, transl., The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romaines, […], London: […] Richard Field, →OCLC, page 571:
   • From India and the golden Cherſoneſs, / And utmoſt Indian Iſle Taprobane, / Dusk faces vvith vvhite ſilken Turbants vvreath'd: […] 1671, John Milton, “The Fourth Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 82, lines 74–76:
   • Tho' wit may flash from fluent lips, and mirth distract the breast, / Through midnight hours that yield no more their former hope of rest; / 'Tis but as ivy-leaves around the ruin'd turret wreath, / All green and wildly fresh without, but worn and grey beneath. 1815 March (date written), Lord Byron, “Stanzas for Music”, in Poems, London: […] [F]or John Murray, […]; by W[illiam] Bulmer and Co. […], published 1816, →OCLC, stanza 4, page 18:
   • At the funeral, a circle of comrades wreathed the grave of the honoured deceased.
   • wreathed in mystery
   • A rayne of teares, a clowde of darke diſdaine / Haue done the weried coardes great hinderance, / Wrethed with errour, and with ignorance. / The ſtarres be hidde, that leade me to this payne. 1557 August 10 (Gregorian calendar), [Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey; Thomas Wyatt; et al.], “The Louer Compareth His State to a Ship in Perilous Storme Tossed on the Sea”, in Songes and Sonettes, London: […] Richard Tottel, →OCLC, folio 22, recto:
   • Perhaps she shuddered, while the world's / Cold hand her brow was wreathing: / But never wronged that mystic breath / Which breathed in all her breathing; […] 1838, Elizabeth B[arrett] Barrett [i.e., Elizabeth Barrett Browning], “Stanzas on the Death of Mrs. [Felicia] Hemans, Written in Reference to Miss [Letitia Elizabeth] Landon’s Poem on the Same Subject”, in The Seraphim, and Other Poems, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, pages 273–274:
   • Braine, I for this / VVill vvreathe thee in a glorious arch of gold, ſtuck full of Indian gemmes. c. 1630 (date written), Thomas Heywood, The Fair Maid of the West. Or, A Girle Worth Gold. The Second Part. […], London: […] [Miles Flesher] for Richard Royston, […], published 1631, →OCLC, Act I, signature B, verso:
5. (also, figuratively, qualifier:chiefly passive voice, reflexive, transitive) Senses relating to intertwining or twisting. ▸ Followed by about, around, or round: to coil, twist, or wind (oneself or something) around a person or thing; (by extension) to cause (oneself or something) to cover or encircle a person or thing.
   • The article used is called a selvagee. […] It is a slender, tapering, unstranded piece of rope; prepared with much solicitude; peculiarly flexible; and wreathes and serpentines round the cable and messenger like an elegantly-modeled garter-snake round the twisted stalks of a vine. 1850, Herman Melville, “Selvagee Contrasted with Mad-Jack”, in White Jacket; or, The World in a Man-of-War, volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 48:
   • [A]bout his necke / A greene and guilded ſnake had vvreath'd it ſelfe, […] c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii], page 203, column 1:
   • Minutius tells vs here, my Lord, / That, a nevv Head being ſet vpon your Statue. / A Rope is ſince found vvreath'd about it; […] 1603 (first performance), Ben[jamin] Jonson, Seianus His Fall, London: […] G[eorge] Elld, for Thomas Thorpe, published 1605, →OCLC, Act V, signature [K4], verso:
   • He had a kercher wreathed aboute his heed: […] 1530 July 28 (Gregorian calendar), Iohan Palsgraue [i.e., John Palsgrave], “The Table of Verbes”, in Lesclarcissement de la langue francoyse⸝ […], [London]: […] [Richard Pynson] fynnysshed by Iohan Haukyns, →OCLC, 3rd boke, folio ccccxi, recto, column 2; reprinted Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, October 1972, →OCLC:
   • [R]ound / The warrior's puissant shoulders Pallas flung / Her fringed ægis, and around his head / The glorious goddess wreath'd a golden cloud, / And from it lighted an all-shining flame. 1877 April 1, Alfred Tennyson, “[Translations, etc.] Achilles over the Trench. Iliad, xviii. 202.”, in Ballads and Other Poems, London: C[harles] Kegan Paul & Co., […], published 1880, →OCLC, page 179:
   • Yes, when in Eden's bowers our parents [Adam and Eve] fell, / Thou [Azrael] wreathedst round their hearts thy dead'ning spell, / Bidding the seeds of death luxuriate there, / To mar those forms, once beautiful and fair! 1834, John G. Ryan, “The Angel of Death”, in Nugæ Poeticæ. Original Poems, Huddersfield, Yorkshire: T[homas] G[reen] Lancashire, […]; London: Simpkin and Co., →OCLC, page 82:
   • And brighter blooms than those thou wreathest / Round thy wild chords, some lyres have crowned; / But none may boast, 'mid the tuneful throng, / A lovelier garland, or purer song! 1820, A[laric] A[lexander] Watts, “Lines Written on a Blank Leaf of ‘Aonian Hours’”, in J[eremiah] H[olmes] Wiffen, Aonian Hours; and Other Poems, 2nd edition, London: S[amuel] Manning, […] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown; and for John Warren, […], →OCLC, stanza I, page viii:
6. (also, figuratively, qualifier:chiefly passive voice, transitive) Senses relating to intertwining or twisting. ▸ Often followed by together: to entwine or twist (two or more people or things) together; to intertwine, to interweave.
   • For in the air do I behold indeed / An Eagle and a Serpent wreathed in fight:— […] 1817 December (indicated as 1818), Percy B[ysshe] Shelley, “Canto First”, in Laon and Cythna; or, The Revolution of the Golden City: A Vision of the Nineteenth Century. […], London: […] [F]or Sherwood, Neely, & Jones, […]; and C[harles] and J[ames] Ollier, […]; by B[uchanan] M‘Millan, […], →OCLC, stanza VIII, page 5:
   • The yoke of my tranſgreſſions is bound by his hand: they are wreathed, and come vp vpon my necke: he hath made my ſtrength to fall, the Lord hath deliuered me into their hands, from vvhom I am not able to riſe vp. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Lamentations 1:14, column 1:
   • [I]n ſuch baſe, noyſom Hearts, you ſhall ever ſee Pride and Ingratitude indiviſibly vvreathed, and tvviſted together. 1675 October 26 (date delivered; Gregorian calendar); first published 1692, Robert South, “A Sermon Preached at Christ-Church, Oxon. before the University, Octob. 17. 1675.”, in Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions. […], volume I, London: […] J[ohn] H[eptinstall] for Thomas Bennet, […], →OCLC, page 568:
   • You do not loue Maria? Longauile, / Did neuer Sonnet for her ſake compile, / Nor neuer lay his vvreathed arms athvvart / His louing boſome, to keepe dovvne his hart. c. 1595–1596 (date written), W. Shakespere [i.e., William Shakespeare], A Pleasant Conceited Comedie Called, Loues Labors Lost. […] (First Quarto), London: […] W[illiam] W[hite] for Cut[h]bert Burby, published 1598, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii], signature E4, recto:
   • Enter Andrugio and Antonio vvreathed together, […] c. 1599 (date written), I. M. [i.e., John Marston], The History of Antonio and Mellida. The First Part. […], London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Mathewe Lownes, and Thomas Fisher, […], published 1602, →OCLC, Act IV, signature H, recto:
   • Thou vvreatheſt ſerpents as thou vvreatheſt flovvers, / Thou ſilenceſt the vvinds vvithout a vvord, […] c. 1794–1796 (date written), Walter Savage Landor, “From the Phocæans”, in Poetry […], Warwick, Warwickshire; London: Sharpe, printer, […]; [s]old by Rivingtons, […], published [1800], →OCLC, page 36, lines 644–645:
   • [Y]ou haue learn'd (like Sir Protheus) to vvreath your Armes like a Male-content: […] c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 23, column 2:
7. (also, archaic, figuratively, transitive) Senses relating to intertwining or twisting. ▸ To form (a crown, garland, wreath, etc.) by entwining or twisting flowers, leaves, etc., together; also, to entwine or twist (flowers, leaves, etc.) together to form a crown, garland, wreath, etc.
   • On th' other ſide, Adam, ſoon as he heard / The fatal Treſpaſs don by Eve, amaz'd, / Aſtonied ſtood and Blank, vvhile horror chill / Ran through his veins, and all his joynts relax'd; / From his ſlack hand the Garland vvreath'd for Eve / Dovvn drop'd, and all the faded Roſes ſhed: […] 1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signature [Hh3], verso, lines 888–893:
   • Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing / A flowery band to bind us to the earth, / Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth / Of noble natures, of the gloomy days, / Of all the unhealthy and o'er-darkened ways / Made for our searching: […] 1818, John Keats, “Book I”, in Endymion: A Poetic Romance, London: […] T[homas] Miller, […] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC, pages 3–4, lines 6-11:
   • [Y]our friend Piers / Wreath'd me this cowslip garland for my head— […] 1794, Robert Southey, Wat Tyler. A Dramatic Poem. In Three Acts, London: J[ohn] M‘Creery, […] for Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, […], published 1817, →OCLC, Act I, page 8:
   • [M]an's invention could not reach without frank imitation. His next step was to gather the flowers themselves, and wreathe them in his capitals [of columns]. 1849, John Ruskin, “The Lamp of Beauty”, in The Seven Lamps of Architecture, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, section II, page 95:
   • I seem no longer like a lonely man / In the king's garden, gathering here and there / From each fair plant the blossom choicest-grown / To wreathe a crown not only for the king / But in due time for every Mussulmân, / Brahmin, and Buddhist, Christian, and Parsee, / Thro' all the warring world of Hindustan. 1892, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “Akbar’s Dream”, in The Death of Œnone, Akbar’s Dream, and Other Poems, London; New York, N.Y.: Macmillan and Co., […], →OCLC, page 27:
8. (also, figuratively, qualifier:Southeast England, transitive) Senses relating to intertwining or twisting. ▸ To strengthen (an earthen embankment) with hurdles of wattle.
9. (also, figuratively, obsolete, transitive) Senses relating to intertwining or twisting. ▸ To form (something) by entwining or twisting two or more things together; also, to entwine or twist (something) with another thing.
   • Yf ther be twaine, one may defend the tother ouer throwne. / The single twyned cordes may no suche stresse indure / As cables brayded thre fould may, together wrethed swer [i.e., sure]. a. 1548 (date written), “[Translations from the Bible.] Ecclesiastes 4.”, in Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, transl., edited by Frederick Morgan Padelford, The Poems of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (University of Washington Publications, Language and Literature; I), Seattle, Wash.: University of Washington Press, published October 1920, →OCLC, page 88, lines 32–34:
   • But hovv ſhould I avoid to be her ſlave, / VVhoſe ſubtle art inviſibly can vvreath / My fetters of the very air I breathe? a. 1679 (date written), Andrew Marvell, “[Poems on Several Occasions.] The Fair Singer.”, in The Works of Andrew Marvell, Esq.: Poetical, Controversial, and Political, […], volume III, London: […] Henry Baldwin, and sold by [James] Dodsley, […], published 1776, →OCLC, stanza II, page 246:
   • Sale) or Salovv a kind of vvoodde like VVyllovv, fit to vvreath and bynde in leapes to catch fiſh vvithall. 1579, E. K., “[December. Ægloga Duodecima.] Glosse.”, in Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC, folio 51, verso:
   • Every VVarrior's manly neck / Chains of regal honour deck, / VVreath'd in many a golden link: […] a. 1772 (date written), [Thomas] Gray, “Ode XI. The Death of Hoel. From the Welch.”, in The Poems of Mr. Gray. […], York, Yorkshire: […] A[nn] Ward; and sold by J[ames] Dodsley, […]; and J[ohn] Todd, […], published 1775, →OCLC, stanza 3, page 59:
   • Thou [poesy] wreathedst my first hours in a rosy chain, / Rocking the cradle of my infancy. a. 1850 (date written), Henry [Hope] Reed, quoting Hartley Coleridge, “Essay II. Poems of Hartley Coleridge.”, in Lectures on the British Poets, London: John Farquhar Shaw, […], published 1857, →OCLC, page 392:
   • This cap to my cousin I owe; / She gave it, and gave me beside, / Wreath'd into an elegant bow, / The ribbon with which it is tied. a. 1801 (date written), William Cowper, “[Miscellaneous Poems.] Gratitude. Addressed to Lady Hesketh.”, in The Poetical Works of William Cowper. […], volume II, Edinburgh: James Nichol, […]; London: James Nisbet and Co. […], published 1854, →OCLC, stanza 1, page 141:
10. (Scotland, also, figuratively, obsolete, transitive) Senses relating to intertwining or twisting. ▸ Followed by on: to place (a yoke, symbolizing a burden) on someone's neck.
    • [T]he French troops vvere to be employed as inſtruments for ſubduing the Scots, and vvreathing the yoke about their necks. 1759, William Robertson, “Book V”, in The History of Scotland, during the Reigns of Queen Mary and of King James VI, till His Accession to the Crown of England. […], volume I, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar […], →OCLC, page 154:
11. (also, figuratively, intransitive) Senses relating to intertwining or twisting. ▸ Followed by about, around, or round: to coil, twist, or wind around a person or thing.
    • [W]hen the Hoppe groweth high it muſt haue a pole, when the Iuie ſpreadeth, it cleaueth to the flint, when the Vine riſeth, it wreatheth about yͤ Elme, […] 1580, Iohn Lyly [i.e., John Lyly], “Euphues to His Friend Philautus”, in Euphues and His England. […], London: […] [Thomas East] for Gabriell Cawood, […], →OCLC, folio 105, recto:
12. (also, figuratively, intransitive) Senses relating to intertwining or twisting. ▸ Of mist, smoke, etc.: to move with a coiling, spiralling, or twisting motion.
    • Real fire of pine-wood in some rocky place, / Wreathing around my body greedily, / A dreadful beacon o'er the leaden sea. 1867, William Morris, “Book VII”, in The Life and Death of Jason: A Poem, London: Bell and Daldy, […], →OCLC, page 133, lines 394–396:
    • I unsealed the vial mystical, / I outpoured the liquid thing, / And while the smoke came wreathing out, / I stood unshuddering. 1833 (date written), Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “A True Dream (Dreamed at Sidmouth, 1833)”, in Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, edited by Frederic G[eorge] Kenyon, New Poems, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], published 1914, →OCLC, page 112:
13. (also, figuratively, intransitive, obsolete, rare) Senses relating to intertwining or twisting. ▸ Followed by with: to become intertwined with something.
14. (Scotland, also, figuratively, intransitive, obsolete) Senses relating to intertwining or twisting. ▸ Of snow: to form drifts.
15. (transitive) Senses relating to vigorous movement. ▸ To arrange (one's expression, face, etc.) into a smile; also (reflexive), of the lips, mouth, etc.: to arrange (itself or themselves) into a smile.
    • […] Gilbert of Ghent, […] walked up to the pair, his weather-beaten countenance wreathed into what were meant for paternal smiles. 1866, C[harles] Kingsley, “How Hereward Was Asked to Slay an Old Comrade”, in Hereward the Wake, “Last of the English.” […], volume I, London; Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 302:
    • Contempt kept Bertram's anger down, / And wreathed to savage smile his frown. 1813, Walter Scott, “Canto First”, in Rokeby; a Poem, Edinburgh: […] [F]or John Ballantyne and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown; by James Ballantyne and Co., […], →OCLC, stanza XXIII, page 35:
16. (reflexive, transitive) Senses relating to vigorous movement. ▸ To bend or turn (oneself), often continuously; to twist and turn, to writhe.
17. (archaic, figuratively, reflexive, transitive) Senses relating to vigorous movement. ▸ To artfully introduce (oneself) into a situation, a person's thoughts, etc.; to insinuate.
18. (obsolete, transitive) Senses relating to vigorous movement. ▸ To cause (the body, limbs, etc.) to twist violently; to contort, to writhe.
    • If an huge ſcaly Salmon chance to ſpy / The vvanton Errors of the ſvvimming Fly, / […] / Soon in ſmart Pains he feels the dire Miſtake, / Laſhes the VVaves, and beats the foamy Lake, / […] / And novv again, impatient of the VVound, / He rolls and vvreathes his ſhining Body round; […] 1713, [John] Gay, Rural Sports. A Poem. […], 2nd edition, London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], →OCLC, pages 7–8:
    • Margaret wreathed her throat in a scornful curve. 1854 September – 1855 January, [Elizabeth Gaskell], “Dressing for Tea”, in North and South. […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1855, →OCLC, page 112:
    • Warm corpses fall upon the clay cold dead; / And even in death their lips are wreathed with fear.— […] 1817 December (indicated as 1818), Percy B[ysshe] Shelley, “Canto Eleventh”, in Laon and Cythna; or, The Revolution of the Golden City: A Vision of the Nineteenth Century. […], London: […] [F]or Sherwood, Neely, & Jones, […]; and C[harles] and J[ames] Ollier, […]; by B[uchanan] M‘Millan, […], →OCLC, stanza XI, page 242:
19. (obsolete, transitive) Senses relating to vigorous movement. ▸ To rip or tear (something); to rend.
    • The ſame day in the afternoone we ſawe in the element, a cloud with a long tayle, like vnto the tayle of a ſerpent, which cloud is called in Italian Cion, the tayle of this cloud did hang as it were into the ſea: […] The Marriners reported to vs that it had this propertie, that if it ſhould happen to haue lighted on any part of the ſhippe, that it would rent and wreth ſayles, maſt, ſhroudes and ſhippe and all in manner like a wyth: on the land, trees, houſes, or whatſoeuer elſe it lighteth on, it would rent and wreth. 1599, Iohn Locke [i.e., John Lok], “The Voyage of M. Iohn Locke to Ierusalem”, in Richard Hakluyt, The Second Volume of the Principal Nauigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoueries of the English Nation, […], 2nd edition, London: […] George Bishop, Ralph Newbery, and Robert Barker, →OCLC, 1st part, page 106:
    • The bitings of lyons and ſuch like beaſtes are ſo dangerous, in regard of their ſtrength and fierceneſſe, for they doe not onely bite, but alſo vvreath and teare the vvounds vvhich they make vvith their teeth, or nailes: […] 1607, Conradus Gesnerus [i.e., Conrad Gessner]; Edward Topsell, “Of the Lyon. [The Medicines of the Lyon.]”, in The Historie of Foure-footed Beastes. […], London: […] William Iaggard, →OCLC, page 487:
20. (obsolete, transitive) Senses relating to vigorous movement. ▸ To turn (something) violently around or aside; to wrench, to wring.
    • For this your Locks in Paper Durance bound, / For this vvith tort'ring Irons vvreath'd around? 1712 May, [Alexander Pope], “The Rape of the Locke. An Heroi-comical Poem.”, in Miscellaneous Poems and Translations. […], London: […] Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, canto II, page 365:
    • And forasmuch as by their frequent passing under the Roller, they [blankets for printing] are squezed together and become stubburne, and churlish: you shall doe well to spread and extend them at night; and the morning (ere you employ them) to wreath, rub, slap and smooth them till you have rendred them very soft and gentle: […] 1662 May 24 (date delivered; Gregorian calendar), J[ohn] Evelyn, “Of the Other Necessaries, Instruments and Appurtenances Belonging to the Press; and Touched onely in the Precedent Chapter”, in C[harles] F[rancis] Bell, editor, Evelyn’s Sculptura with the Unpublished Second Part, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press [by Horace Hart […]], published 1906, →OCLC, book II (The Construction of the Rowling Press, and Manner how to Worke off the Plates), page 15:
    • They killed a man vvhich vvas a firſt-borne, vvreathing his head from his bodie, and embalming the ſame vvith ſalt and ſpices: & then vvrote vpon a plate of gold the name of an vncleane ſpirit, and putting the ſame vnder the head, ſet it vpon a vvall, & burned Candles before it and vvorſhipped the ſame. 1614, Samuel Purchas, “[Asia.] Of the Diuers Sects, Opinions, and Alterations of Religion, amongst the Hebrewes.”, in Purchas His Pilgrimage. Or Relations of the World and the Religions Observed in All Ages and Places Discouered, from the Creation vnto this Present. […], 2nd edition, London: […] William Stansby for Henrie Fetherstone, […], →OCLC, book II (Of the Hebrewe Nation, and Religion from the Beginning thereof to Our Time), pages 136–137:
    • This Plate […] muſt be vvrenched or vvreithed, ſo that the Plain thereof muſt ſtand parallel to the Plain of the Index-Frame, and by the vvreithing of it[…], as aforeſaid, there is room left for the Screvv to lye obliquely, vvithout the Screvvs touching the aforeſaid Plate, or grating againſt it. 1674, Robert Hooke, Animadversions on the First Part of the Machina Coelestis of the Honourable, Learned, and Deservedly Famous Astronomer Johannes Hevelius […], London: […] T[homas] R[oycroft] for John Martyn, printer to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC, page 52:
    • [T]o wreſt the will of man, or to wreath his hearte to our humours, it is not in the compaſſe of Arte, but in the power of the moſt higheſt. 1580, Iohn Lyly [i.e., John Lyly], Euphues and His England. […], London: […] [Thomas East] for Gabriell Cawood, […], →OCLC, folio 63, recto:
21. (obsolete, transitive) Senses relating to vigorous movement. ▸ Followed by from: to take (something) by force; to wrest.
22. (obsolete, rare, transitive) Senses relating to vigorous movement. ▸ To make (a bow) by bending forward.
    • […] Thoſe of fairer front, / But equal inhumanity, in courts, / And ſlippery pomp delight, in dark cabals; / VVreathe the deep bovv, diffuſe the lying ſmile, / And tread the vveary labyrinth of ſtate. 1730, James Thomson, “Autumn. Inscribed to the Right Honourable Arthur Onslow, Esq; Speaker of the House of Commons.”, in The Seasons, London: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 185, lines 1196–1200:
23. (figuratively, obsolete, transitive) Senses relating to vigorous movement. ▸ To give (spoken or written words) a false or strained meaning; to twist.
24. (intransitive) Senses relating to vigorous movement. ▸ To bend or turn, often continuously; to twist and turn, to writhe.
    • But Aiax a farre greater ſtone, lift vp, and (vvreathing round, / VVith all his bodie layd to it) he ſent it forth to vvound, / And gaue vnmeaſur'd force to it; the round ſtone broke vvithin / His rundled target: […] [1611?], Homer, “The Seventh Booke of Homers Iliads”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., The Iliads of Homer Prince of Poets. […], London: […] Nathaniell Butter, →OCLC, page 101:
    • [I]n the midst of the court-yard stood the Fairy Bear; […] his long snake neck and cruel visage wreathing about in search of prey. 1866, C[harles] Kingsley, “How Hereward Slew the Bear”, in Hereward the Wake, “Last of the English.” […], volume I, London; Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, pages 87–88:
    • [F]or griefe his hart did grate, / And from ſo heauie ſight his head did vvreath, / Accuſing fortune, and too cruell fate, / VVhich plonged had faire Lady in ſo vvretched ſtate. 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 56, page 203:
    • Beauty is never so beautiful as when, if I teaze it, it wreathes back on me with spirit. 1849, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], “Louis Moore”, in Shirley. A Tale. […], volume III, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, page 151:

Forms

Antonyms

unwreathe · untwist · unwreathe · uncoil · unwreathe · unwreathe · uncurl

Deriveds

unwreathe · unwreathed · interwreathe · wreather · wreathing · enwreathe · wreathewort · wreathed · inwreathe

Synonyms

surround · enwreathe · inwreathe · inwreathe · enwreathe · inwreathe · interwreathe · enwreathe · enshroud

Translations (25)

ja 纏う (to adorn (someone or something) with a garland or wreath) · myv каштазомс (to adorn (someone or something) with a garland or wreath) · ota چوركلنمك ((transitive) to coil, twist, or wind (oneself or something) around a person or thing; to cause (oneself or something) to cover or encircle a person or thing; (intransitive) to coil, twist, or wind around a person or thing) · fi vahvistaa punoksin (to strengthen (an earthen embankment) with hurdles of wattle) · bg вия (to form (a crown, garland, wreath, etc.) by entwining or twisting flowers, leaves, etc., together; to entwine or twist (flowers, leaves, etc.) together to form a crown, garland, wreath, etc.) · fi kieppua (of mist, smoke, etc.: to move with a coiling, spiralling, or twisting motion) · fi kiertää (to coil, curl, or twist (something); to shape (something) into circles or coils) · bg увенчавам (to adorn (someone or something) with a garland or wreath) · bg увивам (to coil or spiral around, or encircle, (someone or something) — see also encircle) · fi kääriytyä ((transitive) to coil, twist, or wind (oneself or something) around a person or thing; to cause (oneself or something) to cover or encircle a person or thing; (intransitive) to coil, twist, or wind around a person or thing) · mk ове́нчува (to adorn (someone or something) with a garland or wreath) · fi kääriä (to coil, curl, or twist (something); to shape (something) into circles or coils) · fi keriä (to coil, curl, or twist (something); to shape (something) into circles or coils) · fi vääntyä (to arrange (one’s expression, face, etc.) into a smile; of the lips, mouth, etc.: to arrange (itself or themselves) into a smile) · fi tehdä seppele (to form (a crown, garland, wreath, etc.) by entwining or twisting flowers, leaves, etc., together; to entwine or twist (flowers, leaves, etc.) together to form a crown, garland, wreath, etc.) · got 𐍅𐌴𐌹𐍀𐌰𐌽 (to form (a crown, garland, wreath, etc.) by entwining or twisting flowers, leaves, etc., together; to entwine or twist (flowers, leaves, etc.) together to form a crown, garland, wreath, etc.) · fi vääntää (to arrange (one’s expression, face, etc.) into a smile; of the lips, mouth, etc.: to arrange (itself or themselves) into a smile) · eo plekti (to form (a crown, garland, wreath, etc.) by entwining or twisting flowers, leaves, etc., together; to entwine or twist (flowers, leaves, etc.) together to form a crown, garland, wreath, etc.) · fi kääriä ((transitive) to coil, twist, or wind (oneself or something) around a person or thing; to cause (oneself or something) to cover or encircle a person or thing; (intransitive) to coil, twist, or wind around a person or thing) · fi ympäröidä (to coil or spiral around, or encircle, (someone or something) — see also encircle) · fi tehdä seppele (of flowers, leaves, etc.: to form the shape of a wreath around (something)) · es rodear (to adorn (someone or something) with a garland or wreath) · pl wieńczyć (to adorn (someone or something) with a garland or wreath) · fi seppelöidä (to adorn (someone or something) with a garland or wreath) · bg свивам (to form (a crown, garland, wreath, etc.) by entwining or twisting flowers, leaves, etc., together; to entwine or twist (flowers, leaves, etc.) together to form a crown, garland, wreath, etc.)