WREATH • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Wreath

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/riθ/ Listen

noun

Wreath n. (pl. wreaths)

1.

Something twisted, intertwined, or curled; as, a wreath of smoke; a wreath of flowers. "A wrethe of gold." "(He) of his tortuous train Curled many a wanton wreath."

2.

A garland; a chaplet, esp. one given to a victor. "Conquest doth grant He dear wreath to the Grecian combatant." "Far back in the ages, The plow with wreaths was crowned."

3.

(Her.) An appendage to the shield, placed above it, and supporting the crest. It generally represents a twist of two cords of silk, one tinctured like the principal metal, the other like the principal color in the arms.

verb

Wreathe v. t. (past wreathed; past part. wreathed, archaic wreathen; pres. part. wreathing) (Written also wreath)

1.

To cause to revolve or writhe; to twist about; to turn. (Obs.) "And from so heavy sight his head did wreathe."

2.

To twist; to convolve; to wind one about another; to entwine. "The nods and smiles of recognition into which this singular physiognomy was wreathed." "From his slack hand the garland wreathed for Eve Down dropped."

3.

To surround with anything twisted or convolved; to encircle; to infold. "Each wreathed in the other's arms." "Dusk faces with withe silken turbants wreathed." "And with thy winding ivy wreathes her lance."

4.

To twine or twist about; to surround; to encircle. "In the flowers that wreathe the sparkling bowl, Fell adders hiss."

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Etymology of 'Wreath'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Wreath" Quotes from Famous Books

... ashes to ashes, dust to dust! Many a young hand dropped in its little wreath, many a stifled sob was heard. Some—and they were not a few—knelt down. All were sincere and truthful ...

— The Old Curiosity Shop • Charles Dickens

... end of the garden shone the starry tufts of the jasmine—delicate yellow faces set in a wreath of pure white—sweet perfume wafted to Maya on the soft ...

— The Adventures of Maya the Bee • Waldemar Bonsels

... instant. I had seen the vehicle thunder down the hill that leads to the bridge with more than its usual impetuosity, glittering all the while by flashes from a cloudy tabernacle of the dust which it had raised, and leaving a train behind it on the road resembling a wreath of summer mist. But it did not appear on the top of the nearer bank within the usual space of three minutes, which frequent observation had enabled me to ascertain was the medium time for crossing the bridge and mounting the ascent. When double that space had elapsed, I became alarmed, and ...

— The Heart of Mid-Lothian, Complete, Illustrated • Sir Walter Scott

... reward of the day, and pronounced in a clear and distinct tone these words: "I bestow on thee this chaplet, Sir Knight, as the meed of valor assigned to this day's victor." Here she paused a moment, and then firmly added, "And upon brow more worthy could a wreath of chivalry never ...

— Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 6 • Charles H. Sylvester

... idle hours had learned to make A thousand pretty, feminine knick-knacks: For brackets, ottomans, and toilet stands— Labor just suited to her dainty hands. That morning she had been at work in wax, Molding a wreath of flowers for my room,— Taking her patterns from the living blows, In all their dewy beauty and sweet bloom, Fresh from my garden. Fuchsia, tulip, rose, And trailing ivy, grew beneath her touch, Resembling the living plants as much As life is copied in the form of death: These lacking ...

— Maurine and Other Poems • Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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