wreathe

English

Etymology

Partly a back-formation of wreathen (past participle of writhe), and partly from wreath.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA: /ɹiːð/
• Rhymes: -iːð

Verb

wreathe (third-person singular simple present wreathes, present participle wreathing, simple past and past participle wreathed)

1. (transitive) To twist, curl or entwine something into a shape similar to a wreath
2. (transitive) To form a wreathlike shape around something
3. (intransitive) To curl, writhe or spiral in the form of a wreath
4. (obsolete) To turn violently aside or around; to wrench.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.i:

     from so heauie sight his head did wreath, / Accusing fortune, and too cruell fate [...].

Translations

twist into a shape similar to a wreath

• Esperanto: plekti (eo)

Anagrams

• weareth, weather, whate'er, wheater, whereat