wympel
Middle English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Old English wimpel, winpel, from Proto-Germanic *wimpilaz.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
wympel (plural wymples)
- A wimple; a female headcovering, especially (but not only) worn by nuns.
- a. 1394, Geoffrey Chaucer, “General Prologue”, in The Canterbury Tales[1], lines 151–152:
- Ful semyly hir wympul pynched was / Hir nose tretys, hir eyen greye as glas […]
- Her wimple was folded in quite a seemly way / Her nose [was] slender; her eyes [were] grey like glass […]
- (rare) A veil used to cover the box which communion wafers are stored in.
- (rare) A coloured region of feathers on a bird of prey's head.
Related terms edit
Descendants edit
References edit
- “wimple, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-11-19.