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wreath

UK/ɹiːθ/US/ɹiθ/
nounB2Common in everyday speech and writing · #8,138 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: wreaths

A wreath is a ring of flowers or leaves. A holly wreath, lay a wreath, a funeral wreath.

The ring has no beginning and no end, which is why it stands for eternity and turns up at both funerals and Christmas. Laying one at a memorial is a formal act of remembrance. The word comes from an Old English word for something twisted.

Лобачев Владимир · CC BY-SA 3.0

Definitions of wreath

  1. 1nounwreathA ring of flowers or leaves.B2

    “They hung a holly wreath on the front door for Christmas.”

wreath is a ring of flowers.

Where it comes from

Old English writha means a band or coil, from writhan, to twist. Writhe and wreathe are relatives.

  1. Proto-Indo-European

    *wreyt- — to twist

  2. Proto-Germanic

    *wriþô

  3. Proto-West Germanic

    *wriþō

  4. Old English

    *wreoþa

  5. Middle English

    wreth

  6. English, today

    wreath

Built from

  • wrethe · Middle English — coiled or rounded shape; decorative garland, wreath; chaplet, crown; ring
  • wriþa · Old English — band, coil, ring
  • *wrīþaną · Proto-Germanic — to twist; to weave

From Middle English wreth, wrethe (“coiled or rounded shape; decorative garland, wreath; chaplet, crown; ring”), from Old English wreoþa, wriþa (“band, coil, ring”), from Proto-West Germanic wriþō, from Proto-Germanic wriþô, from wrīþaną (“to twist; to weave”), from Proto-Indo-European wreyt- (“to twist”). a doublet of wreathe and writhe.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Song of Ice and Fire

Practise this word

wreath in the wild

  • Some Advent wreaths include a fifth, Christ candle which is lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

    Advent wreath

  • Whereas ancient laurel wreaths are most often depicted as a horseshoe shape, modern versions are usually complete rings.

    Laurel wreath

  • The Ukrainian wreath is a type of wreath which, in traditional Ukrainian culture, is worn by girls and young unmarried women.

    Ukrainian wreath

  • The wreath may be part of a tradition dating back to East Slavic customs that predate the Christianization of Kievan Rus'.

    Ukrainian wreath

  • Among the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is an intricately woven papyrus wreath with bronze insets to reflect light.

    Crown of justification

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.