WREATH : n : flower arrangement consisting of a circular band of foliage
or flowers for ornamental purposes [syn: garland, coronal,
chaplet, lei]
v : encircle with or as if with a wreath; "Her face was wreathed
with blossoms" [syn: wreathe]
WREATH : \Wreath\ (?; 277), n.; pl. Wreaths. [OE. wrethe, AS.
wr[=ae][eth] a twisted band, fr. wr[=i][eth]an to twist. See
Writhe.]
1. Something twisted, intertwined, or curled; as, a wreath of
smoke; a wreath of flowers. ``A wrethe of gold.''
--Chaucer.
[He] of his tortuous train Curled many a wanton
wreath. --Milton.
2. A garland; a chaplet, esp. one given to a victor.
Conquest doth grant He dear wreath to the Grecian
combatant. --Chapman.
Far back in the ages, The plow with wreaths was
crowned. --Bryant.
3. (Her.) An appendage to the shield, placed above it, and
supporting the crest (see Illust. of 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.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
Wreathe \Wreathe\, v. t. [imp. Wreathed; p. p. Wreathed;
Archaic Wreathen; p. pr. & vb. n. Wreathing.] [See
Wreath, n.] [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.
--Spenser.
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. --Sir W.
Scott.
From his slack hand the garland wreathed for Eve
Down dropped. --Milton.
3. To surround with anything twisted or convolved; to
encircle; to infold.
Each wreathed in the other's arms. --Shak.
Dusk faces with withe silken turbants wreathed.
--Milton.
And with thy winding ivy wreathes her lance.
--Dryden.
4. To twine or twist about; to surround; to encircle.
In the flowers that wreathe the sparkling bowl, Fell
adders hiss. --Prior.