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wimple

 - 5 dictionary results

wim⋅ple

  [wim-puhl] noun, verb, -pled, -pling.
Use wimple in a Sentence
–noun
1. a woman's headcloth drawn in folds about the chin, formerly worn out of doors, and still in use by some nuns.
2. Chiefly Scot.
a. a fold or wrinkle, as in cloth.
b. a curve, bend, or turn, as in a road or river.
–verb (used with object)
3. to cover or muffle with or as if with a wimple.
4. to cause to ripple or undulate, as water.
5. Archaic. to veil or enwrap.
–verb (used without object)
6. to ripple, as water.
7. Archaic. to lie in folds, as a veil.
8. Chiefly Scot. to follow a curving course, as a road or river.
Origin:
bef. 1100; (n.) ME wimple, wimpel, OE wimpel; c. D, LG wimpel, ON vimpill; (v.) ME: to wrap in a wimple, deriv. of the n.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To wimple
wim·ple   (wĭm'pəl)   
n.  

  1. A cloth wound around the head, framing the face, and drawn into folds beneath the chin, worn by women in medieval times and as part of the habit of certain orders of nuns.

    1. A fold or pleat in cloth.

    2. A ripple, as on the surface of water.

    3. A curve or bend.

v.   wim·pled, wim·pling, wim·ples

v.   tr.

  1. To cover with or dress in a wimple.

  2. To cause to form folds, pleats, or ripples.

v.   intr.

  1. Archaic To form or lie in folds.

  2. To ripple.


[Middle English wimpel, from Old English; see weip- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

wimple 
"head covering for women," especially worn by nuns, O.E. wimpel, from P.Gmc. *wimpilaz (cf. O.S. wimpal, O.Fris. wimpel, M.Du., Du. wimpel, O.H.G. wimpal, Ger. wimpel, O.N. vimpill), of obscure origin. O.Fr. guimple (Fr. guimpe) is a Gmc. loan-word.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Bible Dictionary

Wimple

Isa. 3:22, (R.V., "shawls"), a wrap or veil. The same Hebrew word is rendered "vail" (R.V., "mantle") in Ruth 3:15.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Encyclopedia

wimple

headdress worn by women over the head and around the neck, cheeks, and chin. From the late 12th until the beginning of the 14th century, it was worn extensively throughout medieval Europe, and it survived until recently as a head covering for women in religious orders.

Learn more about wimple with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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