9 Commonly Confused Pairs_2

wreathe

Wreathe
[reeth]

A wreath is a circular band of flowers or leaves that can be placed on a door or a head. (Think Christmas or Julius Caesar.) The word comes from the Old English wrioa meaning "band," and since that early origin, wreath has been a noun. To wreathe is to adorn something with a wreath or to encircle something the way a wreath does. Our next confusable is wreathed in mystery. Decode it on the next slide.
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wreathe
riːð/
verb
verb: wreathe; 3rd person present: wreathes; past tense: wreathed; past participle:wreathed; gerund or present participle: wreathing
  1. 1.
    cover, surround, or encircle.
    "he sits wreathed in smoke"
    synonyms:festoon, garland, drape, cover, envelop, array, bedeck, deck,
    decorate, ornament, adorn
    "the pulpit had been wreathed in holly"
    • literary
      twist or entwine (something flexible) round or over something.
      "shall I once more wreathe my arms about Antonio's neck?"
    • (especially of smoke) move with a curling motion.
      "he watched the smoke wreathe into the night air"
      synonyms:spiral, coil, loop, gyrate, wind, curl, twist, twist and turn, corkscrew,snake, curve, meander, zigzag
      "blue smoke wreathed upwards"
  2. 2.
    form (flowers, leaves, or stems) into a wreath.
Origin
mid 16th century: partly a back-formation from archaic wrethen, past participle of writhe, reinforced by wreath.
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wreath
riːθ/
noun
noun: wreath; plural noun: wreaths
  1. 1.
    an arrangement of flowers, leaves, or stems fastened in a ring and used for decoration or for laying on a grave.
    "the Queen laid a wreath at the Cenotaph"
  2. 2.
    a curl or ring of smoke or cloud.
    "wreaths of mist swirled up into the cold air"
  3. 3.
    SCOTTISHarchaic
    a snowdrift.
Origin
Old English writha, related to writhe.

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