weave

Etymology 1

From Middle English weven (“to weave”), from Old English wefan (“to weave”), from Proto-West Germanic *weban, from Proto-Germanic *webaną, from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to weave, braid”). Cognates: Cognate with Saterland Frisian weeuwe, West Frisian weve, Dutch weven, German weben, Danish væve, Swedish väva, Norwegian Nynorsk veva, Icelandic vefa.

verb

1. To form something by passing lengths or strands of material over and under one another.
   This loom weaves yarn into sweaters.
2. To spin a cocoon or a web.
   Spiders weave beautiful but deadly webs.
3. To unite by close connection or intermixture.
4. To compose creatively and intricately; to fabricate.
   to weave the plot of a story

noun

1. A type or way of weaving.
   That rug has a very tight weave.
2. (cosmetics) Human or artificial hair worn to alter one's appearance, either to supplement or to cover the natural hair.
   The physician should evaluate for a history of tight ponytails, buns, chignons, braids, twists, weaves, cornrows, dreadlocks, sisterlocks, and hair wefts in addition to the usage of religious hair coverings. 2021, Becky S. Li, Howard I. Maibach, Ethnic Skin and Hair and Other Cultural Considerations, page 154

Etymology 2

From Middle English weven (“to wander”); probably from Old Norse veifa (“move around, wave”), related to Latin vibrare.

verb

1. (intransitive) To move by turning and twisting.
   The drunk weaved into another bar.
   The victims’ feeling of incredulity at what they were seeing, swiftly turning to paralysing fear as the van bore down on them, swerving and weaving to hit as many people as possible, can barely be imagined. August 20, 2017, “The Observer view on the attacks in Spain”, in The Observer
   Tevez picked up a throw-in from the right, tip-toed his way into the area and weaved past three Wolves challenges before slotting in to display why, of all City's multi-million pound buys, he remains their most important player. January 15, 2011, Saj Chowdhury, “Man City 4 - 3 Wolves”, in BBC
2. (transitive) To make (a path or way) by winding in and out or from side to side.
   The ambulance weaved its way through the heavy traffic.
3. (intransitive, of an animal) To move the head back and forth in a stereotyped pattern, typically as a symptom of stress.