wrap

Etymology 1

From Middle English wrappen (“to wrap, fold”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to North Frisian wrappe (“to press into; stop up”), dialectal Danish vrappe (“to stuff, cram”), Middle Low German rincworpen (“to envelop, wrap”), Middle Low German wrempen (“to wrinkle, scrunch the face”), all perhaps tied to Proto-Indo-European *werp-, *werb- (“to turn, twist, bend”). Compare also similar-sounding and similar-meaning Middle English wlappen (“to wrap, lap, envelop, fold”), Middle Dutch lappen (“to wrap up”), Old Italian goluppare (“to wrap”) (from Germanic). Doublet of lap; related to envelop, develop. Also compare Latin verber (“whip, lash”).

verb

1. (transitive) To enclose (an object) completely in any flexible, thin material such as fabric or paper.
   Christmas gifts are commonly known to be wrapped in paper.
2. (transitive) To enclose or coil around an object or organism, as a form of grasping.
   A snake wraps itself around its prey.
   Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch / About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams. 1811, William Cullen Bryant, Thanatopsis
3. (figurative) To conceal by enveloping or enfolding; to hide.
   wise poets that wrap truth in tales a. 1640, Thomas Carew, Ingrateful Beauty Threatened
4. (transitive or intransitive, video production) To finish shooting (filming) a video, television show, or movie.
   To avoid going over budget, let's make sure we wrap by ten. (compare wrap up 2)
5. (lines, words, text, etc.) To break a continuous line (of text) onto the next line
   I wrapped the text so that I wouldn't need to scroll to the right to read it.
6. (computing, transitive) To make functionality available through a software wrapper.
7. (transitive) To (cause to) reset to an original value after passing a maximum.
   The row counter wraps back to zero when no more rows can be inserted.

Etymology 2

From Middle English wrappe, from the verb (see above).

noun

1. Paper or sheeting that is wrapped around something to protect, contain, or conceal it.
2. A loose piece of women's clothing that one wraps around the body; a shawl or scarf.
3. (chiefly in the plural, now rare) An outer garment worn as protection while riding, travelling etc.
   ‘I see you have had our Lowick Cicero here,’ she said, seating herself comfortably, throwing back her wraps, and showing a thin but well-built figure. 1872, George Eliot, Middlemarch, Book I, chapter 6
4. A type of food consisting of various ingredients wrapped in a tortilla or pancake.
5. (entertainment) The completion of all or a major part of a performance.
   But she could knock off right after the wrap, have dinner, and take a later flight. 1994, Olivia Goldsmith, Fashionably Late
   The first time I met him is when we went to the – after the wrap party, we went to a little sound room – or a little screening room and watched the preview January 12, 2003, “Encore Presentation: Interview With the Bee Gees”, in CNN_KingWknd
   And that's a wrap on "News Watch." For Judy, Jim, Cal and Kirsten, I'm Jon Scott. We'll see you again next week.' November 14, 2009, Fox News Watch
6. A wraparound mortgage.
7. (television, radio) A complete news report ready for broadcast, incorporating spoken reporting and other material.
   This is a news report from the scene of the event. When a voicer and an actuality are combined into one complete story, it's known as a wrap. 2005, Alan R. Stephenson, David E. Reese, Mary E. Beadle, Broadcast Announcing Worktext, page 164
   Attend a news conference, and prepare a wrap or package. 2005, Ted White, Broadcast News: Writing, Reporting, and Producing, page 245

Etymology 3

noun

1. (Australia, informal) Alternative spelling of rap (“appraisal”)