wreath

Etymology

From Old English wriþa (bandage), from Proto-West Germanic *wrīþan (to twist), from Proto-Germanic *wrīþaną, from Proto-Indo-European *wreyt- (to twist). See also writhe.

noun

1. Something twisted, intertwined, or curled.
   a wreath of smoke;  a wreath of clouds
   The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom. Whirling wreaths and columns of burning wind, rushed around and over them. 1892, James Yoxall, chapter 5, in The Lonely Pyramid: A Tale of Adventures, being the Strange Experiences of Roy LeFevre in the Desert during the Year 1884, London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dublin: Blackie and Son, →OCLC
2. An ornamental circular band made, for example, of plaited flowers and leaves, and used as decoration; a garland or chaplet, especially one given to a victor.
   So, after a spell, he decided to make the best of it and shoved us into the front parlor. 'Twas a dismal sort of place, with hair wreaths, and wax fruit, and tin lambrekins, and land knows what all. 1913, Joseph Crosby Lincoln, chapter 12, in Mr. Pratt's Patients, New York, N.Y.: A. L. Burt, →OCLC
3. (heraldry) An appendage to the shield, placed above it, and supporting the crest; an orle, a torse. It generally represents a twist of two cords of silk, one tinctured like the principal metal, the other like the principal color in the coat of arms.
4. A defect in glass.

verb

1. (transitive) To place an entwined circle of flowers upon or around something.
   Old Nico wreathed the tomb of maiden Melitê. 1958, The Greek Anthology, page 349
2. (transitive) To wrap around something in a circle.
   At the funeral, a circle of comrades wreathed the grave of the honored deceased.
3. (intransitive) To curl, writhe or spiral in the form of a wreath.
   Though wit may flash from fluent lips, and mirth distract the breast, Through midnight hours that yield no more their former hope of rest; ’Tis but as ivy-leaves around the ruined turret wreath All green and wildly fresh without, but worn and grey beneath. 1816, Lord Byron, Stanzas for Music, section 4