ravel

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɹævəl/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Dutch ravelen (“to tangle, fray, unweave”) (now rafelen),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from ravel, rafel “loose or frayed thread”,^[2][3][4][5] of uncertain origin.^[4] Barnhart compares Old Norse refill “piece of cloth”.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To untangle or unwind (1582),^[3][5][7] and to become tangled or confused (before 1585).^[3][4][7]

Semantic evolution

The verb has carried both opposite senses since it was borrowed, because as threads are unwoven their ends become tangled.^[2][3][4] It meant to entangle from 1598,^[7][2] to fray out, of a fabric, from 1611,^[7] and to unwind or unweave from 1607.^[7][2] The word unravel appeared in 1603,^[2] but ravel still keeps both meanings.^[2][3] The noun meant a tangle from 1634 and a loose thread from 1832.^[3][4][7]

Timeline

• 1582 – to disentangle (figurative).^[3][7]
• before 1585 – to become entangled.^[3][7]
• 1598 – to entangle.^[7]
• 1607 – to unravel or unweave.^[7]
• 1634 – noun, a tangle.^[3][7]
• 1832 – noun, a loose thread.^[3][7]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To separate the threads of a fabric; to unravel or fray.
2. To make clear by separating the parts; to disentangle.
3. To tangle or complicate; to confuse.
4. To become tangled or confused.
5. Of a road surface, to break up or lose its aggregate.

Noun

1. A tangle or complication.
2. A loose or broken thread.

Word family

• raveler
• ravelment
• ravelly
• raveling
• unravel

Usage notes

Wiktionary notes that the spellings ravelling and ravelled are more common in Britain than in the U.S.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press