wrap

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɹæp/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English wrappen, of uncertain origin.^[2][3][4][5] MWU compares Danish dialect vravle, to twist together, and Greek ῥάπτω (rháptein, “to sew”);^[6] Etymonline gives Watkins's derivation through Scandinavian from PIE Proto-Indo-European *werp- (“to turn, wind”), or perhaps a variant of lap, to fold.^[5] SOED compares North Frisian wrappe, to stop up.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

To swathe, envelop or enfold: about 1320 in Barnhart, the early 14th century in Etymonline.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Its figurative uses, such as to be wrapped up in thought, date from the late 14th century.^[3] The noun, a wrapper or covering, is from about 1460;^[8][2] a woman's loose outer garment is from 1827, and a rug or blanket worn about the person from 1861.^[8][5] Plastic film for wrapping is from 1930,^[8][5] and the end of a film shoot, it's a wrap, from 1970.^[5] A flatbread rolled around a filling is a late-20th-century sense.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1320 – to envelop.^[2]
• c. 1460 – a covering.^[8]
• 1827 – a woman's garment.^[8]
• 1930 – plastic wrap.^[8]
• 1970 – the end of a filming session.^[5]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To cover or envelop something by folding paper or cloth round it.
2. To wind or fold something round something else.
3. (wrap up) To finish or conclude.
4. (computing) To move text automatically to the next line.

Noun

1. A shawl or similar outer garment worn round the shoulders.
2. Material used for wrapping: plastic wrap.
3. A tortilla or flatbread rolled round a filling.
4. The end of filming: that's a wrap.

Word family

• wraparound
• wrapper
• wrapping
• gift-wrap
• shrink-wrap
• backwrap
• enwrap
• interwrap

Related words

• rapt
• lap
• envelop

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins