wreath

wreath · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*wreyt-“to twist”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*wriþô
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*wriþō
4. Old English · inherited from*wreoþa
5. Middle English · inherited fromwreth
6. English todaywreath

From Middle English wreth, wrethe (“coiled or rounded shape; decorative garland, wreath; chaplet, crown; ring”, noun), from Old English *wreoþa, wriþa (“band, coil, ring”), from Proto-West Germanic *wriþō, from Proto-Germanic *wriþô, from *wrīþaną (“to twist; to weave”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyt- (“to twist”). Doublet of wreathe and writhe.

wreath · verb²

See wreathe.

Words from the same roots