shroud

[ shroud ]

/ ʃraʊd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shroud ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a cloth or sheet in which a corpse is wrapped for burial.

something that covers or conceals like a garment: a shroud of rain.

Nautical. any of a number of taut ropes or wires converging from both sides on the head of a lower or upper mast of the outer end of a bowsprit to steady it against lateral sway: a part of the standing rigging.

Also called shroud line. Aeronautics. any of a number of suspension cords of a parachute attaching the load to the canopy.

Also called shroud·ing. Machinery.

(on a nonmetallic gear) an extended metal rim enclosing the ends of the teeth on either side.
(on a water wheel) one of two rings of boards or plates enclosing the buckets at their ends.

Rocketry. a cone-shaped shield that protects the payload of a launch vehicle.

verb (used with object)

to wrap or clothe for burial; enshroud.

to cover; hide from view.

to veil, as in obscurity or mystery: They shrouded their past lives in an effort to forget.

to provide (a water wheel) with a shroud.

Obsolete. to shelter.

verb (used without object)

Archaic. to take shelter.

Nearby words

Origin of shroud

before 1000; (noun) Middle English; Old English scrūd; cognate with Old Norse skrūth; akin to shred; (v.) Middle English shrouden, derivative of the noun; replacing Middle English shriden, Old English scrȳdan, derivative of scrūd

SYNONYMS FOR shroud

1. winding sheet. 8. conceal, screen.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shroud ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsshroud·less, adjectiveshroud·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for shroud

The shawl, we learn, weaves its way through Mexican life, from its use as a baby carrier to a shroud used to bury the dead.
Shining a Spotlight on Mexico’s Iconic Textile—the Rebozo|Liza Foreman|June 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The most famous ones are the Mandylion of Edessa, the Veronica and the Shroud of Turin.
Self-portraits with Buzz|Blake Gopnik|June 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Indeed, the Shroud is as difficult to understand, in its way, as the Resurrection.
The Shroud of Turin and Thomas de Wesselow’s ‘The Sign.’|Thomas de Wesselow|April 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Overall, the 1988 carbon-dating has made little difference to sindonology (as study of the Shroud is known).
The Shroud of Turin and Thomas de Wesselow’s ‘The Sign.’|Thomas de Wesselow|April 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Ultimately, it is worry about what the Shroud might mean that determines its rejection by modern rationalists.
The Shroud of Turin and Thomas de Wesselow’s ‘The Sign.’|Thomas de Wesselow|April 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST
There is a touch of poetry connected with that veil—it literally is the shroud in which she will be buried.
The International Monthly, Volume 3, No. 4, July, 1851|Various
His shroud was a blanket, in which the head, as well as the body, was completely enveloped.
Sketches of Aboriginal Life|V. V. Vide
The secretive commercial policy of the Dutch authorities made them shroud Tasman's discoveries in mystery.
The Long White Cloud|William Pember Reeves
About this truth Beaumont weaves a shroud of unsullied beauty, a poetry that has rarely been surpassed.
Francis Beaumont: Dramatist|Charles Mills Gayley
He even writhes with laughter, and eats a corner of his shroud as if to prevent himself from bursting into a too unseemly mirth.
Egypt (La Mort De Philae)|Pierre Loti

British Dictionary definitions for shroud

shroud

/ (ʃraʊd) /

noun

a garment or piece of cloth used to wrap a dead body

anything that envelops like a garmenta shroud of mist

a protective covering for a piece of equipment

astronautics a streamlined protective covering used to protect the payload during a rocket-powered launch

nautical one of a pattern of ropes or cables used to stay a mast

any of a set of wire cables stretched between a smokestack or similar structure and the ground, to prevent side sway

Also called: shroud line any of a set of lines running from the canopy of a parachute to the harness

verb

(tr) to wrap in a shroud

(tr) to cover, envelop, or hide

archaic to seek or give shelter

Derived Formsshroudless, adjective

Word Origin for shroud

Old English scrūd garment; related to Old Norse skrūth gear

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for shroud

shroud

Old English scrud "a garment, clothing, dress," from West Germanic *skruthan, from Proto-Germanic *skrud- "cut" (cf. Old Norse skruð "shrouds of a ship, tackle, gear; furniture of a church," Danish, Swedish skrud "dress, attire"), from PIE *skreu- "to cut" (see shred (n.)).

Specific meaning "winding-sheet, cloth or sheet for burial," to which the word now is restricted, first attested 1560s. Sense of "strong rope supporting the mast of a ship" (mid-15c.) is from the notion of "clothing" a spar or mast; one without rigging was said to be naked.

shroud

c.1300, "to clothe, to cover, protect," from Old English scrydan, scridan "to clothe, dress;" see shroud (n.). Meaning "to hide from view, conceal" (transitive) is attested from early 15c. Related: Shrouded; shrouding.

shroud

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

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Origin of shroud

Examples from the Web for shroud

shroud

noun

verb

Word Origin for shroud

shroud

shroud