shroud

[shroud]

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.

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

Related formsshroud·less, adjectiveshroud·like, adjective

Synonyms for shroud

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shroud ON THESAURUS.COM

1. winding sheet. 8. conceal, screen.

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

Related Words for shrouded

murky, overcast, cloudy, hazy, fuzzy, foggy, secluded, covert, classified, undisclosed, private, undercover, mysterious, unknown, underground, furtive, hush-hush, obscure, unpublished, unnoticed

Examples from the Web for shrouded

Contemporary Examples of shrouded

Despite its ranking at the bottom of most international development indexes, the conflict is shrouded by confusion.
The Year’s Most Forgotten Humanitarian Crisis
Nina Strochlic
January 1, 2015
Hortense has long been shrouded in mystery and critical contempt, in part because so little is known about her.
Sight Unseen: Cézanne’s Mysterious Wife
Lizzie Crocker
November 19, 2014
To date, much of the details of the diplomacy and even the interim deal between Iran and the West are shrouded in secrecy.
Republican Hawks Already Have a War Plan for ISIS, Ukraine, and Obama
Eli Lake
November 6, 2014
Angleton is one of those people who will always be shrouded in mystery.
The Bizarre Tale of Ben Bradlee, JFK, and the Master Spy
Will Rahn
October 22, 2014
The process for informing the Senate and House intelligence committees is often shrouded in secrecy.
Congress Scouring Every U.S. Spy Program
Eli Lake
October 10, 2014

Historical Examples of shrouded

Then the door was shrouded by an ever-changing semicircle of curious observers.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
Princess Mary's charming countenance was shrouded with a dull pallor.
A Hero of Our Time
M. Y. Lermontov
His face, shrouded in a high-growing, dust-coloured beard, invited no attention.
The Market-Place
Harold Frederic
It is a point that I fear will always be shrouded in mystery.
The Bow, Its History, Manufacture and Use
Henry Saint-George
They were shrouded in the fog which made the night heavy, opaque, and nauseous.
The Works of Guy de Maupassant, Volume VIII.
Guy de Maupassant

British Dictionary definitions for shrouded

shroud

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 shrouded

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.