Also 5 wrappe. [f. the vb. Not usual before the 19th cent.]
1. a. A wrapper or covering. Also fig.
c. 1460. J. Russell, Bk. Nurture, 212. Thow must square & proporcioun þy bred … and so shaltow make þy wrappe [v.r. wrapper] for þy master manerly.
1589. Hakluyt, Voy., 216. In Goa they vse not to abate any tare of any goods, except of sacks or wraps.
1873. M. Arnold, Lit. & Dogma (1876), 100. That want of power to penetrate through wraps and appearances to the essence of things.
b. A cover, blanket, rug, or the like for laying over or drawing about the person when travelling, reposing, etc. (Cf. 2 b.)
1861. Daily Chron., 12 Sept. We have heard … Livingstone, the African explorer, and many other travellers, say that at night no wrap could equal the beard.
1863. Dicey, Federal St., I. 54. I had … two large carpet-bags, a bundle of heavy wraps, and an umbrella, to transport with me.
1869. Tozer, Highl. Turkey, II. 15. A few wraps in case of a night bivouac.
2. A loose garment or article of feminine dress used or designed to envelop or fold about the person; a shawl, scarf, or the like.
1827. Lady’s Mag., June, 342/1. The Circassian wrap is much worn for half-dress;… it well sets off the fine bust of a well-made female.
1840. Ladies’ Cabinet, March, 201. This is not however the case with the cloaks or shawls adopted as wraps for evening parties.
1885. Mabel Collins, Prettiest Woman, x. Arthur … had the delight of putting Zadwidga’s wrap around her shoulders.
1894. Mrs. Dyan, Man’s Keeping (1899), 222. Her face … was close to his shoulder; a light wrap of lace framed it.
attrib. 1887. Manch. Exhib. Catal., 64. Warm Wrap Shawls.
b. An additional outer garment used or intended to be worn as a defence against wind or weather when driving, travelling, etc. Usu. pl. (Cf. 1 b.)
a. 1817. Jane Austen, Watsons (1879), 353. Tom Musgrave in the wrap of a traveller.
1855. A. Manning, O. Chelsea Bun-h., xiv. 229. I was taking off my wraps, and making ready to go up stairs.
1861. J. H. Bennet, Winter Medit. (1875), I. x. 303. A bitter cold north-west wind … had been blowing, which obliged us to use all our wraps.
1898. J. B. Wollocombe, Morn till Eve, i. 2. After unrolling and unbuttoning his outer wraps, the doctor … ascended the stairs.
3. a. spec. A single convolution, twist or winding of a thread in fastening an object.
1879. Ogden, in J. H. Keene, Fishing Tackle (1886), 172. Secure it with one wrap and two hitches before taking the tweezers off, cut off silk [etc.].
b. techn. (See quots.)
1888. C. P. Brown, Cotton Manuf., 28. A complete revolution of the latter [worm-wheel] means 3564 yards—technically called a wrap. Ibid. If a warp contains 4 wraps and 7 teeth, it is 14,445 yards long.
