warp

¹warp

noun \ˈwȯrp\

Definition of WARP

1

a : a series of yarns extended lengthwise in a loom and crossed by the weft

b : foundation, base <the warp of the economic structure is agriculture — American Guide Series: North Carolina>

2

: a rope for warping or mooring a ship or boat

3

[²warp]

a : a twist or curve that has developed in something originally flat or straight <a warp in a door panel>

b : a mental aberration

— warp·age \ˈwȯr-pij\ noun

Examples of WARP

1. There's a warp in the floorboards.
2. <an unshakable belief in the essential goodness of humankind is the warp of his philosophy>

Origin of WARP

Middle English, from Old English wearp; akin to Old High German warf warp, Old English weorpan to throw, Old Norse verpa

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to WARP

Synonyms

basis, bedrock, bottom, cornerstone, footing, foundation, ground, groundwork, keystone, root, underpinning, base, warp and woof

Related Words

anchorage, bed, brace, bulwark, buttress, framework, infrastructure, mount, prop, shore, stay, substratum, substructure, support; assumption, justification, premise (also premiss), presumption, presupposition, rationale, supposition, theory, thesis, warrant; backbone, center, core, cornerstone, eye, focus, heart, hub, kernel, keystone, nucleus, seat; essence, quintessence, soul, touchstone

Other Textiles Terms

batt, bias, brocade, duck, flock, lawn, toile

Rhymes with WARP

dorp, gorp, thorp, Thorpe

²warp

verb

Definition of WARP

transitive verb

1

: to arrange (yarns) so as to form a warp

2

a : to turn or twist out of or as if out of shape; especially : to twist or bend out of a plane

b : to cause to judge, choose, or act wrongly or abnormally : pervert

c : distort <intellect and learning…warped by prejudices — Irving Wallace> <warps space and time>

d : to deflect from a course

3

: to move (as a ship) by hauling on a line attached to a fixed object

intransitive verb

1

: to become warped

2

: to move a ship by warping

— warp·er noun

Examples of WARP

1. The wood was warped by moisture.
2. The heat caused the wood to warp.
3. He held prejudices that warped his judgment.

First Known Use of WARP

14th century

Related to WARP

Synonyms

bend, color, cook, distort, falsify, fudge, misinterpret, misrelate, misrepresent, misstate, pervert, slant, twist, garble

Antonyms

elevate, ennoble, uplift

Related Words

misdescribe, misspeak, mistranslate; belie, camouflage, disguise, dissemble, gloss (over), mask, veil, whitewash; bowdlerize, censor; complicate, confound, confuse, mistake, mix (up); mystify, obscure; equivocate, fib, lie, palter, prevaricate

Near Antonyms

clarify, clear (up), explain, illuminate, illustrate, interpret, spell out; decipher

See Synonym Discussion at deform