wimple

verb

wimpled; wimpling ˈwim-p(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

1

: to cover with or as if with a wimple : veil

2

: to cause to ripple

intransitive verb

1

archaic : to fall or lie in folds

2

chiefly Scotland : to follow a winding course : meander

3

: ripple

Did you know?

Wimple is the name of the covering worn over the head and around the neck and chin by women in the late medieval period, as well as by some modern nuns. Its name is akin to Old Saxon "wimpal" and Middle Dutch "wimpel," both of which mean "veil" or "banner." Like the word veil, "wimple" is also used as a verb meaning "cover" and was adopted by literary writers as a substitute for "ripple" and "meander," especially when writing about streams. "Over the little brook which wimpled along below towered an arch," James Russell Lowell once observed.

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for wimple

• dimple
• pimple
• simple

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Kids Definition

wimple

noun

wim·​ple

ˈwim-pəl

: a cloth covering worn over the head and around the neck and chin by women in earlier times and by some nuns today