wrap

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun cloak that is folded or wrapped around a person
  2. noun a sandwich in which the filling is rolled up in a soft tortilla
  3. noun the covering (usually paper or cellophane) in which something is wrapped

Etymology

From Middle English wrappen (“to wrap, fold”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to North Frisian wrappe (“to press into; stop up”), dialectal Danish vrappe (“to stuff, cram”), Middle Low German rincworpen (“to envelop, wrap”), Middle Low German wrempen (“to wrinkle, scrunch the face”), all perhaps tied to Proto-Indo-European *werp-, *werb- (“to turn, twist, bend”). Compare also similar-sounding and similar-meaning Middle English wlappen (“to wrap, lap, envelop, fold”), Middle Dutch lappen (“to wrap up”), Old Italian goluppare (“to wrap”) (from Germanic). Doublet of lap; related to envelop, develop. Also compare Latin verber (“whip, lash”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

wrapper

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