garland

¹ American  

[gahr-luhnd] / ˈgɑr lənd /

noun

1. a wreath or festoon of flowers, leaves, or other material, worn for ornament or as an honor or hung on something as a decoration.

   A garland of laurel was placed on the winner's head.

2. a representation of such a wreath or festoon.

3. a collection of short literary pieces, as poems and ballads; literary miscellany.

4. Nautical. a band, collar, or grommet, as of rope.

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verb (used with object)

1. to crown with a garland; deck with garlands.

Garland ² American  

[gahr-luhnd] / ˈgɑr lənd /

noun

1. Hamlin 1860–1940, U.S. novelist, short-story writer, and poet.

2. Judy Frances Gumm, 1922–69, U.S. singer and actress.

3. a city in NE Texas, near Dallas.

4. a male or female given name.

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garland ¹ British  

/ ˈɡɑːlənd /

noun

1. a wreath or festoon of flowers, leaves, etc, worn round the head or neck or hung up

2. a representation of such a wreath, as in painting, sculpture, etc

3. a collection of short literary pieces, such as ballads or poems; miscellany or anthology

4. nautical a ring or grommet of rope

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verb

1. (tr) to deck or adorn with a garland or garlands

Garland ² British  

/ ˈɡɑːlənd /

noun

1. Judy, real name Frances Gumm. 1922–69, US singer and film actress. Already a child star, she achieved international fame with The Wizard of Oz (1939). Later films included Meet Me in St Louis (1944) and A Star is Born (1954)

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Other Word Forms

• garlandless adjective
• garlandlike adjective
• ungarland verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of garland

1275–1325; Middle English ger ( e ) lande, garlande < Old French < ?

Example Sentences

In their place, great garlands of sticks and leaves hung above him, as though a tree were growing upside down from the ceiling.

From Literature

Unlike the soft, pliable versions of the Christ child in his early Madonnas, this is a monumental, muscular putto, using his strength to hold that garland aloft.

From The Wall Street Journal

Decorating their soldiers with colourful garlands, hundreds of Afghans rallied in border provinces to decry Pakistan killing civilians and to show support for their troops battling at the frontier.

From Barron's

We didn’t have a Christmas tree, but we’d made paper chains in school, and Ma dug out our wispy old tinsel garlands.

From Literature

Marigold garlands and a wreath were placed on top.

From BBC

Related Words

• wreath