shroud

[ shroud ]

noun

1. a cloth or sheet in which a corpse is wrapped for burial.

   Synonyms: winding sheet

2. something that covers or conceals like a garment:

   a shroud of rain.

3. Nautical. any of a number of taut ropes or wires converging from both sides on the head of a lower or upper mast of the outer end of a bowsprit to steady it against lateral sway: a part of the standing rigging.
4. Also called shroud line. Aeronautics. any of a number of suspension cords of a parachute attaching the load to the canopy.
5. Also called shrouding. Machinery.
   1. (on a nonmetallic gear) an extended metal rim enclosing the ends of the teeth on either side.
   2. (on a water wheel) one of two rings of boards or plates enclosing the buckets at their ends.
6. Rocketry. a cone-shaped shield that protects the payload of a launch vehicle.

verb (used with object)

1. to wrap or clothe for burial; enshroud.
2. to cover; hide from view.

   Synonyms: screen, conceal

3. to veil, as in obscurity or mystery:

   They shrouded their past lives in an effort to forget.

4. to provide (a water wheel) with a shroud.
5. Obsolete. to shelter.

verb (used without object)

1. Archaic. to take shelter.

shroud

/ ʃraʊd /

noun

1. a garment or piece of cloth used to wrap a dead body
2. anything that envelops like a garment

   a shroud of mist

3. a protective covering for a piece of equipment
4. astronautics a streamlined protective covering used to protect the payload during a rocket-powered launch
5. nautical one of a pattern of ropes or cables used to stay a mast
6. any of a set of wire cables stretched between a smokestack or similar structure and the ground, to prevent side sway
7. Also calledshroud line any of a set of lines running from the canopy of a parachute to the harness

verb

1. tr to wrap in a shroud
2. tr to cover, envelop, or hide
3. archaic.
   to seek or give shelter

Derived Forms

• ˈshroudless, adjective

Other Words From

• shroudless adjective
• shroudlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shroud¹

before 1000; (noun) Middle English; Old English scrūd; cognate with Old Norse skrūth; akin to shred; (v.) Middle English shrouden, derivative of the noun; replacing Middle English shriden, Old English scrȳdan, derivative of scrūd

Word History and Origins

Origin of shroud¹

Old English scrūd garment; related to Old Norse skrūth gear

Related Words

• cloak
• pall
• veil