winding sheet

noun

1. shroud ( def 1 ).
2. a mass of tallow or wax that has run down and hardened on the side of a candle, sometimes considered an omen of misfortune.

winding sheet

noun

1. a sheet in which a corpse is wrapped for burial; shroud

Word History and Origins

Origin of winding sheet¹

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425

Example Sentences

If you use it wisely, it may be Ulysses' hauberk; if you reject it, the shirt of Nessus were a cooler winding-sheet!

From Project Gutenberg

Long trails of a pale tint simulated upon the water the folds of a winding-sheet.

From Project Gutenberg

I began to know Rome better, and cast aside the winding-sheet which had enwrapped me, as it were.

From Project Gutenberg

He is a fearful-looking deity, cadaverous as a skeleton, and wrapped in a winding sheet.

From Project Gutenberg

She sickened, and before many suns went down she lay in her winding sheet.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cloak
• pall
• veil