# wreath

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɹiːθ/ · frequency rank #18,226

## Definitions
1. Something twisted, intertwined, or curled.
2. An ornamental circular band made, for example, of plaited flowers and leaves, and used as decoration; a garland or chaplet, especially one given to a victor.
3. A defect in glass.
4. An appendage to the shield, placed above it, and supporting the crest; an orle, a torse. It generally represents a twist of two cords of silk, one tinctured like the principal metal, the other like the principal color in the coat of arms.

## Etymology
From Middle English wreth, wrethe (“coiled or rounded shape; decorative garland, wreath; chaplet, crown; ring”, noun), from Old English wrǣd, wrǣþ, wriþa (“bandage”), from Proto-West Germanic *wrīþan (“to twist; to weave”), from Proto-Germanic *wrīþaną (“to twist; to weave”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyt- (“to twist”). Doublet of wreathe and writhe.

## Easily confused with
- **wrest** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wreath-vs-wrest)
- **Wyeth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wreath-vs-wyeth)
- **wrench** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wreath-vs-wrench)
- **wretch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wreath-vs-wretch)
- **wreaths** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wreath-vs-wreaths)
- **wheat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wheat-vs-wreath)
- **wrath** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wrath-vs-wreath)
- **wreak** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wreak-vs-wreath)
- **wealth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wealth-vs-wreath)
- **wraith** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wraith-vs-wreath)

## Common misspellings (9)
`rweath`, `werath`, `wraeth`, `wreaht`, `wreathh`, `wreatth`, `wretah`, `wrreath`, `wwreath`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/wreath