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wimple

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A cloth head-covering worn by medieval women to cover the head, neck, and sides of the face; as a verb, to ripple, fold, or arrange in pleats or curves.

Detailed Definition
As garment, “wimple” denotes modesty; as verb, fluid motion. In poetry, both appear: nuns in wimples, streams wimpling. The duality enriches metaphor—covering versus revealing. Poets use it to explore how concealment shapes presence, where wimples mark piety or water’s grace, reinforcing themes of veiling, flow, and feminine space in descriptive and narrative contexts.
Example
Example in poetry:
“She wore a wimple of finest linen,” in a modest portrait; In medieval verse: “The nun’s wimple framed peace”; “Her wimple hid tears of joy”; “The wimple of age could not hide her eyes”; “He offered a wimple to the widow”; The wimple fluttered like a dove’s wing.
Additional Notes
“Wimple” as head-covering appears in medieval or devotional verse, symbolizing modesty or widowhood; as verb (“wimpling stream”), it describes rippling water, blending textile and fluid motion in lyrical imagery.
Other Meanings of “wimple”
Also Known As
veil head covering Wimpler
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