Wimple

Wimple

The wimple is a garment of mediaeval Europe worn by women. It is a cloth which usually covers the head and is worn around the neck and chin. At many stages of medieval culture it was unseemly for a married woman to show her hair. A wimple might be elaborately starched, and creased and folded in prescribed ways, even supported on wire or wicker framing (cornette). Italian women abandoned their headcloths in the 15th century, or replaced them with transparent gauze, and showed their elaborate braids. Both elaborate laundry and elaborate braiding demonstrated status, in that such grooming was being performed by others. Geoffrey Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales has the Wife of Bath and also the Prioress depicted wearing them. Today the wimple is worn by some nuns who still don the traditional habit. The women who wore wimples were actually observing the following passage in 1 Corinthians 11:5 in the New Testament: "But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven." [http://www.centurionministry.org/body/head-covering.asp Woman, Prayer & Head Covering] The King James Version explicitly lists "wimples" in Isaiah 3:22 as one of a list of female fineries, although the Hebrew term is rendered as shawl or cloak in other versions.

For pictures of the wimple, see:
* [http://www.wga.hu/art/d/david/1/adoratio.jpgGerard David, Adoration of the Magi] - with Mary wearing a wimple
* [http://www.wga.hu/art/d/durer/1/03/2lament2.jpgAlbrecht Dürer, Lamentation of Christ (detail)] - women with wimples

ee also

*Babushka
*Hijab

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Wimple — Wim ple, n. [OE. wimpel, AS. winpel; akin to D. & G. wimpel a pennant, streamer, OHG. wimpal a veil, Icel. vimpill, Dan. & Sw. vimpel a pennant, streamer; of uncertain origin. Cf. {Gimp}.] [1913 Webster] 1. A covering of silk, linen, or other… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • wimple — [wim′pəl] n. [ME wimpel < OE, akin to Ger, wimple, pennon < IE base * weib , to turn, swing > WIPE] 1. a woman s head covering of medieval times, consisting of a cloth arranged about the head, cheeks, chin, and neck, leaving only the… …   English World dictionary

  • Wimple — Wim ple, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Wimpled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Wimpling}.] [1913 Webster] 1. To clothe with a wimple; to cover, as with a veil; hence, to hoodwink. She sat ywympled well. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] This wimpled, whining, purblind, wayward… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Wimple — Wim ple, v. i. To lie in folds; also, to appear as if laid in folds or plaits; to ripple; to undulate. Wimpling waves. Longfellow. [1913 Webster] For with a veil, that wimpled everywhere, Her head and face was hid. Spenser. [1913 Webster] With me …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • wimple — head covering for women, especially worn by nuns, O.E. wimpel, from P.Gmc. *wimpilaz (Cf. O.S. wimpal, O.Fris. wimpel, M.Du., Du. wimpel, O.H.G. wimpal, Ger. wimpel, O.N. vimpill), of obscure origin. O.Fr. guimple (Fr. guimpe) is a Germanic loan… …   Etymology dictionary

  • wimple — ► NOUN ▪ a cloth headdress covering the head, neck, and sides of the face, formerly worn by women and still by some nuns. ORIGIN Old English …   English terms dictionary

  • wimple — /wim peuhl/, n., v., wimpled, wimpling. n. 1. a woman s headcloth drawn in folds about the chin, formerly worn out of doors, and still in use by some nuns. 2. Chiefly Scot. a. a fold or wrinkle, as in cloth. b. a curve, bend, or turn, as in a… …   Universalium

  • Wimple — Headdress worn by women from the 12c to 14c. How much of the forehead was visible or not was for a while a measure of modesty or immodesty: hair was removed so as to move the hair line back. The wimple was also used by nuns until recently. Apart… …   Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases

  • wimple — wim•ple [[t]ˈwɪm pəl[/t]] n. v. pled, pling 1) clo a woman s headcloth drawn in folds about the chin, formerly worn out of doors, esp. in the Middle Ages, and still in use by some nuns 2) scot. Chiefly Scot. a) a fold or wrinkle, as in cloth b) a …   From formal English to slang

  • wimple — I. noun Etymology: Middle English wimpel, from Old English; perhaps akin to Old English wīpian to wipe Date: before 12th century 1. a cloth covering worn over the head and around the neck and chin especially by women in the late medieval period… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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