ravel

== English == === Etymology === The verb is borrowed from Dutch ravelen, rafelen (“to tangle, become entangled; to fray; to unweave”) [and other forms]; further etymology uncertain. It has been suggested that the verb is originally derived from the noun, but the Oxford English Dictionary regards this as “very uncertain”, and instead regards the noun as having derived from the verb (compare Dutch rafel, raffel (“frayed thread”)). Ravel is a contranym having both the senses of tangling (verb senses 1.1, 1.2, 1.4.1, and 2.3; noun sense 1) and untangling (verb senses 1.3, 1.4.2, 1.4.3, 2.1, and 2.2; noun sense 2). It would appear that the tangling senses predate the untangling ones (as in Dutch), but this is uncertain because the first published uses of both senses of the words occur around the same time. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ˈɹævəl/, [ˈɹævl̩] Rhymes: -ævəl Hyphenation: rav‧el === Verb === ravel (third-person singular simple present ravels, present participle (US) raveling or (UK) ravelling, simple past and past participle (US) raveled or (UK) ravelled) (transitive) To entwine or tangle (something) confusedly; to entangle. Synonyms: mat, snarl; see also Thesaurus:tangle Antonyms: disentangle, unravel, untangle; see also Thesaurus:untangle (also figuratively) Often followed by up: to form (something) out of discrete elements, like weaving fabric from threads; to knit. Synonyms: knit, weave Antonyms: unravel, unweave To unwind (a reel of thread, a skein of yarn, etc.); to pull apart (cloth, a seam, etc.); to fray, to unpick, to unravel; also, to pull out (a string of yarn, a thread, etc.) from a piece of fabric, or a skein or reel. (figuratively) To confuse or perplex (someone or something). Synonyms: confound, involve, puzzle; see also Thesaurus:confuse (archaic) Often followed by out: to undo the intricacies of (a problem, etc.); to clarify, to disentangle. Synonyms: iron out, unravel, untangle; see also Thesaurus:solve (obsolete) To destroy or ruin (something), like unravelling fabric. Synonyms: disintegrate, race, unmake; see also Thesaurus:destroy (programming) In the APL programming language: to reshape (a variable) into a vector. (intransitive) Often followed by out: of a reel of thread or skein of yarn; or a thread on a reel or a string of yarn in a skein, etc.: to become untwisted or unwound. (also figuratively) Often followed by out: of clothing, fabric, etc.: to become unwoven; to fray, to unravel. (archaic or obsolete) To become entangled or snarled. ==== Usage notes ==== The spellings ravelling and ravelled are more common in the United Kingdom than in the United States. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== unravelable, unravellable unraveled, unravelled (adjective) unraveler, unraveller unraveling, unravelling (adjective, noun) unravelment ==== Translations ==== === Noun === ravel (plural ravels) (chiefly literary or Scotland) A tangled mess; an entanglement, a snarl, a tangle. Synonym: ravelment (figuratively) A confusing, intricate, or perplexing situation; a complication. (also figuratively) A thread which has unravelled from fabric, etc.; also, a situation of fabric, etc., coming apart; an unravelling. ==== Derived terms ==== ravel bread ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “ravel”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to XII), New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC, page 4976, columns 1–2. Century Dictionary Supplement, Vol. XII, Page 1114, ravel H. G. Emery, K. G. Brewster, and Catherine B. Avery, editors (1952), “ravel”, in The New Century Dictionary of the English Language: […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: Appleton-Century-Crofts, →OCLC, page 1476. Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “ravel”, in Online Etymology Dictionary. “ravel”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. === Anagrams === Laver, arvel, larve, laver, reval, velar