shroud

Everyday

1. (noun) A cloth that a dead body is wrapped in before burial. tree →
2. (noun) Something that covers or hides: "a shroud of mist", "a shroud of secrecy". tree →
3. (verb) To cover or hide something: "Fog shrouded the town." tree →
4. (noun, sailing) One of the ropes that hold a ship's mast steady. tree →

In the lessons

In history and religion lessons, bodies were wrapped in shrouds; the Turin Shroud is a famous cloth that some Christians believe wrapped Jesus's body, though its age is disputed. In stories, "shrouded in mystery" means hidden and secret. Phrases: shrouded in mist, shrouded in mystery, a shroud of secrecy, burial shroud.

Examples

• The castle was shrouded in fog. tree →
• The old house was shrouded in mystery. tree →
• The body was wrapped in a white shroud. tree →
• A shroud of smoke hung over the city. tree →
• The plan was kept under a shroud of secrecy. tree →
• The sailor climbed the shrouds to the top of the mast. tree →
• She went up to the corpse, and drew away its shroud from it. tree →

Note

"Shrouded in" is the common pattern. Rhymes with "cloud". Scientists who tested the Turin Shroud dated it to the Middle Ages; others still argue.

In Jewish tradition

In Ezekiel it means a thick covering of leafy branches, not a burial cloth.

Interpretation. Ezekiel compares proud Assyria to a great cedar, a picture of a mighty empire that is later cut down. The tradition reads it as a warning to Egypt and to every proud power.

Examples

• Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon, with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of a high stature; and its top was among the thick boughs. (Prophets EZK.31.3, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

"Shrouded in" is the common pattern. Rhymes with "cloud". Scientists who tested the Turin Shroud dated it to the Middle Ages; others still argue.