weave

• enPR: wēv, IPA^(key): /wiːv/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -iːv
• Homophone: we've

From Middle English weven (“to weave”), from Old English wefan (“to weave”), from Proto-Germanic *webaną, from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to weave, braid”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian weeuwe, West Frisian weve, Dutch weven, German weben, Danish væve, Swedish väva, Norwegian Nynorsk veva, Icelandic vefa.

weave (third-person singular simple present weaves, present participle weaving, simple past wove or weaved, past participle woven or weaved)

1. To form something by passing lengths or strands of material over and under one another.

   This loom weaves yarn into sweaters.

2. To spin a cocoon or a web.

   Spiders weave beautiful but deadly webs.

3. To unite by close connection or intermixture.
   • Shakespeare

     This weaves itself, perforce, into my business.

   • Byron

     these words, thus woven into song

4. To compose creatively and intricately; to fabricate.

   to weave the plot of a story

• web
• sew

weave (plural weaves)

1. A type or way of weaving.

   That rug has a very tight weave.

2. Human or artificial hair worn to alter one's appearance, either to supplement or to cover the natural hair.

From Middle English weven (“to wander”); probably from Old Norse veifa (“move around, wave”), related to Latin vibrare.

weave (third-person singular simple present weaves, present participle weaving, simple past and past participle weaved)

1. (intransitive) To move by turning and twisting.

   The drunk weaved into another bar.

   • 2017 August 20, “The Observer view on the attacks in Spain”, in The Observer‎:

     The victims’ feeling of incredulity at what they were seeing, swiftly turning to paralysing fear as the van bore down on them, swerving and weaving to hit as many people as possible, can barely be imagined.

   • 2011 January 15, Saj Chowdhury, “Man City 4 - 3 Wolves”, in BBC‎:

     Tevez picked up a throw-in from the right, tip-toed his way into the area and weaved past three Wolves challenges before slotting in to display why, of all City's multi-million pound buys, he remains their most important player.

2. (transitive) To make (a path or way) by winding in and out or from side to side.

   The ambulance weaved its way through the heavy traffic.

   • Samuel Taylor Coleridge

     Weave a circle round him thrice.

• weave in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• weave in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.