wreath -
n. (pl.
wreaths)
1 flowers or leaves fastened in a ring esp. as an ornament for a person's head or a building or for laying on a grave etc. as a mark of honour or respect.
2 a a similar ring of soft twisted material such as
silk. b Heraldry a representation of this
below a crest.
3 a carved representation of a
wreath.
4 (foll. by of) a curl or
ring of smoke or cloud.
5 a light drifting mass of snow etc.
[OE writha f. weak grade of writhan WRITHE] 
