obvolve means to enfold or wrap around; to cover by wrapping.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, obvolve ranks #3,297 of 14,361 for Most Ingenious Words, #3,530 of 14,423 for Most Sublime Words, #7,100 of 14,440 for Most Satisfying to Say, #7,127 of 14,431 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
obvolve is pronounced /ɒbˈvɒlv/.
Why “obvolve” is a great word
To wind or wrap something around an object. Its lineage is the Latin *obvolvere*, from *ob-* ("toward, against") + *volvere* ("to roll"). Unlike "envelop," which suggests a complete, often protective surrounding, or "convolve," which implies a rolling together into coils, to obvolve is the specific, deliberate act of encircling by winding. It is the ivy obvolving the lamppost, the bandage obvolving the limb, or the serpent obvolving the staff—a motion that is both intimate and constrictive, a binding that traces the contours of the thing it holds, the quiet, deliberate intimacy of one thing drawn close to another, not to obscure, but to adhere.
Etymology
From Latin obvolvō.
verb
- To enfold or wrap around; to cover by wrapping.
Words closest in meaning
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