upwreath means to rise with a curling motion; to curl upward, as smoke does. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “upwreath” is a great word
UPWREATH — [Verb] To rise in a curling or spiral motion, as smoke or vines. From the English prefix up- (indicating upward direction) + wreath (to twist or coil). Unlike "ascend," which denotes general upward movement, or "coil," which describes a spiral form without inherent direction, to upwreath is to climb in a languid, helical insistence. It is the sinuous blue column from a cottage chimney on a windless evening, the seeking embrace of a morning glory tendril around a garden stake, and the slow, thermal dance of dust motes caught in a sunbeam—a quiet testament to the persistent, spiraling urge of things to rise.
Etymology
From up- + wreath.
verb
- To rise with a curling motion; to curl upward, as smoke does.“1822, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Apologia pro Vita Sua” in Ernest Hartley Coleridge (ed.), The Complete Poetical Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1912, p. 345,
In unctuous cones of kindling coal,
Or smoke upwreathing from the pipe’s trim bole,
His [the poet’s] gifted ken can see
Phantoms of sublimity.”
- To twist or entwine (something) upward.“1830, Reginald Heber, “Morte d'Arthur: A Fragment,” Canto 2, stanza 14, in The Poetical Works of Reginald Heber, London: Frederick Warne, no date, p. 210,
[…] coiled around his crest, a dragon long
Upwreathed its golden spires the wavy plumes among.”
- To send (something) upward in curls.“And your fair vestals, watchful, swing
Sweet incense for their welcoming,
The while our thuribles shall be
Upwreathing odorous thoughts to thee;”