n.
- a length of cloth or an enveloping garment in which a dead person is wrapped for burial.
- a thing that envelops or obscures:
a shroud of mist.
- technical a protective casing or cover.
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(shrouds)
a set of ropes forming part of the standing rigging of a sailing boat and supporting the mast or topmast.
▸
(also shroud line)
each of the lines joining the canopy of a parachute to the harness.
v.
- wrap or dress in a shroud.
- cover or envelop so as to conceal from view.
Etymology
OE scrūd ‘garment, clothing’, of Gmc origin, from a base meaning ‘cut’; rel. to shred.