Definition

Noun 1. Burial garment in which a corpse is wrapped: A winding-cloth or set of winding-clothes is a shroud; a length of cloth, typically linen, used to wrap a dead body for burial.

Usage

• The singular form "winding-cloth" and the plural form "winding-clothes" are used interchangeably to refer to the burial shroud as a whole.
• This is a historical and literary term, not commonly used in modern everyday speech.

Examples

• In ancient traditions, the body was prepared with winding-clothes before being placed in the tomb.
• The archaeological discovery included skeletal remains still clad in fragments of the winding-cloth.
• The poet described the quiet figure wrapped in its simple winding-clothes.

Advanced Usage

• The term often carries connotations of mortality, finality, and ancient or traditional burial rites. It is frequently found in historical, poetic, or religious contexts.

Variants and Related Words

• Winding-sheet (noun): A direct synonym for winding-cloth; a cloth for wrapping a dead body.
• Shroud (noun): The more common modern term for a cloth used to wrap a body for burial.
• Cerements (noun, plural): Another formal or literary term for grave-clothes or winding-clothes.

Synonyms

• Shroud
• Winding-sheet
• Cerements
• Grave-clothes
• Burial garment

Antonyms

• There are no direct antonyms, as it refers to a specific funerary object. Contextual opposites could include everyday clothes or garments of the living.

Related Idioms

• To be in one's winding-sheet: A literary expression meaning to be dead and prepared for burial.
  • The old king lay in state, already as if in his winding-sheet.

Noun

1. burial garment in which a corpse is wrapped