What does wimple mean?
A wimple is a veil or cloth headdress that covers the head, neck, and often the chin. It is especially associated with medieval European women and with the clothing of nuns, whose white wimples became a familiar image in religious art. The word can also describe a scarf or kerchief wrapped around the head and neck. In contemporary English, wimple is mainly historical, literary, or descriptive rather than everyday vocabulary, but it remains useful when discussing medieval costume, religious imagery, heraldry, and historical fiction. Its associations with modesty, religious life, and an older social world give it a distinctive archaic tone. A wimple is not necessarily a separate veil worn over the head; depending on the period and context, it may function as the headdress itself or as the neck-and-chin portion of a woman's veil.
A cloth veil or headdress covering the head, neck, and often the chin, especially worn by women or nuns in medieval Europe; more generally, a scarf or kerchief arranged around the head and neck.
"A white wimple covers the woman's hair and neck."
Chiefly historical, literary, or used in descriptions of religious and medieval dress.
To cover or veil with a wimple, or to conceal in a way suggestive of a wimple.
"Mist wimpled the valley below the hill."
Archaic or poetic; uncommon in modern standard English.
The standard plural is wimples.
"The museum displays several medieval wimples."
A wimple was one of medieval fashion's most distinctive silhouettes: a cloth frame that softened the face and marked the wearer as modest.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does wimple come from?
The word comes through Middle English from Old English wimpel, meaning a cloth headdress or veil. Old English wimpel belongs to a Germanic family of words for a hanging cloth or veil, with related forms in German and Dutch; French guimpe is also a cognate borrowed through Germanic contact. The modern English word has preserved its association with medieval and religious dress.
Related word forms
How wimple is actually used
The word is chiefly historical, literary, or used in descriptions of religious and medieval dress. In modern English, it has a somewhat archaic and elevated tone, though it remains readily understood in costume, art, and historical contexts.
Easily confused with wimple
A guimpe is a French term for a veil or neck covering, often associated with nuns; wimple is the usual English term for the medieval cloth headdress covering the head, neck, and chin.