▪ I. unˈfold, v.1
Forms: 1 unfealdan, 3 unuolden, 3–6 un-, vnfolde (5 onfolde), 4– unfold (4–7 vn-), 6–7 vnfould; 5 north. vnfald(e, 6, 8 Sc. unfauld.
[OE. unfealdan (f. un- un-2 + fealdan fold v.1), = MDu. and Du. ontvouden, -vouwen (eastern MDu. -volden, -valden), G. entfalten.]
1. trans. To open or unwrap the folds of; to spread open; to expand; to straighten out.
| c 890 Wærferth tr. Gregory's Dial. 333 Þa boc..unlysan & unfealdan. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke iv. 17 Sona swa he þa boc unfeold, þa funde he [etc.]. c 1205 Lay. 10544 æuere his writen he vnfeold þer he forð ferde. 13.. Coer de L. 4809 Hys baner anon was unfolde, The Sarezynes anon gan behold. 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 284 Bot if þe bulle vnfolden were red among vs here, Ȝour hote salle be holden. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xvii. 176 Þe paume hath powere..to vnfolde þe folden fuste. a 1400–50 Alexander 3027 Bald bernes on bent banars vnfaldis. c 1450 Lovelich Grail xxxvi. 462 Whanne this body he hadde beholde, Anon the clothes he dyde on-folde. 1530 Palsgr. 767/2, I unfolde any thyng that is folded up togyder, Je desploye. Ibid., Unfolde this clothe. a 1553 Udall Roister D. iii. iv, No lesse..Than this letter purporteth, which ye haue vnfolde. 1663 Davenant Siege of Rhodes Wks. (1672) 8 Sweeter then Buds unfolded in a Shower. 1697 Dryden æneis vi. 393 Strife, that shakes Her hissing tresses, and unfolds her snakes. 1743 Francis tr. Hor., Odes iv. xv. 5 Phœbus..warn'd me..Not to unfold my little sail. 1784 Cowper Task iv. 153 The pattern grows, the well-depicted flow'r..Unfolds its bosom. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xix, Come now,..unfold your arms from about my patient. 1841 T. R. Jones Anim. Kingd. 399 One of the snails unfolds from the right side of its neck..a wide sacculus. |
b. transf. or
fig.| 1390 Gower Conf. II. 24 For I ne mai my wit unfolde To find o word of that I mene. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 540 Unfolding his troupes (that standing there, they might at more libertie use their swords). 1633 G. Herbert Temple, Dawning 3 Unfold thy forehead gather'd into frowns. 1744 Akenside Pleas. Imag. i. 73 Till in time..What he admired and loved, his vital smile Unfolded into being. 1839 Thirlwall Greece VI. 253 As these thoughts had been nourished and unfolded in himself by the recent change in his fortunes. |
c. To open (the eyes or lips); to open (a gate, etc.) upon hinges.
| a 1325 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 144 Adam his eiȝen vnfeld; & seþþen his sone he biheld. 1620 Shelton Quix. i. iv. xix. 518 He would not once vnfold his lips, vntill he might see what would be the period of his disgrace. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 381 Hell shall unfould..her widest Gates. 1801 Southey Thalaba vi. xvi, The gates of iron, by no human arm Unfolded, turning on their hinges slow. 1896 De Vinne Moxon's Mech. Exerc. 410 He..unfolded the frisket and tympan. |
d. refl. (Also in
fig. use.)
| 1779 Mirror No. 22, Her voice seemed to unfold itself in singing, to suit every musical expression. 1821 Shelley Epipsych. 480 An atom of th' Eternal, whose own smile Unfolds itself. 1891 Farrar Darkn. & Dawn xxxv, The whole world had turned..to thorns; would some new rosebud now unfold itself among them? |
2. To disclose or reveal by statement or exposition; to explain or make clear.
| a 1050 Liber Scintill. xxxviii. (1889) 140 Ᵹeþancu unrihtwisnysse [hi] unfealdað. a 1225 Ancr. R. 100 Þis is a cruel word... Hit is bilepped & bihud, ac ich hit wulle unuolden. a 1250 Prov. ælfred 659 Al he bi-fulit his frend, Þen he him vnfoldit. 13.. E.E. Allit P. B 1563 Calle hem alle to my cort.., Vnfolde hem alle þis ferly þat is bifallen here. 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 10962 At the grete Iugement Wher tassyses shal be holde, Al couert falsenesse to vnfolde. c 1475 Partenay 5124 The holy fader wondred on that he told, Off tho merueles that ther [he] gan vnfold. 1595 Locrine i. i. 83, I will vnto you all vnfold Our royall mind and resolute intent. 1658 R. Flecknoe Epigr. & Enigm. Char. 1 Clearly unfolding and explicating the notions of her minde. 1693 Humours Town 38, I will only unfold it to you as the nature of the thing is. 1782 Priestley Matt. & Spir. I. Pref. p. xxxii, His system is..perhaps the same..if he would distinctly unfold it. 1817 Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. ix. 689 In a speech..[he] unfolded the causes and extent of the national calamities. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 239 The brethren whose mysteries I am about to unfold to you are far more ingenious. |
| refl. 1602 Shakes. Ham. i. i. 2 Nay answer me: Stand & vnfold your selfe. 1637 B. Jonson Sad Sheph. ii. v, What riddle is this? unfold your selfe, deare Robin. 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. ii. v, The self-secluded unfolds himself in..free, glowing words. |
3. To disclose or lay open to the view; to display. Also
fig.| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iv. met. v. (1868) 132 Whi þat boetes þe sterre vnfoldiþ his ouer swift arisynges. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. i. i. 146 Briefe as the lightning in the collied night, That (in a spleene) vnfolds both heauen and earth. 1713 Blackmore Creation i. 430 The hollow vales their smiling pride unfold. 1812 S. Rogers Columbus xii. 32 To other eyes shall Mexico unfold Her feathered tapestries, and roofs of gold. 1872 Jenkinson Guide Eng. Lakes (1879) 91 When the steep part of the journey is accomplished a lovely prospect is unfolded. |
| refl. 1837 W. Irving Capt. Bonneville III. 76 From this lofty eminence, a vast and magnificent prospect unfolds itself. |
4. a. To unwrap; to take out of something folded.
| 1553 Brende Q. Curtius 190 Vnfolding his wound,..[he] shewed his legge vnto them. 1827 Scott Chron. Canongate v, Then was unfolded, out of many a little scrap of paper, the reserved sum of fifteen shillings. |
b. To release, let go.
In
Beaum. &
Fl. Faithf. Shepherdess ii, ‘vnfould’ is an error for ‘infold’ or ‘enfold’: see note to
un-1 5 b.
| 1633 P. Fletcher Purple Isl. xii. xlviii, These suppliant hands..Will never let thee loose, will never more unfold thee. |
5. intr. To open (up or out); to spread out or expand; to become patent or plain, etc.
| (a) c 1350 Libeaus Desc. 2091 As he set þus in halle, Out of þe stone walle A window faire unfelde. 1697 Dryden æneis x. 1 The Gates of Heav'n unfold; Jove summons all The Gods to Council. 1715 Pope Iliad iv. 1 And now Olympus' shining gates unfold. 1725 ― Odyss. ix. 533 Seest thou these lids that now unfold in vain? 1746 Francis tr. Horace, Epist. i. xviii. 122 Ears, that unfold to every Tale, Intrusted Secrets ill conceal. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xix, But the fingers do unfold. 1887 Bowen æneid iii. 94 The gates unfold of the shrine. |
| (b) c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. (1823) lxxxi. i, Let joyfull songes to god unfold. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. i. ii. 19 Mine owne escape vnfoldeth to my hope. 1725 Pope Odyss. xii. 240 Now all at once tremendous scenes unfold. 1759 Robertson Hist. Scot. ii. Wks. 1813 I. 139 The queen's scheme began gradually to unfold. 1833 Tennyson Eleänore v, I see thy beauty gradually unfold. 1858 Sears Athan. iii. i. 256 A system of infinite truth, which is to unfold through the ages. |
| (c) a 1649 Crashaw Carmen Deo Nostro, To C'tess of Denbigh, Unfold at length, unfold fair flowre. 1813 Scott Rokeby vi. i, That morning sun has three times seen The flowers unfold on Rokeby green. 1862 Thackeray Philip xvi, The pony-chaise unfolded into a noble barouche. 1875 Bennett & Dyer tr. Sachs' Bot. 175 The position of the leaves in the lateral buds before unfolding. |
▪ II. unˈfold, v.2 [un-2 4 b + fold v.2] trans. To release (sheep) from a fold or folds.
| 1530 Palsgr. 768/1 It is tyme to unfolde our shepe. a 1613 Overbury A Wife, etc. (1638) 172 She dares goe alone and unfold sheepe i'th'night. 1781 Cowper Retirem. 397 The boy, who..Unfolds his flock. |