▪ I. wrapper, n.
(ˈræpə(r))
Also 6 wraper, 8 rapper, 9 dial. wropper.
[f. wrap v. + -er1.]
I. 1. a. That in which anything is wrapped, enveloped, or enclosed; a piece of fabric or other material forming a wrapping; esp. in later use, a protective covering for a parcel or the like.
| c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 224 Take boþe endis of þe towelle,..and wrythe an handfulle..next þe bred myghtily, and se þat thy wrappere be made strayt. c 1500 Melusine xxiii. 153 His wounde opend, and out of it ranne blood thrugh the wraper. 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Vne envelope & couverture, a wrapper. 1611 Cotgr., Envelope,..a wrapper; a peece of wast paper for that purpose. 1662 Act 14 Chas. II, c. 18 §6 Woolflocks..pressed togeather with Scrues..into Sacks Baggs and other Wrappers made of Wool or Linnen. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 90 ¶7 My legs [were] closed together by so many Wrappers one over another, that I looked like an ægyptian Mummy. 1727 Bailey (vol. II), Wrapper, a coarse Cloth in which Bale-Goods are wrapped, &c. 1785 W. Tooke in Ellis Lit. Lett. (Camden) 430 As soon as such a number of books are perfected, the surplus of the various signatures are thrown aside for wrappers and other official uses. 1802 G. V. Sampson Statist. Surv. Londonderry 354 The fabric..is of two characters: 1st, Narrow, or 27 inches wide, called wrappers, and made of tow-yarn... 2d. Wide;..made of lint yarn. 1827 Faraday Chem. Manip. xxiii. 574 The object would often be attainable by a wrapper of tin foil. 1844 Kinglake Eothen xvi, I saw the burial of a pilgrim,..miserably poor... There was no coffin, nor wrapper. 1901 Wide World Mag. VI. 442 The assassin..had torn open the wrapper of the package. |
| transf. 1552 T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde 35 b, The thyrde wrapper of the [fœtus]. Ibid. 36 These iii. wrappers or caules. |
| fig. 1859 Dickens T. Two Cities i. ii, Each was hidden under almost as many wrappers from the eyes of the mind. |
b. A detachable outer paper cover of a book, published part, etc., intended to protect the print, boards, or binding.
| 1806 Med. Jrnl. XV. 334 Any publication, calling itself a Review,..used as the means of circulating the celebrity of such remedies,..on their wrappers, covers, or a few leaves tacked at the beginning and end. 1825 Hone Every-day Bk. I. 597 The wrappers to the parts of this work. 1891 Athenæum 3 Oct. 448/2 Books..notable for the sylvan colour of the wrappers, their large print and liberal margin. |
c. A covering to protect and compact a newspaper, magazine, etc., when sending by post or delivery.
| 1846–8 Lowell Biglow P. Ser. i. vi. ad fin., Tearing off the wrapper of my newspaper. 1871 British P.O. Guide 1 Jan. 10 The postage must be prepaid..by the use of a stamped wrapper. 1898 ‘H. S. Merriman’ Roden's Corner ii, A large table littered with newspaper wrappers. |
d. pl. = wrap n. 1 b. ? Obs.
| 1853 Heal & Son Catal.: Illustr. Catal. Bedsteads 5 The plain Quilts..are applicable wherever extra warmth is required, either as a wrapper in the carriage, or as an extra covering on the bed. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade 312 Railway blanket,..a traveller's warm wrapper. 1865 Mrs. L. L. Clarke Common Seaweeds i. 18 A double strap such as we use for a rolled railway wrapper. Ibid. vii. 137. |
e. A sheet put over furniture, shop-goods, etc., to protect from dust or fading.
| 1848 Dickens Dombey xxiii, The tarnished paws of gilded lions, stealthily put out from beneath their wrappers. 1905 H. G. Wells Kipps i. ii. §2 At half-past six in the morning..he would..dust boxes and yawn, and take down wrappers and clean the windows. Ibid., Hanging wrappers over the fixtures and over the piles of wares upon the counters. |
2. a. An article of apparel for wrapping, rolling, or coiling from the head. rare.
| a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 7 Other two ladyes.., and on theyr heades skayns and wrappers of Damaske golde with flatte pypes. 1789–96 Morse Amer. Geog. II. 264 The women of the lower class wear on their heads a wrapper of white linen. |
b. A shawl, mantle, etc., for wearing about the person.
| 1782 J. Warton Ess. Pope II. 330 Pope was so..infirm, and his body required so many wrappers and coverings, that it was hardly possible for him to be neat. 1838 Dickens O. Twist xxv, A man..pulled off a large wrapper which had concealed the lower portion of his face... ‘Pop that shawl away’ [he said]. 1885 Mabel Collins Prettiest Woman i, She had thrown a loose white wrapper round her shoulders. 1897 Daily News 25 Dec. 2/3 The silk wrapper that he was wearing was stolen from off his neck. |
3. a. An outer garment, esp. for indoor wear or use in household work, designed for loosely enveloping the whole (or nearly the whole) figure; a loose robe or gown. In later use chiefly U.S.
| 1734 in Trans. Roy. Hist. Soc. Ser. iv. VI. 42 The [Indian] Queen's [garment] was a sort of scarlet rosetti in the make of our English wrappers. 1740 H. Walpole Lett. (1903) I. 84 Her dress, her avarice, and her impudence must amaze any one that never heard her name. She wears..an old mazarine blue wrapper, that gapes open and discovers a canvas petticoat. 1745 De Foe's Eng. Tradesman xxvi. (1841) I. 265 Her wrapper, or morning-gown, a piece of Irish linen, printed at London. 1782 Jrnl. Yng. Lady of Virginia (1871) 42 We got up [from bed], put on our rappers, and went down in the Seller. 1839 Dickens Nich. Nick. xxiv, Mrs. Curdle was dressed in a morning wrapper. 1862 [see morning n. 7 b]. 1883 C. F. Woolson For the Major vii, His wife..had just risen—or so it seemed, for she wore a rose-colored wrapper. 1886 A. G. Murdoch Scotch Readings (ed. 2) 15 She got on a working wrapper, and sat herself down. 1905 Outlook 11 Nov. 663/2 The English⁓woman..scorns the hideous ‘wrapper’ which so many French and Americans wear in the bosom of their family. |
b. An article of dress, esp. for masculine wear, intended to wrap about or fit loosely over the person; a wrap. Now dial.
| 1799 Hull Advertiser 30 Nov. 2/3 Tandy was clad in a white serge wrapper, resembling a friar's gown. 1832 Lytton Eugene A. ii. vi, A shower of rain now began to fall. Sir Peter,..turning to Walter,..said to him, ‘What! no cloak, sir? no wrapper even?’ 1842 E. FitzGerald Lett. (1889) I. 86 Just the same price as I gave for a Chesterfield wrapper (as it is called). 1844 Stocqueler Handbk. Brit. India (1854) 411 The dress of the people, both male and female, commonly consists of a large loose wrapper and trousers. 1888 T. Hardy Wessex Tales I. 58 An old milk⁓man near, in a long white pinafore or ‘wropper’. 1891 ― Tess xiv, The brown rough ‘wropper’ or over-all—the old-established..dress of the [harvesting] field-woman. |
4. a. Also wrapper leaf. Tobacco-leaf of a superior grade prepared and used for the outer cover of cigars or of plug-tobacco; a covering made of this. Chiefly U.S.
| 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. xxii. (Roxb.) 274/2 Filler, is the inside of the Roll [of tobacco]: which is any sorts of Leaves and Stalks. Wrapper, the out side of the roll, which are good leaves. 1839 Lowell Lett. (1894) I. 48 The filling of cigars now belies the wrapper. 1864 R. L. De Coin Hist. & Cult. Cotton & Tobacco 301 The best leaves..are required by the twisters for wrappers around twists or plugs. 1884 Pall Mall G. 17 May 4 A cigar consists of three parts, the wrapper, the bunch, and the filler. 1944 [see run n.1 20 e]. 1978 D. Williams Treasure up in Smoke v. 50 All hand-made cigars consist of a thick core of compressed tobacco leaf, a binder.., and finally a wrapper leaf. |
b. U.S. A cigar.
| 1849 Hawthorne Twice-told T. 60 Our friend..expending a whole bunch of Spanish wrappers among..horrified audiences. |
5. Bot. † a. (See quots.) Obs.
| 1718 tr. Tournefort's Voy. Levant I. 256 The Wrapper of the Acorn..is a sort of Box set off with several Scales pale green. c 1789 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) III. 446/1 Calyx, the cup... Involucrum, or wrapper, a cup remote from a flower. 1793 Martyn Lang. Bot. s.v. Corolla, The envelope, cover, or wrapper of the stamens and pistils. |
b. In Fungi, = volva1.
| 1796 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 286 Agaricus volvaceus... Wrapper at the root, grey or greenish. Ibid. 373 Lycoperdon... Wrapper many-cleft, expanding. 1807 Jas. E. Smith Introd. Botany 253 Volva, Wrapper, or covering, of the Fungus tribe. 1860 Mayne Expos. Lex. 1337/1 Volva,..the membranous covering, curtain, or wrapper of the fungus tribe, hiding the parts of fructification, till bursting all round it forms a ring on the stalk. |
6. Amer. a. (See quot.)
| 1792 G. Cartwright Jrnl. Labrador III. p. x, Wrappers, loose sleeve-pieces to button round the wrists, to defend them from the frost. |
b. A make of leather boot adapted for fastening round the leg (also called wrapping-boot).
| 1808 Pike Sources Mississ. (1810) iii. App. 36 A kind of leather boot or wrapper. Ibid., In the eastern provinces the dragoons wear, over this wrapper or boot, a sort of jack-boot made of sole-leather. |
c. An undershirt.
| 1891 Cent. Dict. |
7. Lumbering. A chain for binding logs on a skid.
| 1901 Munsey's Mag. XXV. 391/2 The load is stopped exactly opposite long parallel skids. Two men cautiously unhook the ‘wrappers’. |
II. 8. One who wraps or packs up anything; spec. one whose occupation consists in wrapping parcels. Also with up.
| 1591 Percivall, Embolvedor, a roller, a wrapper vp. 1755 Johnson. 1866 in S. Timmins Resources, etc. B'ham 356 Women & Girls as Lacquerers: Chargers of Tubes, Press Women, & Wrappers-up. 1881 Instr. Census Clerks 45 Cutlery:..Wiper,..Getter up, Wrapper up. Ibid. 99 Factory Labourer..: Storeman, Wrapper, Slinger. 1883 B'ham Daily Post 11 Oct., Grocery and Provisions.—Junior..wanted... Good flat wrapper and correct accountant preferred. |
III. 9. attrib. and Comb., as wrapper-apron, wrapper-brat; wrapper-addresser, wrapper-writer.
| 1876 I. Banks Manchester Man ii, She..had taken off her wrapper-brat [footnote A sort of close pinafore]. 1893 Pall Mall G. 23 June 11/1 They were..mostly clerks and..wrapper addressers. Ibid., Some half-dozen wrapper-writers,..each..copying with lightning-like rapidity from a directory page before him. 1896 M. Quiller-Couch Jane Vercoe, etc. 145 Enveloped in what was commonly called a ‘wrapper-apern’. |
▪ II. wrapper, v.
(ˈræpə(r))
[f. prec.]
1. trans. To cover with, enclose or envelop in, a wrapper.
| 1885 C. G. W. Lock Workshop Receipts Ser. iv. 263/1 Vegetable parchment..is used very extensively..for wrappering the better class of literature. 1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 209 Delivering the papers folded and wrappered ready for post. 1893 Sat. Rev. 7 Jan. 24/2 A volume in quarto, handsomely, but alas! very loosely, wrappered. |
2. To cover up in or as in a wrapper. Also absol. or intr.
| 1905 H. G. Wells Kipps ii. ix, All the stalls were wrappered up, and all the minor exhibitions locked and barred. 1934 H. G. Wells Exper. Autobiogr. I. iv. 151 Half an hour before closing time we began to put away for the last time and ‘wrapper up’. |
Hence ˈwrappered (-up), ppl. a. Also ˈwrapperer, one who covers (esp. magazines or books) with wrappers.
| 1896 H. G. Wells Wheels of Chance iv, A cheerless, shutter-darkened, wrappered-up shop. 1906 ― Days of Comet i. v, Two other wrappered figures came out of the bungalows. 1908 Daily Chron. 24 April 11/3 Girls wanted as book wrapperers (magazine). |