v. & n.
--v.
1. tr. & intr. a make or become bent or twisted out of shape, esp. by the action of heat, damp, etc. b make or become perverted, bitter, or strange (a warped sense of humour).
2 a tr. haul (a ship) by a rope attached to a fixed point. b intr. progress in this way.
3 tr. fertilize by flooding with warp.
4 tr. (foll. by up) choke (a channel) with an alluvial deposit etc.
5 tr. arrange (threads) as a warp.
--n.
1. a a state of being warped, esp. of shrunken or expanded timber. b perversion, bitterness, etc. of the mind or character.
2 the threads stretched lengthwise in a loom to be crossed by the weft.
3 a rope used in towing or warping, or attached to a trawl-net.
4 sediment etc. left esp. on poor land by standing water.
Derivatives:
warpage n. (esp. in sense 1a of v.). warper n. (in sense 5 of v.).
Etymology: OE weorpan throw, wearp f. Gmc