n. [ AS. wearp; akin to Icel. varp a casting, throwing, Sw. varp the draught of a net, Dan. varp a towline, OHG. warf warp, G. werft. See Warp, v. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Weaving) The threads which are extended lengthwise in the loom, and crossed by the woof. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Naut.) A rope used in hauling or moving a vessel, usually with one end attached to an anchor, a post, or other fixed object; a towing line; a warping hawser. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Agric.) A slimy substance deposited on land by tides, etc., by which a rich alluvial soil is formed. Lyell. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A premature casting of young; -- said of cattle, sheep, etc. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Four; esp., four herrings; a cast. See Cast, n., 17. [ Prov. Eng. ] Wright. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. [ From Warp, v. ] The state of being warped or twisted; as, the warp of a board. [ 1913 Webster ]

Warp beam, the roller on which the warp is wound in a loom. --
Warp fabric, fabric produced by warp knitting. --
Warp frame, or
Warp-net frame, a machine for making warp lace having a number of needles and employing a thread for each needle. --
Warp knitting, a kind of knitting in which a number of threads are interchained each with one or more contiguous threads on either side; -- also called warp weaving. --
Warp lace, or
Warp net, lace having a warp crossed by weft threads. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Warped p. pr. & vb. n. Warping. ] [ OE. warpen; fr. Icel. varpa to throw, cast, varp a casting, fr. verpa to throw; akin to Dan. varpe to warp a ship, Sw. varpa, AS. weorpan to cast, OS. werpan, OFries. werpa, D. & LG. werpen, G. werfen, Goth. waírpan; cf. Skr. v&rsdot_;j to twist. √144. Cf. Wrap. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To throw; hence, to send forth, or throw out, as words; to utter. [ Obs. ] Piers Plowman. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To turn or twist out of shape; esp., to twist or bend out of a flat plane by contraction or otherwise. [ 1913 Webster ]

The planks looked warped. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

Walter warped his mouth at this
To something so mock solemn, that I laughed. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To turn aside from the true direction; to cause to bend or incline; to pervert. [ 1913 Webster ]

This first avowed, nor folly warped my mind. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

I have no private considerations to warp me in this controversy. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

We are divested of all those passions which cloud the intellects, and warp the understandings, of men. Southey. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To weave; to fabricate. [ R. & Poetic. ] Nares. [ 1913 Webster ]

While doth he mischief warp. Sternhold. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Naut.) To tow or move, as a vessel, with a line, or warp, attached to a buoy, anchor, or other fixed object. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To cast prematurely, as young; -- said of cattle, sheep, etc. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Agric.) To let the tide or other water in upon (lowlying land), for the purpose of fertilization, by a deposit of warp, or slimy substance. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Rope Making) To run off the reel into hauls to be tarred, as yarns. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. (Weaving) To arrange (yarns) on a warp beam. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. (Aeronautics) To twist the end surfaces of (an aerocurve in an airfoil) in order to restore or maintain equilibrium. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

Warped surface (Geom.), a surface generated by a straight line moving so that no two of its consecutive positions shall be in the same plane. Davies & Peck. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To turn, twist, or be twisted out of shape; esp., to be twisted or bent out of a flat plane; as, a board warps in seasoning or shrinking. [ 1913 Webster ]

One of you will prove a shrunk panel, and, like green timber, warp, warp. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

They clamp one piece of wood to the end of another, to keep it from casting, or warping. Moxon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. to turn or incline from a straight, true, or proper course; to deviate; to swerve. [ 1913 Webster ]

There is our commission,
From which we would not have you warp. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To fly with a bending or waving motion; to turn and wave, like a flock of birds or insects. [ 1913 Webster ]

A pitchy cloud
Of locusts, warping on the eastern wind. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To cast the young prematurely; to slink; -- said of cattle, sheep, etc. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Weaving) To wind yarn off bobbins for forming the warp of a web; to wind a warp on a warp beam. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of warping; also, a charge per ton made on shipping in some harbors. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The route taken by a party of Indians going on a warlike expedition. Schoolcraft. [ 1913 Webster ]

On the warpath, on a hostile expedition; hence, colloquially, about to attack a person or measure. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, warps or twists out of shape. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who, or that which, forms yarn or thread into warps or webs for the loom. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act or process of one who, or that which, warps. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The art or occupation of preparing warp or webs for the weaver. Craig. [ 1913 Webster ]

Warping bank, a bank of earth raised round a field to retain water let in for the purpose of enriching land. Craig. --
Warping hook, a hook used by rope makers for hanging the yarn on, when warping it into hauls for tarring. --
Warping mill, a machine for warping yarn. --
Warping penny, money, varying according to the length of the thread, paid to the weaver by the spinner on laying the warp. [ Prov. Eng. ] Wright. --
Warping post, a strong post used in warping rope-yarn. [ 1913 Webster ]

. A kind of knitting in which a number of threads are interchained each with one or more contiguous threads on either side. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. Valor tried by war. [ 1913 Webster ]

. [ From science fiction tales of spaceship drives operating by warping the shape of space or of time. ] literally, a speed faster than the speed of light; fig., an extremely high speed, usually the fastest possible; -- used only in the figurative sense except in fiction. [ PJC ]