Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Warp

Warp (warp) , transitive verb

[Old English warpen; from Icelandic varpa to throw, cast, varp a casting, from verpa to throw; akin to Danish varpe to warp a ship, Swedish varpa, Anglo-Saxon weorpan to cast, Old Saxon werpan, OFries. werpa, Dutch & LG. werpen, German werfen, Gothic waírpan; compare Sanskrit vrj to twist. r144. Compare Wrap.]

1.
To throw; hence, to send forth, or throw out, as words; to utter. [Obsolete] — Piers Plowman
2.
To turn or twist out of shape; esp., to twist or bend out of a flat plane by contraction or otherwise.
The planks looked warped. — Coleridge
Walter warped his mouth at this To something so mock solemn, that I laughed. — Tennyson
3.
To turn aside from the true direction; to cause to bend or incline; to pervert.
This first avowed, nor folly warped my mind. — Dryden
I have no private considerations to warp me in this controversy. — Addison
We are divested of all those passions which cloud the intellects, and warp the understandings, of men. — Southey
4.
To weave; to fabricate. [Rare & Poetic.] — Nares
While doth he mischief warp. — Sternhold
5.
(Nautical) To tow or move, as a vessel, with a line, or warp, attached to a buoy, anchor, or other fixed object.
6.
To cast prematurely, as young; -- said of cattle, sheep, etc. [Provincial English]
7.
(Agriculture) To let the tide or other water in upon (lowlying land), for the purpose of fertilization, by a deposit of warp, or slimy substance. [Provincial English]
8.
(Rope Making) To run off the reel into hauls to be tarred, as yarns.
9.
(Weaving) To arrange (yarns) on a warp beam.
10.
(Aeronautics) To twist the end surfaces of (an aerocurve in an airfoil) in order to restore or maintain equilibrium.
Collocations (1)
Warped surface (Geometry) , a surface generated by a straight line moving so that no two of its consecutive positions shall be in the same plane. — Davies & Peck

Warp , intransitive verb

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.
One of you will prove a shrunk panel, and, like green timber, warp, warp. — Shakespeare
They clamp one piece of wood to the end of another, to keep it from casting, or warping. — Moxon
2.
to turn or incline from a straight, true, or proper course; to deviate; to swerve.
There is our commission, From which we would not have you warp. — Shakespeare
3.
To fly with a bending or waving motion; to turn and wave, like a flock of birds or insects.
A pitchy cloud Of locusts, warping on the eastern wind. — Milton
4.
To cast the young prematurely; to slink; -- said of cattle, sheep, etc. [Provincial English]
5.
(Weaving) To wind yarn off bobbins for forming the warp of a web; to wind a warp on a warp beam.

Warp , noun

[Anglo-Saxon wearp; akin to Icelandic varp a casting, throwing, Swedish varp the draught of a net, Danish varp a towline, Old High German warf warp, German werft. See Warp, v.]

1.
(Weaving) The threads which are extended lengthwise in the loom, and crossed by the woof.
2.
(Nautical) 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.
3.
(Agriculture) A slimy substance deposited on land by tides, etc., by which a rich alluvial soil is formed. — Lyell
4.
A premature casting of young; -- said of cattle, sheep, etc. [Provincial English]
5.
Four; esp., four herrings; a cast. See Cast, n., 17. [Provincial English] — Wright
6.
The state of being warped or twisted; as, the warp of a board.
Collocations (5)
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.