Answer: "ravel" v. "unravel"

[chiroho.livejournal.com]

Happy New Year, and welcome to the first fandom_grammar post of 2014. Today we're looking at a question asked by campylobacter: What is the difference between "ravel" and "unravel"?

Let's have a look, with examples from our friends at NCIS.

We'll start our discussion with the word which is used less: ravel. Ravel probably comes from the Dutch word ravelen, meaning to 'fray out, tangle', and was first used in late Middle English with the sense of 'entangle, confuse'. Interestingly, the more commonly used verb definitions of ravel in Modern English actually have the opposite meaning: 'untangle', for example 'ravel something out'; and 'unravel; fray', as in a 'ravelled collar' (the latter not in American usage). It's only the third verb definition, 'confuse or complicate', and the noun meaning, 'a tangle, cluster, knot', that are closer to the original meaning. Here are some examples of using ravel:

Tim stared down at the ravel of cables under his desk with despair.

Gibbs retreated to his basement with the hope that working with his hands would help him ravel out the tangled web of clues his team had discovered.

As an aside, a ravelin is a triangular fortification or detached outwork located in front of the main walls of a fortress, and is designed to divide, or confuse, an assault force and impede besiegers from using their artillery to fire on the main curtain wall. While that word comes via French from the obsolete Italian ravellino, it seems possible that this word may have a similar origin to the Dutch ravelen.

Unravel, with which you're probably more familiar, is a verb which means to either 'undo', for example twisted threads, or to 'investigate and solve or explain' something which is complex or puzzling. A couple of examples of using unravel are:

Tony painstakingly sorted through the victim's bank records, hoping to unravel the source of their unexpected wealth.

A further search of the crime scene uncovered more threads which had unravelled from the suspect's jacket during the struggle.

So when do you use which word? While my personal experience is hardly any sort of scientific measurement, no matter what I might wish, I'd suggest that unravel is far more frequently used than ravel. Given that this is the case, and that some of the meanings are the same, I'd recommend using unravel in your writing. The only exception would be if you really want to emphasize a particular character or the way they 'speak'.

Sources:
Ravel definition: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ravel
Unravel definition: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/unravel

Comments

[campylobacter.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

I'll probably continue to favor adjectival "raveled", and "ravel" as a verb, especially in knitting & crochet contexts. "Unravel" just sounds so redundant to me LOL.

OT: I've seen 1 episode of NCIS, and although I don't remember who Tony, Tim, or Gibbs are, I really liked Abby(sp?) and Ziva.

[chiroho.livejournal.com]

I thin that, in the context of knitting and crochet, "raveled" (or "ravelled" in the UK) and "ravel" do make some sense, but I've not heard "ravel" used in any other context. Also, "unravel" sounds like you're "un"doing something, which perhaps is why it's the more commonly used word for that meaning.

As for NCIS, Gibbs was the team leader, and Tony, Tim, and Ziva are team members. Abby is the forensic specialist. Guess I should have gone with the SG1 examples? ;^)