Definition: To unweave, to disentangle, to unwind or untwist; to fray.

Usage: Here is another word we have bungled. Because raveling knitwear is undoing something previously done, we feel we need the prefix un- on this verb but the meaning of that suffix is built into the meaning of "ravel." The error is similar to the one which led us to remove the in- from "inflammable," thinking that it means "un-" when in fact it means "begin." Inflame means "to ignite," so inflammable means "ignitable." Well, guess what: unravel means "to reweave" that is, to un-unweave. The British like to double the [L] with suffixes: "ravelling," "ravelled," while North Americans prefer hobbling along on one: "raveling," "raveled." Both are correct.

Suggested Usage: Sweaters are not the only things that go raveling: "As Germaine explained her situation, Percy could see his plans for a quiet domestic life with her raveling before his ears." Things ravel outside the head, too: "Celeste could feel her new hair-do raveling in the wind and mist of Foggy Bottom." Harsh winters can ravel poorly maintained roads and the nerves of those who drive over them.

Etymology: The etymology of today's word is something of a disappointment. We only know that English borrowed it from an obsolete Dutch verb ravelen "ravel" from ravel "a loose thread". There is a dialectal English word raffle "tangle, ravel" but it is apparently a variant of today's word and no help in tracing the origin of "ravel."