This is something pretty much everyone has done. The act of throwing but also holding onto a sheet or blanket or beach towel to spread it out in the air so that you can lay it flat on the bed, ground, or whatever surface. I don't think there is a word for this. Whenever I've asked this question people just zone out with a blank expression on their face. words like open, unfold, unfurl, throw, blanket just don't seem enough. In my mind, the word spread comes closest, but I feel it still isn't quite right.
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1There is a word in Greek - βολος - which conveys the casting of a small, weighted net and also conveys the casting of dice. It involves a horizontal element and is the same arm movement used in 'casting' a sheet over a bed. The Spanish word 'bolas' derives from it, triple weights on rope which are flung with the same action to bring down four footed animals. However, the word has not come into English.– Nigel JCommented Aug 5, 2019 at 15:17
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1@NigelJ That reminds me of the English word billow, which Merriam-Webster confirms can be used transitively! It's not the most common word, but seems like it would fit OP's context pretty well. merriam-webster.com/dictionary/billow– Quack E. DuckCommented Mar 1 at 7:11
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1@QuackE.Duck The OED lists a transitive meaning to 'billow' 3. 1885– transitive. To raise into billows or folds. 1885 The cold air rushing in billowed the curtains and extinguished the lights. L. Wingfield, Barbara Philpot vol. I. x. 290Citation details for L. Wingfield, Barbara Philpot. So I cannot see that it would be wrong to say 'She billowed the sheets on to the bed' which is exactly the same concept as βολος (my comment above).– Nigel JCommented Mar 1 at 8:28
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3 Answers
Spread is the most suitable word.
The Ngram Viewer doesn't find anything for unfurl or unfold a blanket, but it has many hits for spread a blanket.
By the way, the word bedspread is synonymous to blanket, which shows the suitability of the verb "spread" to talk about spreading a blanket.
answered Sep 4, 2019 at 14:32
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When I first saw this answer I thought that there might be a different definition of bedspread in American English because, in British English a bedspread is definitely not a blanket but is, rather, a decorative top cover for a bed. I see that I was mistaken because Merriam Webster defines bedspread in exactly the way I understand it. What is your liguistic background, Mahmud?– BoldBenCommented Sep 5, 2019 at 1:58
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@BoldBen I didn't say blanket is the definition of bedspread. They are synonymous each other. Many dictionaries such as Lexico, Cambridge Dictionary etc. say so. Commented Sep 5, 2019 at 3:25
A single verb can describe sequential actions whose individual descriptions are usually unnecessary in common speech, but might be employed in vivid storytelling or a work of highly mimetic fiction, especially when the sequence is interrupted.
For instance, opening a door requires an approach, reaching for the knob/handle/whatever, activating this device, stepping back while holding the knob, etc.
If something interrupts the sequence, one might say
I had just begun to open the door when …
Or in a more vivid narrative
My fingers had barely grazed the door handle when …
Spreading a sheet on a bed or a towel on the sand is a similarly sequenced action where the airborne portion usually doesn't need to be described, mainly because except in the narrative situations I mentioned, it simply isn’t topical. Thus the blank stares.
So what about vivid narrative?
The isolated action is similar to what you do after lying on the beach towel until sunburned: you shake out the towel to get rid of the sand, or if you couldn’t resist eating crumbly cookies/biscuits in bed, you’d shake out the top sheet to get rid of the results. You perform the same action on a rug held out the window or to fluff out a towel you’ve dried on a clothesline, though in these contexts, the action is usually repeated a few times. It’s a kind of whipping motion you would rarely have to describe further.
I came to this site looking for one word to describe the repeated flapping up and down of a sheet, blanket, (bed)spread, tablecloth, towel or whatever. Not having found such a definite one word, I would like to suggest the verb "to luff," as in [past tense]
She luffed the sheet over the bed until, at last, she let it slowly settle, edges and corners perfectly aligned as she intended.
In sailboat terminology (q.v.) "luffing" describes the repeated loose flapping of a sail caught in a direct head-on wind. Doesn't that sound right!? Even the fabric "snap" sound of a luffed "sheet" (whether sail or bed) sounds similar, n'est pas?
Therefore I think luffing is entirely suitable for describing the repeated flapping in the air (as in the wind for the towels on the beaches) of any cloth, and I will use it thusly henceforth (and perhaps copyright it for it's eventual widespread use in this context). Ahem. (c) Noone Atall.
Thanks for your indulgence ... and agreement.
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Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please edit to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.– Community BotCommented Feb 25, 2023 at 6:52
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2Doesn't that sound right!? No, not at all. To luff is to point the head of a sailing vessel closer to the wind, flapping sails are not luffing (though if the luff is carried too far the sails may be set a-flapping). Where did you find that definition? Commented Feb 25, 2023 at 9:44