Garland

n. [Pr. garlanda, O. Sp. guarnanda, It. ghirlanda, Sp. guirnalda, Pg. id. and grinalda, from O. H. Ger. wiara, wiera, crown, M. H. Ger. wieren, to twist, dim. as if wierelen, with the suffix anda, like Fr. girmele, from girer.]

1. A wreath or chaplet made of branches, flowers, feathers, and sometimes of precious stones, to be worn on the head like a crown; a coronal. Pope.
2. The top; the principal thing, or thing most prized. Shak.
3. A collection of little printed pieces; a book of extracts in prose or poetry; an anthology.

They [ballads] began to be collected into little miscellanies under the name of garlands. Percy. 4. (Naut.) (a.) A sort of bag, of network, having the mouth extended by a hoop, used by sailors to keep provisions in. (b.) A gromet or ring of rope lashed on a mast. Totten.