英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

wren (n.)[wren 词源字典]: small, migratory singing bird, Old English wrenna, metathesis variation of earlier werna, a Germanic word of uncertain origin. Compare Icelandic rindill, Old High German wrendo, wrendilo "wren." The bird's name in other languages usually denotes "royalty" (such as Latin regulus), in reference to its golden crest.[wren etymology, wren origin, 英语词源]
wrench (v.): Old English wrencan "to twist," from Proto-Germanic *wrankjan (cognates: Old High German renken, German renken "to twist, wrench," Old English wringan "to wring"), from PIE *wreng- "to turn" (cognates: Sanskrit vrnakti "turns, twists," Lithuanian rengtis "to grow crooked, to writhe"), nasalized variant of *werg- "to turn" (cognates: Latin vergere "to turn, tend toward"), from root *wer- (3) "to turn, bend" (see versus). Related: Wrenched, wrenching.
wrench (n.): Old English wrenc "a twisting, artifice, trick;" see wrench (v.). The meaning "tool with jaws at one end for turning or holding" is first recorded 1794.
wrest (v.): Old English wræstan "to twist, wrench," from Proto-Germanic *wraistjan (source of Old Norse reista "to bend, twist"), from PIE *wreik- "to turn" (see wry). Meaning "to pull, detach" (something) is recorded from c. 1300. Meaning "to take by force" (in reference to power, authority, etc.) is attested from early 15c. Related: Wrested; wresting.
wrestle (v.): Old English *wræstlian, frequentative of wræstan "to wrest" (see wrest). Compare North Frisian wrassele, Middle Low German worstelen. Figurative sense is recorded from early 13c. Related: Wrestled; wrestling.
wrestler (n.): late Old English, agent noun from wrestle (v.).
wrestling (n.): Old English wræstlung, "sport of grappling and throwing," verbal noun from wrestle (v.). From c. 1300 as "action of wrestling, a wrestling match." Figurative use from c. 1200.
wretch (n.): Old English wrecca "wretch, stranger, exile," from Proto-Germanic *wrakjon "pursuer; one pursued" (cognates: Old Saxon wrekkio, Old High German reckeo "a banished person, exile," German recke "renowned warrior, hero"), related to Old English wreccan "to drive out, punish" (see wreak). "The contrast in the development of the meaning in Eng. and German is remarkable" [OED]. Sense of "vile, despicable person" developed in Old English, reflecting the sorry state of the outcast, as presented in Anglo-Saxon verse (such as "The Wanderer"). Compare German Elend "misery," from Old High German elilenti "sojourn in a foreign land, exile."
wretched (adj.): c. 1200, wrecched, an irregular formation from wrecche "wretch" (see wretch). Also see wicked. Related: Wretchedly; wretchedness.
wriggle (v.): late 15c., from Middle Low German wrigglen "to wriggle," from Proto-Germanic *wreik- "to turn" (see wry). Related to Old English wrigian "to turn, incline, go forward."
wright (n.): Old English wryhta, wrihta (Northumbrian wyrchta, Kentish werhta) "worker," variant of earlier wyhrta, from wyrcan "to work" (see work (v.)). Now usually in combinations (wheelwright, playwright, etc.) or as a surname. Common West Germanic; cognate with Old Saxon wurhito, Old Frisian wrichta, Old High German wurhto.
wring (v.): Old English wringan "press, strain, wring, twist" (class III strong verb; past tense wrang, past participle wrungen), from Proto-Germanic *wreng- (cognates: Old English wringen "to wring, press out," Old Frisian wringa, Middle Dutch wringhen, Dutch wringen "to wring," Old High German ringan "to move to and fro, to twist," German ringen "to wrestle"), from PIE *wrengh-, nasalized variant of *wergh- "to turn," from root *wer- (3) "to turn, bend" (see versus). To wring (one's) hands "press the hands or fingers tightly together (as though wringing)" as an indication of distress or pain is attested from c. 1200.
wringer (n.): "device for squeezing water from clothes," 1799, agent noun from wring (v.). (Earlier it meant "extortioner," c. 1300.) Figurative phrase to put (someone) through the wringer first recorded 1942, American English.
wrinkle (v.): early 15c. (transitive), probably from stem of Old English gewrinclod "wrinkled, crooked, winding," past participle of gewrinclian "to wind, crease," from perfective prefix ge- + -wrinclian "to wind," from Proto-Germanic *wrankjan (see wrench (v.)). Intransitive sense from 1610s. Related: Wrinkled; wrinkling.
wrinkle (n.): "fold or crease in the extenal body," late 14c.; in cloth or clothing from early 15c., probably from wrinkle (v.). Meaning "defect, problem" first recorded 1640s; that of "idea, device, notion" (especially a new one) is from 1817.
wrinkly (adj.): early 15c. (in reference to the penis), from wrinkle (n.) + -y (2). As teen slang noun for "old person," from 1972 ("old" being relative; a British reference from 1982 applies it to people in their 40s).
wrist (n.): Old English wrist, from Proto-Germanic *wristiz (cognates: Old Norse rist "instep," Old Frisian wrist, Middle Dutch wrist, German Rist "back of the hand, instep"), from Proto-Germanic *wreik- "to turn" (see wry). The notion is "the turning joint." Wrist-watch is from 1889. Wrist-band is from 1570s as a part of a sleeve, 1969 as a perspiration absorber.
writ (n.): Old English writ "something written, piece of writing," from the past participle stem of writan (see write). Used of legal documents or instruments since at least 1121.
write (v.): Old English writan "to score, outline, draw the figure of," later "to set down in writing" (class I strong verb; past tense wrat, past participle writen), from Proto-Germanic *writan "tear, scratch" (cognates: Old Frisian writa "to write," Old Saxon writan "to tear, scratch, write," Old Norse rita "write, scratch, outline," Old High German rizan "to write, scratch, tear," German reißen "to tear, pull, tug, sketch, draw, design"), outside connections doubtful.
For men use to write an evill turne in marble stone, but a good turne in the dust. [More, 1513]
Words for "write" in most Indo-European languages originally mean "carve, scratch, cut" (such as Latin scribere, Greek graphein, glyphein, Sanskrit rikh-); a few originally meant "paint" (Gothic meljan, Old Church Slavonic pisati, and most of the modern Slavic cognates). To write (something) off (1680s) originally was from accounting; figurative sense is recorded from 1889. Write-in "unlisted candidate" is recorded from 1932.
write-up (n.): 1882, from the verbal phrase; see write (v.) + up (adv.).