英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

writer (n.)[writer 词源字典]: Old English writere "one who can write, clerk; one who produces books or literary compositions," agent noun from writan (see write (v.)). Meaning "sign-painter" is from 1837. Writer's cramp attested by 1843; writer's block by 1950.[writer etymology, writer origin, 英语词源]
writhe (v.): Old English wriðan (transitive) "to twist or bend," earlier "to bind or fetter," from Proto-Germanic *writhanan (cognates: North Frisian wrial, Old High German ridan, Old Norse riða, Middle Swedish vriþa, Middle Danish vride), from PIE *wreit- "to turn, bend" (see wreath). Intransitive, of the body or limbs, "move in a twisting or tortuous manner," from c. 1300. Related: Writhed; writhing.
writing (n.): Old English writing "action of forming letters and characters," verbal noun from write (v.). From c. 1200 as "text; body of poetry, narrative, etc. in written form; written material." From c. 1300 as "a particular text;" mid-14c. as "act of composing a written text." From late 14c. as "craft of writing;" also "one's own handwriting or penmanship." Also late 14c. as "act of sending a letter; a letter, message." Writing-desk is from 1610s.
wrong (adj.): late Old English, "twisted, crooked, wry," from Old Norse rangr, earlier *wrangr "crooked, wry, wrong," from Proto-Germanic *wrang- (cognates: Danish vrang "crooked, wrong," Middle Dutch wranc, Dutch wrang "sour, bitter," literally "that which distorts the mouth"), from PIE *wrengh-, variant of *wergh- "to turn" (see wring).

Sense of "not right, bad, immoral, unjust" developed by c. 1300. Wrong thus is etymologically a negative of right (adj.1), which is from Latin rectus, literally "straight." Latin pravus was literally "crooked," but most commonly "wrong, bad;" and other words for "crooked" also have meant "wrong" in Italian and Slavic. Compare French tort "wrong, injustice," from Latin tortus "twisted."

As an adverb from c. 1200. Wrong-headed first recorded 1732. To get up on the wrong side (of the bed) "be in a bad mood" is recorded from 1801, according to OED, from its supposed influence on one's temper; it appears in Halliwell's "Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words" in 1846, but doesn't seem to have been used much generally before late 1870s. To be on the wrong side of a given age, "older than," is from 1660s. Wrong side of the road (that reservbed for oncoming traffic) is by 1838. To be from (or on) the wrong side of the tracks "from the poor part of town" is from 1921, American English.
wrong (n.): "that which is improper or unjust," late Old English, from wrong (adj.). Meaning "an unjust action" is recorded from c. 1200.
wrong (v.): "to do wrong to," early 14c., from wrong (adj.). Related: Wronged; wronging.
wrongdoing (n.): also wrong-doing, late 15c., from wrong (n.) + doing.
wrongful (adj.): early 14c., from wrong (n.) + -ful. Related: Wrongfully. Middle English also had adjective wrongous.
wrongly (adv.): c. 1300, from wrong (adj.) + -ly (2).
wroth (adj.): Old English wrað "angry" (literally "tormented, twisted"), from Proto-Germanic *wraith- (cognates: Old Frisian wreth "evil," Old Saxon wred, Middle Dutch wret, Dutch wreed "cruel," Old High German reid, Old Norse reiðr "angry, offended"), from PIE *wreit- "to turn" (see wreath). Rare or obsolete from early 16c. to mid-19c., but somewhat revived since, especially in dignified writing, or this:
Secretary: "The Dean is furious. He's waxing wroth."
Quincy Adams Wagstaf [Groucho]: "Is Roth out there too? Tell Roth to wax the Dean for a while."
["Horse Feathers," 1932]
wrought (adj.): mid-13c., from past participle of Middle English werken (see work (v.)). Wrought iron (1703) is that which is malleable and has been brought into some form.
wry (adj.): 1520s, "distorted, somewhat twisted to one side," from obsolete verb wry "to contort, to twist or turn," from Old English wrigian "to turn, bend, move, go," from Proto-Germanic *wrig- (cognates: Old Frisian wrigia "to bend," Middle Low German wrich "turned, twisted"), from PIE *wreik- "to turn" (cognates: Greek rhoikos "crooked," Lithuanian raisas "paralysed"), from root *wer- (3) "to turn, bend" (see versus). Of words, thoughts, etc., from 1590s. The original sense is preserved in awry.
wryly (adv.): 1570s, from wry + -ly (2).
wryneck (n.): 1580s, from wry + neck (n.). The bird so called from the singular manner in which is can twist the neck.
wunderkind (n.): child prodigy (especially in music), 1883 in English (earlier as a German word in German contexts), from German Wunderkind, literally "wonder-child."
Wurlitzer (n.): type of musical instrument (originally a player piano popular in silent movie theaters, later a type of jukebox), 1925, named for The Wurlitzer Company, founded near Cincinnati, Ohio, 1856 by Rudolph Wurlitzer (1831-1914), Saxon immigrant to U.S. An importer at first, he started production of pianos in 1880; coin-operated pianos in 1896.
wurst (n.): German sausage, 1855, from German Wurst, from Old High German wurst "sausage," probably etymologically "mixture," from Proto-Germanic *wursti-, from PIE *wers- (1) "to confuse, mix up" (see war (n.)).
wuss (n.): 1982, abbreviated from wussy.
Mike Damone: You are a wuss: part wimp, and part pussy
["Fast Times at Ridgemont High" script, 1982]
wussy (n.): 1960s, probably an alteration of pussy (n.2). DAS suggests shortened from hypothetical pussy-wussy, reduplicated form of pussy (n.1).
wuthering (adj.): "making a sullen roar" (as the wind does), Northern England dialectal variant of Scottish and dialectal whithering "rushing, whizzing, blustering," from a verb whither (late 14c.) which was used in reference to gusts of wind and coughing fits, from Old Norse *hviðra (related to Norwegian kvidra "to go quickly to and fro," Old English hwiþa "air, breeze").
Wuthering Heights is the name of Mr. Heathcliff's dwelling. 'Wuthering' being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed, in stormy weather. [Emily Brontë, "Wuthering Heights," 1847]
Charlotte also used forms of the word in her novels.