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wrake. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
wrake, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
wrake in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
wrake you have here. The definition of the word
wrake will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
wrake, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English wrake (“vengeance, persecution, injury”), from Old English wracu (“revenge, persecution, misery, etc.”), from Proto-Germanic *wrakō, likely related to *wrēkō (“persecution, revenge, vengeance”). Cognate with Gothic 𐍅𐍂𐌰𐌺𐌰 (wraka, “persecution”), Middle Low German wrake and Middle Dutch wrake.
Pronunciation
Noun
wrake (plural wrakes)
- (obsolete) Suffering which comes as a result of vengeance or retribution.
- (obsolete) Wrecked state or condition; destruction, ruin.
Etymology 2
Variant of wrack, possibly influenced by Etymology 1.
Noun
wrake (plural wrakes)
- Obsolete form of wrack.
Verb
wrake (third-person singular simple present wrakes, present participle wraking, simple past and past participle wraked)
- Obsolete form of wrack.
References
- Francis Henry Stratmann (1891) “wráke”, in Henry Bradley, editor, A Middle-English Dictionary: Containing Words Used by English Writers from the Twelfth to the Fifteenth Century, Oxford: Printed at the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 695, column 1
- “wrake”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
- John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “†wrake, n.1”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.
Anagrams
Middle English
Etymology
Inherited from Old English wracu, from Proto-Germanic *wrakō.
Noun
wrake (plural wrakes)
- vengeance, retribution, revenge
- haven/taken/nimen wrake on/upon/of ― to exact vengeance on (somebody)
- divine retribution or punishment
- an act of punishment or vengeance
- vengefulness
- ruin, destruction, wreck
- gon to/unto wrake ― to go to ruin
- fallen in-to wrake ― to fall into ruin
- bryngen/fallen wrake ― to bring to ruin
- ruination, violation
- death
- hostility, active enmity, discord
- physical pain, suffering, harm, injury
- distress, woe, misery
- wrongdoing, transgression
Derived terms
- wraken ("to exact vengeance or punishment")
Descendants
References
- “wrā̆k(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “†wrake, n.1”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.