wrack

wrack
{{11}}wrack (n.) late 14c., "wrecked ship," probably from M.Du. wrak "wreck," cognate with O.E. wræc "misery, punishment," and wrecan "to punish, drive out" (see WREAK (Cf. wreak)). The meaning "damage, disaster, destruction" (in wrack and ruin) is from c.1400, from the Old English word. Sense of "seaweed, etc., cast up on shore" is recorded from 1510s.
{{12}}wrack (v.) "to ruin or wreck" (originally of ships), 1560s, from earlier intransitive sense "to be shipwrecked" (late 15c.), from WRACK (Cf. wrack) (n.). Often confused in this sense since 16c. with RACK (Cf. rack) (1) in the verb sense of "to torture on the rack;" to wrack one's brains is thus erroneous. Related: Wracked; wracking.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Wrack — may refer to:* Wrack (mathematics), a concept in knot theory * Wrack (novel), a novel about the Mahogany Ship * Wrack (science), several species of seaweedPeople with the surname Wrack:* Darren Wrack (born 1976), English footballer * Matt Wrack… …   Wikipedia

  • Wrack — Wrack, n. [OE. wrak wreck. See {Wreck}.] [1913 Webster] 1. Wreck; ruin; destruction. [Obs.] Chaucer. A world devote to universal wrack. Milton. [1913 Webster] [1913 Webster] 2. Any marine vegetation cast up on the shore, especially plants of the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Wrack — Wrack: Das am Anfang des 18. Jh.s aus dem Niederd. ins Hochd. übernommene Wort geht auf mnd. wrack zurück, vgl. niederl. wrak »Wrack«, engl. wrack »Strandanschwemmung von Algen, Tang, Unrat«, schwed. vrak »Wrack«. Dieses altgerm. Substantiv… …   Das Herkunftswörterbuch

  • Wrack — Wrack, v. t. To wreck. [Obs.] Dryden. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Wrack — Wrack, n. A thin, flying cloud; a rack. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Wrack — Wrack, v. t. To rack; to torment. [R.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Wrack — [vrak] das; s, s; 1 ein stark beschädigtes Schiff, Flugzeug oder Auto, das nicht mehr verwendet werden kann || K: Flugzeugwrack, Schiffswrack 2 ein (menschliches) Wrack jemand, der wegen einer Krankheit oder einer Sucht keine Kraft mehr hat …   Langenscheidt Großwörterbuch Deutsch als Fremdsprache

  • wrack — wrack·ful; wrack; …   English syllables

  • Wrack — [Aufbauwortschatz (Rating 1500 3200)] Bsp.: • Sie fanden das Wrack eines alten Schiffes …   Deutsch Wörterbuch

  • wrack — [2] ► NOUN ▪ a coarse brown seaweed which grows on the shoreline, often with air bladders providing buoyancy. ORIGIN apparently from archaic and dialect wrack «shipwreck», from Dutch wrak …   English terms dictionary

  • Wrack — Wrack, 1) so v.w. Brack 1); 2) im Holzhandel, beim Nutzholz so v.w. Halbgutes Holz (Ausschuß, Brack); das ganz fehlerhafte heißt Korngut, das schlechteste dagegen Wraks W.; daher Wracken, die schlechtere Waare ausschießen; 3) ein Schiff, welches… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”