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Origin and history of wreak

wreak(v.)

Old English wrecan "avenge," usually with the offense or offender as the subject (Shakespeare's "send down Justice for to wreak our wrongs"), also "gratify one's anger;" originally "drive, drive out, punish" (class V strong verb; past tense wræc, past participle wrecen). It is from Proto-Germanic *wrekanan, which is perhaps from PIE root *urgh- "to push, shove, drive, track down" (see urge (v.)).

The "drive" sense is not attested after Old English. The meaning "execute or take" (vengeance), with on, is recorded from late 15c.; that of "inflict or cause" (damage or destruction) is attested by 1817. To wreak havoc is by 1837 ["La Hougue Bie de Hambie"].

Compare wrack (v.). Germanic cognates include Old Saxon wrekan, Old Norse reka, Old Frisian wreka, Middle Dutch wreken "to drive, push, compel, pursue, throw," Old High German rehhan, German rächen "to avenge," Gothic wrikan "to persecute." Related: Wreaked; wreaking.

Entries linking to wreak

urge(v.)

1550s, "press, impel, force onward," from Latin urgere "press hard, push forward, force, drive, compel, stimulate," perhaps [de Vaan] from a PIE root *urgh- "to tie, bind," via a notion of "weigh down on," hence "insist, impel."

The root is reconstructed to be the source also of Lithuanian veržti "tie, fasten, squeeze," vargas "need, distress," vergas "slave;" Old Church Slavonic vragu "enemy;" Gothic wrikan "persecute," Old English wrecan "drive, hunt, pursue."

The other possibility is that the PIE root is *ureg- "to follow a track," but de Vaan writes that "this phonetic shift seems far-fetched." The sense of "entreat, plead with" is by 1560s. Related: Urged; urging.

wrack(v.)

"to ruin, destroy, make a wreck of" (originally in reference to ships), 1560s, from earlier intransitive sense of "be shipwrecked" (late 15c.), from wrack (n.).

Often confused in this sense since 16c. with rack (v.1) in the sense of "torture on the rack;" to wrack one's brains is thus erroneous. Related: Wracked; wracking.

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rack
c. 1300, "grating or open frame with bars or pegs upon which things are hung or placed," especially for kitchen use, possibly from Middle Dutch rec "framework," literally "something stretched out, related to recken (modern rekken) "stretch out," cognate with Old English reccan "t
wreck
early 13c., "goods cast ashore after a shipwreck, flotsam," from Anglo-French wrec, from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse *wrek "wreck, flotsam" (source also of Norwegian, Icelandic rek), related to reka "to drive, push," from Proto-Germanic *wrekan (see wreak (v.)). The m
bring
Old English bringan "to bear, convey, take along in coming; bring forth, produce, present, offer" (past tense brohte, past participle broht), from Proto-Germanic *brangjanan (source also of Old Frisian branga "attest, declare, assure," Middle Dutch brenghen, Old High German bring
Frisbee
3, 1970] The family name is attested in English records from 1226, from a place name in Leicestershire (Frisby on the Wreak...
work
Old English weorc, worc "something done, discrete act performed by someone, action (whether voluntary or required), proceeding, business; that which is made or manufactured, products of labor," also "physical labor, toil; skilled trade, craft, or occupation; opportunity of expend
make
Old English macian "to give being to, give form or character to, bring into existence; construct, do, be the author of, produce; prepare, arrange, cause; behave, fare, transform," from West Germanic *makōjanan "to fashion, fit" (source also of Old Saxon makon, Old Frisian makia "
create
"to bring into being," early 15c., from Latin creatus, past participle of creare "to make, bring forth, produce, procreate, beget, cause," related to Ceres and to crescere "arise, be born, increase, grow," from PIE root *ker- (2) "to grow." De Vaan writes that the original meanin
play
Middle English pleien, from Old English plegan, plegian "move lightly and quickly, occupy or busy oneself, amuse oneself; engage in active exercise; frolic; engage in children's play; make sport of, mock; perform music." It is from Proto-West Germanic *plegōjanan "occupy oneself
for
Old English for "before, in the sight of, in the presence of; as far as; during, before; on account of, for the sake of; in place of, instead of," from Proto-Germanic *fur "before; in" (source also of Old Saxon furi "before," Old Frisian for, Middle Dutch vore, Dutch voor "for, b
paradox
1530s, "a statement contrary to common belief or expectation," from French paradoxe (14c.) and directly from Latin paradoxum "paradox, statement seemingly absurd yet really true," from Greek paradoxon "incredible statement or opinion," noun use of neuter of adjective paradoxos "c

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