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Origin and history of wrinkle

wrinkle(v.)

c. 1400, wrinklen, "cause to become corrugated, form wrinkles in" (transitive), probably from stem of late Old English gewrinclod "wrinkled, crooked, winding," past participle of gewrinclian "to wind, crease," from perfective prefix ge- + -wrinclian "to wind," from Proto-Germanic *wrankjan. This according to Watkins is from a nasalized variant of *wergh- "to turn" (see wring (v.)).

The intransitive sense of "undergo contraction so as to pucker" is from 1610s. Related: Wrinkled; wrinkling.

wrinkle(n.)

late 14c., "slight fold or crease in the external body caused by contraction, etc.;" late 15c. in reference to cloth or clothing; of obscure origin but probably ultimately from wrinkle (v.).

The meaning "minor defect, problem, irregularity, side-effect" is by 1580s, probably on the notion of something to be "ironed out."

The colloquial meaning "idea, device, notion" (especially a new one) is by 1817. In sporting slang, a sense of "pithy piece of information, valuable hint" is by 1818. In Middle English it was figurative of a moral blemish, and from early 15c. had a sense of "devious stratagem." The notion might be "crooked, tortuous (thus confounding) action."

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to wrinkle

wring(v.)

Middle English wringen, "twist and squeeze (a garment, something flexible) in the hands so as to press out liquid from it," from Old English wringan (class III strong verb; past tense wrang, past participle wrungen), from Proto-Germanic *wreng-, which according to Watkins is from a nasalized variant of *wergh- "to turn," from PIE root *wer- (2) "to turn, bend."

The sense of "torture or affect painfully" as if by wringing is from late 14c. To wring (one's) hands "press the hands or fingers tightly together" as though wringing them, as an indication of distress or pain, is attested from c. 1200. Wringing wet "so wet as to require wringing" is by mid-15c.

Germanic cognates include 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."

wrinkly(adj.)

early 15c., wrinkli, in anatomy, "having a tendency to be wrinkled," from wrinkle (n.) + -y (2). As teen slang noun for "old person," by 1972 ("old" being relative; a British reference from 1982 applies it to people in their 40s).

*wer-(2)

Proto-Indo-European root forming words meaning "to turn, bend."

It might form all or part of: adverse; anniversary; avert; awry; controversy; converge; converse (adj.) "exact opposite;" convert; diverge; divert; evert; extroversion; extrovert; gaiter; introrse; introvert; invert; inward; malversation; obverse; peevish; pervert; prose; raphe; reverberate; revert; rhabdomancy; rhapsody; rhombus; ribald; sinistrorse; stalwart; subvert; tergiversate; transverse; universe; verbena; verge (v.1) "tend, incline;" vermeil; vermicelli; vermicular; vermiform; vermin; versatile; verse (n.) "poetry;" version; verst; versus; vertebra; vertex; vertigo; vervain; vortex; -ward; warp; weird; worm; worry; worth (adj.) "significant, valuable, of value;" worth (v.) "to come to be;" wrangle; wrap; wrath; wreath; wrench; wrest; wrestle; wriggle; wring; wrinkle; wrist; writhe; wrong; wroth; wry.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit vartate "turns round, rolls;" Avestan varet- "to turn;" Hittite hurki- "wheel;" Greek rhatane "stirrer, ladle;" Latin vertere (frequentative versare) "to turn, turn back, be turned; convert, transform, translate; be changed," versus "turned toward or against;" Old Church Slavonic vrŭteti "to turn, roll," Russian vreteno "spindle, distaff;" Lithuanian verčiu, versti "to turn;" German werden, Old English weorðan "to become;" Old English -weard "toward," originally "turned toward," weorthan "to befall," wyrd "fate, destiny," literally "what befalls one;" Welsh gwerthyd "spindle, distaff;" Old Irish frith "against."

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    rumple
    "to wrinkle, make uneven," c. 1600, in rumpled, of uncertain origin, perhaps a variant of rimple "to wrinkle" (c. 1400), from Old English hrympel "wrinkle" (possibly influenced by Middle Dutch rumpelen), related to Old English hrimpan "to fold, wrinkle" (see ramp (v.)). Related:
    crumple
    early 14c.,  cromplen, crumplen, "press into irregular folds, rumple, wrinkle," also intransitive, "contract into wrinkles, shrink, shrivel," frequentative of crumpen "to curl up" (from Old English crump "bent, crooked"), from Proto-Germanic *krumbo- "to press, squeeze, comp
    crease
    1660s, "long or thin mark made by doubling or folding," altered from creaste "a ridge," perhaps a variant of crest (n.), via meaning "a fold in a length of cloth" (mid-15c.) which produces a "crest." In sports, first in cricket (1779), where originally it was cut into the ground.
    rugae
    1775, in zoology, anatomy, etc., "a fold or wrinkle," plural of ruga (1775), from Latin ruga "a wrinkle in the face," from..."Since words for 'wrinkle' and 'crease' are often derived from 'to be rugged', from which also 'to belch' is often derived...
    frumpy
    Sense of "sour-looking, unfashionable" is from 1825, but this may be a shortening of frumple "to wrinkle, crumple" (late...14c.), from Middle Dutch verrompelen "to wrinkle," from ver- "completely" + rompelen "to rumple."...
    shrivel
    a word of unknown origin, not found in Middle English; perhaps from a Scandinavian source (compare Swedish skryvla "to wrinkle...Middle English did have rivelled "wrinkled, furrowed," from Old English rifelede, from *rifel "a wrinkle or fold on the skin...
    ramp
    ), a word of uncertain origin, perhaps from Frankish *rampon "to contract oneself" (compare Old High German rimpfan "to wrinkle...," Old English hrimpan "to fold, wrinkle"), via notion of the bodily contraction involved in climbing [Klein], from Proto-Germanic...
    scrunch
    1825, "to bite, crush with or as with the teeth," intensive form of crunch (v.); ultimately imitative (see scr-). The colloquial meaning "to squeeze, crush" is by 1835 (implied in scrunched). The intransitive sense of "contract oneself into a more compact shape" is by 1884. Relat
    contract
    late 14c., "to draw into a smaller compass, become smaller, shrink" (intransitive); early 15c. "make an agreement, enter into a contract, agree or establish to undertake mutually," from Old French contracter and directly from Latin contractus, past participle of contrahere "to dr
    impression
    late 14c., "mark produced by pressure," also "image produced in the mind or emotions by something external," from Old French impression "print, stamp; a pressing on the mind" (13c.), from Latin impressionem (nominative impressio) "a pressing into, onset, attack," figuratively "a

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