wrack

English

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ræk/
• Rhymes: -æk
• Homophone: rack

Etymology 1

From Old English wræc.

Noun

wrack (plural wracks)

1. (archaic or literary) revenge, persecution
2. (archaic, except in dialects) ruin, destruction
3. the remains; a wreck

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch (and Dutch) wrak (cognate with German Wrack, Old Norse rek, Danish vrag, Old English wræc). Compare Gothic 𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (wrikan), 𐍅𐍂𐌰𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wrakjan, “persecute”), Old Norse reka (“drive”).

Noun

wrack (plural wracks)

1. (archaic) remnant from a shipwreck as washed ashore, or the right to claim such items
2. any marine vegetation cast up on shore, especially seaweed of the genus Fucus
3. weeds, vegetation or rubbish floating on a river or pond

Derived terms

• channelled wrack
• flat wrack
• spiral wrack

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Esperanto: fuko (eo)

Verb

wrack (third-person singular simple present wracks, present participle wracking, simple past and past participle wracked)

1. (transitive) to wreck, especially a ship (usually in passive)
2. Alternative form of rack, to cause to suffer pain etc.

Anagrams

• crawk