*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of wrack

From Middle English wrake, wrache, wreche, from a merger of Old English wracu, wræc (“misery, suffering”) and Old English wrǣċ (“vengeance, revenge”). See also wrake.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

The remains of something; a wreck. · Vengeance; revenge; persecution; punishment; consequence; trouble. · Ruin; destruction.

verb

To execute vengeance on; avenge. · To worry; tease; torment.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English wrake, wrache, wreche, from a merger of Old English wracu, wræc (“misery, suffering”) and Old English wrǣċ (“vengeance, revenge”). See also wrake.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionwrakeenm
  • Inherited-form mentionwracuang
  • Inherited-form mentionwrǣċang
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "wrake"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English wrake"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "wracu"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English wracu"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "wrǣċ",
        "4": "",
        "5": "vengeance, revenge"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English wrǣċ (“vengeance, revenge”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
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      "wrake",
      "wrake#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wrache",
      "wrache#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wreche",
      "wreche#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wracu",
      "wracu#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "wræc",
      "wræc#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "wrǣċ",
      "wræc#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "wrake",
      "wrake#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "glosses": [
        "The remains of something; a wreck.",
        "Vengeance; revenge; persecution; punishment; consequence; trouble.",
        "Ruin; destruction."
      ],
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        "dialectal",
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        "To execute vengeance on; avenge.",
        "To worry; tease; torment."
      ],
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        "transitive"
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Remnant from a shipwreck as washed ashore; flotsam or jetsam. · The right to claim such items. · Any marine vegetation cast up on shore, especially seaweed of the family Fucaceae. · Weeds, vegetation, or rubbish floating on a river or pond.

verb

To wreck, especially a ship. · Alternative form of rack (“to cause to suffer pain, etc.”).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Late Middle English, from Middle Dutch wrak, ultimately related to Proto-Germanic *wrekaną (“to drive out”), the source of wreak and wreck. Doublet of vraic. Cognate with German Wrack, Old Norse rek, Danish vrag, Swedish vrak, Old English wræc); also compare Gothic 𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (wrikan), 𐍅𐍂𐌰𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wrakjan, “persecute”), Old Norse reka (“drive”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "3": "-"
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      "expansion": "Middle English"
    },
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      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dum",
        "3": "wrak"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch wrak"
    },
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    },
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      "name": "doublet",
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    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Wrack"
      },
      "expansion": "German Wrack"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "rek"
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      "name": "cog",
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "vrak"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish vrak"
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      "name": "cog",
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        "2": "wræc"
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      "expansion": "Old English wræc"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽"
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    ],
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      "vrak#Swedish"
    ],
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      "wræc#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽",
      "𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "𐍅𐍂𐌰𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽",
      "𐍅𐍂𐌰𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽#Gothic"
    ],
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      "reka",
      "reka#Old_Norse"
    ]
  ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for wrack →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-d3JhY2s