English word origin

Etymology of 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

Suffering which comes as a result of vengeance or retribution. · Wrecked state or condition; destruction, ruin.

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

From Middle English wrake (“vengeance, persecution, injury”), from Old English wracu (“revenge, persecution, misery, etc.”), from Proto-Germanic *wrakō, likely related to *wrēkō (“persecution, revenge, vengeance”). Cognate with Gothic 𐍅𐍂𐌰𐌺𐌰 (wraka, “persecution”), Middle Low German wrake and Middle Dutch 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 mention*wrakōgem-pro
Cognate mention𐍅𐍂𐌰𐌺𐌰got
Cognate mentionwrakegml
Cognate mentionwrakedum

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "wrake",
        "4": "",
        "5": "vengeance, persecution, injury"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English wrake (“vengeance, persecution, injury”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "wracu",
        "4": "",
        "5": "revenge, persecution, misery, etc."
      },
      "expansion": "Old English wracu (“revenge, persecution, misery, etc.”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*wrakō"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *wrakō"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐍅𐍂𐌰𐌺𐌰",
        "3": "",
        "4": "persecution"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐍅𐍂𐌰𐌺𐌰 (wraka, “persecution”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gml",
        "2": "wrake"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German wrake"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "dum",
        "2": "wrake"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch wrake"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "wrake",
      "wrake#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wracu",
      "wracu#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*wrakō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wrakō"
    ],
    [
      "*wrēkō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wrēkō"
    ],
    [
      "𐍅𐍂𐌰𐌺𐌰",
      "𐍅𐍂𐌰𐌺𐌰#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "wrake",
      "wrake#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "wrake",
      "wrake#Middle_Dutch"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Suffering which comes as a result of vengeance or retribution.",
        "Wrecked state or condition; destruction, ruin."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "7ec66c5b4fdb11850d575a0da4ad054cafac9af8a32e8d522de92230c38b203e",
      "rawRecordSha256": "4830a4c3c9a4b5596ad107b287d13c6bd9f4657eaf0fceac25787959a5c5217e",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 2763644
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

verb

Obsolete form of wrack.

noun

Obsolete form of wrack.

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

Variant of wrack, possibly influenced by Etymology 1.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    [
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  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "Obsolete form of wrack."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "obsolete"
      ],
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      "glosses": [
        "Obsolete form of wrack."
      ],
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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 wrake →

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-d3Jha2U