*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of wreck

Etymology tree Old Norse *vrek Anglo-Norman wrekbor. Middle English wrek English wreck From Middle English wrek, from Anglo-Norman wrek, from Old Norse *wrek (whence Norwegian rek, Icelandic rek, Swedish vrak, Danish vra

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

Something or someone that has been ruined. · The remains of something that has been severely damaged or worn down. · An event in which something is damaged through collision. · A shipwreck: an event in which a ship is heavily damaged or destroyed.

verb

To destroy violently; to cause severe damage to something, to a point where it no longer works, or is useless. · To ruin or dilapidate. · To plunder goods from wrecked ships. · To dismantle wrecked vehicles or other objects, to reclaim any useful parts.

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

Etymology tree Old Norse *vrek Anglo-Norman wrekbor. Middle English wrek English wreck From Middle English wrek, from Anglo-Norman wrek, from Old Norse *wrek (whence Norwegian rek, Icelandic rek, Swedish vrak, Danish vrag), from Proto-Germanic *wrekaną (“to pursue”, whence Old English wrecan (English wreak), Old Saxon wrekan, Old High German rëhhan, Gothic 𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (wrikan)), from Proto-Indo-European *wreg- (“to track; to hunt; to follow”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

This page abbreviates 4 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.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:wrek",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nOld Norse *vrek\nAnglo-Norman wrekbor.\nMiddle English wrek\nEnglish wreck\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old Norse\", \"term\" : \"*vrek\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"non\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"uder\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Anglo-Norman\", \"term\" : \"wrek\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"xno\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"wrek\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"wreck\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"wreck\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "wrek"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English wrek"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "xno",
        "3": "wrek"
      },
      "expansion": "Anglo-Norman wrek"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "no",
        "2": "rek"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian rek"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "rek"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic rek"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "vrak"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish vrak"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "vrag"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish vrag"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "*wrek",
        "ng": "whence Norwegian <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"no\">rek</i>, Icelandic <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"is\">rek</i>, Swedish <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"sv\">vrak</i>, Danish <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"da\">vrag</i>"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse *wrek (whence Norwegian rek, Icelandic rek, Swedish vrak, Danish vrag)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "wrecan"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English wrecan"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "wreak"
      },
      "expansion": "English wreak"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "osx",
        "2": "wrekan"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Saxon wrekan"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "rëhhan"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German rëhhan"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (wrikan)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*wrekaną",
        "t": "to pursue",
        "ng": "whence Old English <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"ang\">wrecan</i> (English <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"en\">wreak</i>), Old Saxon <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"osx\">wrekan</i>, Old High German <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"goh\">rëhhan</i>, Gothic <i class=\"Goth mention\" lang=\"got\">𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽</i> (wrikan)"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *wrekaną (“to pursue”, whence Old English wrecan (English wreak), Old Saxon wrekan, Old High German rëhhan, Gothic 𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (wrikan))"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*wreg-",
        "t": "to track; to hunt; to follow"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *wreg- (“to track; to hunt; to follow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:wrek",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nOld Norse *vrek\nAnglo-Norman wrekbor.\nMiddle English wrek\nEnglish wreck"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*vrek",
      "Reconstruction:Old Norse/vrek"
    ],
    [
      "wrek",
      "wrek#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "wrek",
      "wrek#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wrek",
      "wrek#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wrek",
      "wrek#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "*wrek",
      "Reconstruction:Old Norse/wrek"
    ],
    [
      "rek",
      "rek#Norwegian"
    ],
    [
      "rek",
      "rek#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "vrak",
      "vrak#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "vrag",
      "vrag#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "*wrekaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wrekaną"
    ],
    [
      "wrecan",
      "wrecan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "wreak",
      "wreak#English"
    ],
    [
      "wrekan",
      "wrekan#Old_Saxon"
    ],
    [
      "rëhhan",
      "rehhan#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽",
      "𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "*wreg-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/wreg-"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Something or someone that has been ruined.",
        "The remains of something that has been severely damaged or worn down.",
        "An event in which something is damaged through collision.",
        "A shipwreck: an event in which a ship is heavily damaged or destroyed."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "specifically"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 222817
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To destroy violently; to cause severe damage to something, to a point where it no longer works, or is useless.",
        "To ruin or dilapidate.",
        "To plunder goods from wrecked ships.",
        "To dismantle wrecked vehicles or other objects, to reclaim any useful parts."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive",
        "obsolete",
        "Australia"
      ],
      "recordId": "9d61e33e664f6012da29a32ee01111ad628641d4e095929c43a2585eb3a0f102",
      "rawRecordSha256": "e07985d95164334482d9fff2fc5bef525d51316660452957dcbbc3990f15f12e",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 222818
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 4,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

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 wreck →

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-d3JlY2s