| 释义 |
▪ I. wreck, n.1|rɛk|
Forms: [1–3 wrec (1 werec, waerece, warec), 2 wrech, 3–4 wrek, 3 wreck-, 4 wreck,] 3, 5–6 wrek, 5–7 wrekke, wrecke, 6– wreck.
[a. AF. wrec, wrech, wrek (also werec, waerec, warec, whence F. varech, varec varec), a. ON. *wrec, *wrek (Norw. and Icel. rek n.), f. the stem of wrekan to drive: see wreak v., and cf. wrack n.2 The AF. word is also the source of med.L. wreccum, warectum. The ON. variant *wreke (Icel. reki) is represented in English by the obsolete wreke. Another French form appears in vraic.]
I.
1. Law. That which is cast ashore by the sea in tidal waters; esp. goods or cargo as thrown on land by the sea from a wrecked, stranded, or foundered vessel. Occas. wreck of the sea (med.L. wreccum maris, AF. wrec or wreck de mer), † wreck of the king (med.L. wrech regis). Cf. shipwreck n. 1, shipbreche.
[1077Wm. I in Chron. Abb. Ramsey (Rolls) 201 Bramcestre..cum omni maris ejectu quod nos wrec [v.r. waerec] nominamus. 1175–6Pipe Roll Hen. II (1904) 83 Quia accepit wrech regis. 1200K. John Charter to Dunwich in Rotuli Chart. (1837) 51/2 De ewagio de wrec et lagan et de omnibus aliis consuetudinibus. a1268Bracton De Leg. i. xii. (Rolls) I. 60 Item ubi non apparet dominus rei, sicut est de wrecco maris. 1292Britton I. 216 Par fraunchises de aver wrek de mer trové en soen soil. 1343in Rymer's Fœdera (Rolls) II. ii. 1225 Wreccum maris..tam de piscibus regalibus, quam de aliis rebus quibuscumque, ad terram ibidem projectis. 1600: see jetsam 1.]
1228in Mem. Ripon (Surtees) I. 52 Wrek, weyf, stray, merchet, lecherwyt, blodewyt. Ibid. 57 Wrek et weyf, stray. 1455Rolls of Parlt. V. 311/2 Wrecke of the Sea, Weyves, Estrayes. 1477Paston Lett. III. 211 Mastras Clere hath sen down hyr men, and with set alle the stuff and wrekke. 1482Rolls of Parlt. VI. 205/1 The same Duc shall have..Wrekke of the See, Tresour founde. 1570Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1576) 229 If a ship were cast on shoare..and were not repaired by suche as escaped on liue within a certaine time,..this was taken for Wreck. Ibid., If from thencefoorth any one thing (being within the vessell) arriued on liue, then the ship and goods should not be seised for wrecke. 1630Aldeburgh Rec. in N. & Q. May (1921) 427/2 Burying a man that came ashore when the Kings wreck came ashore. 1651tr. Kitchin's Courts Leet (1657) 24 The Kings Prerogative, chap. 11. the King shall have Wreck of the Sea throughout the whole Realm. 1666N. Riding Rec. VI. 101 A warrant against 11 Britton men for riotously taking a whale and other wrecke. 1728Chambers Cycl. (1738) s.v., Wreck, antiently, not only comprehended goods..from a perishing ship, but whatever else the sea cast upon land; whether it were precious stones, fishes,..or the like. 1765Blackstone Comm. I. 283 If any persons..take any goods so cast on shore, which are not legal wreck. 1768Ibid. III. 106 The court of the admiral [had]..no manner of cognizance..of any wreck of the sea: for that must be cast on land before it becomes a wreck. 1800Addison Amer. Law Rep. 63 Wreck, in its legal signification, is confined to such goods as, after shipwreck at sea, are by the sea cast upon the land. 1822Act 1–2 Geo. IV, c. 75 §26 That no..person who may be entitled..to Wreck of the Sea..shall be entitled to appropriate such Wreck or Goods..until he [etc.]. 1866Daily Tel. 3 Nov., The more scrupulous deliver up their spoil to the receiver of wreck. 1888J. Williams in Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 687/1 As wreck in the last resort became crown property, it was never subject to forfeiture. Ibid., Wreck was frequently granted to subjects as a franchise.
2. a. = wrack n.2 3, sea-wrack 2 a, varec 1. Latterly Sc. and north. dial.
Cf. tangle-wreck tangle n.1 3, sea-wreck s.v. sea-wrack.
1499Promp. Parv. (Pynson) s v b, Wrek of the see, alga, norga. 1500Ortus Vocab. B iij, Alga,..herba marina, i.e. illud quod mare projicit, wrekke or frothe of the see. 1634–5Brereton Trav. (Chetham Soc.) 97 The grass, weeds and wreck, brought by the sea..and left upon the sands. 1728Chambers Cycl. (1738) s.v., Wreck..in some places..is used to manure the ground. 1752in Scots Mag. (1753) July 335/2 He was then employed in gathering wreck. 1791Statist. Acc. Scotl. I. 113 The shores [of Ayrshire] abound with..rich sea-weed or wreck for manure. 1806Forsyth Beauties Scotl. III. 351 Sea-ware..driven upon the shore by the tides..is commonly called blown wreck. 1876in Cleveland Gloss. Suppl. 1894K. Hewat Little Scottish World vii. 112 The ‘Wreck Brethren’..annually..raised funds for their purposes and regulated the carting of the wreck.
b. = wrack n.2 3 b. Now dial.
c1440Promp. Parv. 533/2 Wrek, of a dyke, or a fenne, or stondynge watyr, ulva. 1742N. Riding Rec. VIII. 242 The Treasurer to pay {pstlg}1 for clearing away the wreck from How and Kirby Misperton Bridges. 1851Mayne Reid Scalp Hunt. II. 298 Our faces were concealed by the ‘wreck’ that covered the stones. 1877–86in Lincoln and Chesh. glossaries. 1884G. S. Streatfeild Lincoln. & Danes 376 Wreck, weeds and other rubbish floating down streams or on ditch water.
c. Sc. and dial. = wrack n.2 3 c.
1743R. Maxwell Sel. Trans. Soc. Improv. Agric. Scot. 11 Cause pull up and gather carefully the Wreck, or Roots of Weeds and Grass, into Heaps. 1787W. H. Marshall Norfolk II. 392 Wreck, dead undigested roots and stems of grasses and weeds in plowland. 1801Farmer's Mag. Jan. 59 A field..where dung was applied amid mountains of wreck, or couch grass.
3. a. A vessel broken, ruined, or totally disabled by being driven on rocks, cast ashore, or stranded; a wrecked or helpless ship; the ruins or hulk of such. Occas. also wreck of a ship.
[c1290Fleta i. xliv. (1647) 61 Item dicitur wreckum navis vel batellus fractus, de quibus nihil vivum evaserit.] a1500Chaucer's Man of Law's T. 415 Wks. (1532) 24 b, The constable of the castel downe is fare To seen this wrecke, & al the shyp he sought. 1611Cotgr., Vuaresque, a wrecke, or ship cast away. 1652Heylin Cosmogr. i. 67 Charybdis is a Gulf..which violently attracting all Vessells that come too nigh it, devoureth them, and casteth up their wrecks. 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 80 He shall restore whatever Wrecks may happen on his Coasts. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 189, I could plainly see..the Wreck of a Ship cast away in the Night. 1743Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 14 The Ship is a perfect Wreck. 1762Falconer Shipwr. iii. 669 Three..from the wreck on oars and rafts descend. 1805J. Turnbull Voy. World (1813) 391 The ship..struck upon a reef of rocks.., and shortly became a total wreck. 1812J. Wilson Isle of Palms i. 32 Fast the miserable Ship Becomes a lifeless wreck. 1865H. Kingsley Hillyars & Burtons lxxix, The wreck of a little coasting craft still lay about two hundred yards to sea.
fig. and in fig. context.1781Cowper Retirem. 386 To the fair haven of my native home, The wreck of what I was, fatigu'd, I come. 1796Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 350 Such is the person you come to see, or rather the wreck of what was never a first-rate vessel. 1883S. C. Hall Retrospect I. 322 All of manhood in him..had given way and left him a stranded wreck. 1885Tennyson Wreck 5 My life itself is a wreck,..I am flung from the rushing tide of the world as a waif of shame.
b. An unserviceable or crazy old vessel.
1896Westm. Gaz. 5 Dec. 5/1 There are too many of these old wrecks [= barges] on the river.
4. a. Law. A piece or article of wreckage; a fragment of a wrecked vessel or its cargo. Freq. pl.
1570in Boys Sandwich (1792) 775 Wrecks and fyndalls floating, and the half of all wrecks and fyndalls jottsome. 1577Holinshed Chron. II. 489/2 [Richard I] pardoned al wreckes by sea.., releasing for euer al his right to the same. 1579[Rastell] Termes Lawes 187 b, The Lorde shall haue that as a wreck of y⊇ sea. 1652Needham Selden's Mare Cl. i. xxv. (1663) 167 The Question is, whether the Goods bee..called Spoils or Wrecks. 1729Jacob Law Dict. s.v. Lagan, [If] these Goods..are cast away upon the Land, they are then a Wreck. Ibid. s.v., It was usual to seise and forfeit Wrecks to the King, only when no Owner could be found. 1768[see 1].
b. Without article. = wreckage 2.
1744Gentl. Mag. 616/2 Several chests, broken masts, and other pieces of wreck floating in the sea. 1796C. Smith Narr. Loss Transports 34 The Chissel-bank..was strewn..with pieces of wreck, and piles of plundered goods. 1815Ann. Reg., Chron. 42 Six men reached the shore..upon planks, being much bruised by the surf and wreck. 1833Redding Shipwrecks I. 194 All the crew believed the ship was crushed to pieces, but no wreck floated up. 1865Swinburne Felise 80 [Such things] As the sea feeds on, wreck and stray and castaway.
5. A drifted or tossed-up mass; a large heap; a great quantity; an abundance. Now north. dial.
1612Drayton Poly-olb. ii. 34 Where Chesill lifts Her ridged snake-like sands, in wrecks and smouldring drifts. 1683G. M[eriton] Yorks. Dial. 15 There's sike a wreck, it [sc. corn] liggs all down o'th Land. 1846Brockett N.C. Words (ed. 3), Wreck, a great quantity..as a confused heap. 1876Whitby Gloss. 224/1, I saw wrecks on 't.
6. a. That which remains of something that has suffered ruin, demolishment, waste, etc.; the dilapidated, disorganized, or disordered residue or remainder of anything. Also (a) with a and pl.
(a)1713Addison Cato v. i, But thou shalt flourish..Unhurt amidst..The Wrecks of Matter, and the Crush of Worlds. 1756M. Calderwood in Coltness Collect. (Maitl. Cl.) 250 His friends..got him, out of the wrecks of his estate, betwixt L. 30 or L. 40 per annum. 1780Westm. Mag. 371 He continued obstinate and mad, going..over the wrecks of the house. 1821Shelley Epipsych. 493 An envy of the isles, a pleasure-house.., It scarce seems now a wreck of human art. 1888Bryce Amer. Commw. II. lv. 335 The Republican party was formed..out of the wrecks of the Whig party.
(b)1743R. Blair Grave 30 Names once famed, now dubious or forgot, And buried 'midst the wreck of things which were. 1751Smollett Per. Pic. ix, From the wreck of the hammock [she] made an occasional bed for herself on the floor. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxviii, Assisted with suggestions which they had since executed with the wreck of their fortunes. 1804W. L. Bowles Spir. Discov. iii. 46 My destined voyage, by the shores Of Asia, and the wreck of cities old. 1840Arnold Hist. Rome II. xxxi. 255 There he was joined by the wreck of the consul's army. 1854R. S. Surtees Handley Cr. lxxvi, As Mamma surveyed the wreck of luncheon.
transf. and fig.1791Burns Song of Death iii, Thou strik'st the dull peasant—he sinks in the dark, Nor saves e'en the wreck of a name. 1813Shelley Q. Mab v. 109 He sheds A passing tear perchance upon the wreck Of earthly peace.
b. The broken-down, debilitated, or emaciated form of a person. (Cf. 7 b.)
1820W. Irving Sketch Bk. I. 225 It was, indeed, the wreck of her once noble lad. 1836Lytton Duchess de La Vallière v. iii, These wrecks of man Worn to decay. 1893F. C. Selous Trav. S.E. Africa 62 All the Portuguese here were mere wrecks of men—frail, yellow, and fever-stricken.
7. a. That which is in a state of ruin; anything that is broken down or has undergone wrecking, shattering, or dilapidation.
1814Southey Roderick xvi. 62 Amid heaps Of mountain wreck, on either side thrown high,..The tortuous channel wound. 1816Scott Antiq. iii, This wreck of ancient books and utensils. 1842Macaulay Horatius lv, Like a dam, the mighty wreck [sc. of a bridge] Lay right athwart the stream. 1855Kingsley Westw. Ho! xx, Alas! a crack, a flap, a rattle,..and all forward was a mass of dangling wreck. 1889Mrs. E. Kennard Landing a Prize i. (1891) 4 What was left of the wreck had to be given up to creditors.
fig.1849Robertson Serm. Ser. i. viii. (1866) 145 The life-hopes have become a wreck.
b. A person of undermined, shattered, or ruined constitution; one who is debilitated by ill-health, hardship, etc. (Cf. 6 b.)
1795–6Wordsw. Borderers i. 336 Osw. But how fare you? Her. Well as the wreck I am permits. 1828Lytton Pelham I. xxxi, ‘Yes,’ continued the venerable wreck, after a short pause. 1857Mrs. Carlyle Lett. (1883) II. 335 It is easy to see you have suffered! an entire wreck, like myself. 1899E. W. Hornung Dead Men xii, I was slowly dying of insomnia. I was a nervous wreck. 1901W. R. H. Trowbridge Lett. of her Mother to Eliz. xxxi. 154, I think I am in for influenza. I feel a perfect wreck.
8. [By misapprehension.] = wrack n.1 5 b.
1787–9Wordsw. Evening Walk 306 No wreck of all the pageantry remains. 1813Shelley Q. Mab ix. 130 These ruins soon left not a wreck behind. 1835I. Taylor Spir. Despot. v. 185 Other systems have..been swept away, leaving hardly a wreck behind.
II.
9. a. The disabling or destruction of a vessel by any disaster or accident of navigation; loss of a ship by striking on a rock, stranding, or foundering; an instance of this; = shipwreck n. 2. to make wreck: cf. make v.1 64.
1463–4Rolls of Parlt. V. 507/1 Yf eny of the forseid Wares or Chaffares..come into this Reame or Wales by wey of wrek. 1477Paston Lett. III. 211 There is a grete chyppe go to wrekke be for Wynterton. 1568Grafton Chron. I. 4 This Arke..by diuine prouidence..was gouerned from running to wreck. 1577Holinshed Chron. II. 490/1 That euery person makyng wrecke by sea, and comming aliue to lande, shoulde haue all his goodes free. 1590Spenser F.Q. ii. x. 6 Learning his ship from those white rocks to saue,..Threatning vnheedie wrecke and rash decay. 1607Cowell Interpr. s.v. Flotsen, Jetson is a thing cast out of the shippe being in danger of wrecke. 1672Dryden 2nd Pt. Conq. Granada iii. 107 As Seamen, parting in a gen'ral wreck, When first the loosening planks begin to crack, Each catches one. 1749Gentl. Mag. 396/1 The ill behaviour of his crew, and the bad condition of the ship occasioned its wreck. 1795Burns O Mally's meek iii, Her two eyes..Would keep a sinking ship frae wreck. 1809R. Warner Tour Cornwall 158 A range of rocks, the terrible scene of many a disastrous wreck. 1845C. Wilkes Narr. U.S. Explor. Exped. II. 91 In leaving the harbour we had a narrow escape from wreck. 1888F. Hume Mme. Midas i. Prol., We are..shipwrecked sailors; and I will tell the story of the wreck.
fig. and in fig. context.1564W. Bullein Dial. agst. Pest (1888) 93 The ship of fooles..wanteth a good Pilot, the storme, the rocke, and the wrecke at hand. 1770Cowper Let. 25 Sept., The storm of sixty-three made a wreck of the friendships I had contracted.
b. Stock Exchange. (See first quot.)
1876‘E. Pinto’ Ye outside Fools! 360 A Corner, Pool, Clique, Ring are all terms equivalent to a Rig or Wreck. Ibid. 408 The seductive interest of Rigs and Wrecks.
c. N. Amer. A road or railway accident.
1912J. Sandilands Western Canad. Dict. & Phrase-Bk., Wreck, the word to apply to a railway accident; or, more correctly, train wreck. 1974Evening Herald (Rock Hill, S. Carolina) 19 Apr. 11/4 In spite of the reduction in accidents, the sergeant said, ‘We still have too many wrecks.’ 1979N. Mailer Executioner's Song (1980) i. xviii. 304 On the drive back to Springville, she was dreaming away and got in a wreck. Nobody was hurt but the car.
d. The death of a large number of pelagic birds, usually as the result of a storm.
1936Brit. Birds XXIX. 327 In January, 1915, there was a great oil ‘wreck’ of Scoters. 1971New Scientist 8 Apr. 69/1 There have been similar wrecks in the past, and the report mentions 11 for guillemots and the auks in the last century.
10. a. The action of subverting or overthrowing an established order of things, etc.; the fact of being brought to disaster; downfall, overthrow, ruin.
1577Hanmer Anc. Eccl. Hist. 494 He came into Mesopotamia, not without plaine daunger and wrecke to the state. 1594Spenser Amoretti xxv, Then all the woes and wrecks which I abide, as meanes of blisse I gladly wil embrace. 1608Great Frost ad fin., Being..thus round beset with the horrors of so present a wreck, he fell down on his knees. 1763J. Brown Poetry & Music v. 78 The most celebrated bards of ancient Greece, whose songs have perished in the wreck of time. 1775Sheridan Rivals iii. iii, Proud of calamity, we will enjoy the wreck of wealth. 1838Prescott Ferd. & Is. Introd. (1846) I. 23 The wreck of their ancient liberties. 1839Talfourd Glencoe i. i, You come To share the wreck of the Macdonalds. 1885J. Payn Talk of Town I. 182 It was not that she feared to risk the wreck of her own happiness.
fig.1793Burns ‘Where are the joys’ iv, A' that has caused this wreck in my bosom, Is Jenny.
b. The action of wrecking or breaking apart; the fact of being materially wrecked or ruined; destruction or demolition.
1711Addison Spect. No. 166 ⁋2 Books, which..may last as long as the Sun and Moon, and perish only in the general Wreck of Nature. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) I. 25 The manner in which he relieves the earth from this universal wreck. 1839Murchison Silur. Syst. i. xxix. 376 In accounting for these extraordinary accumulations of broken coal we may undoubtedly refer their origin to the wreck of the regular seams. 1864Lowell Fireside Trav. 31 Dealing thunderous wreck to the two hostile vessels. 1886J. Barrowman Sc. Mining Terms 73 Wreck, a break-down, as in a shaft or on an incline.
c. In the phr. to go to wreck (and ruin).
a1547Surrey æneid ii. 542 Our fained shields and wepons then they found, And..our discording voice they knew. We went to wreck, with nomber ouerlayd. 1548Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Mark v. 11–17 The flocke goeth to wrecke and vtterly perisheth. 1600Holland Livy 676 All things els about him went to wreck. 1721De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 65, I saw our men go to wreck. 1789Burns Elegy on Year 1788 4 A Towmont, sirs, is gane to wreck! 1834De Quincey Autob. Sk. Wks. 1858 I. 126 To wreck goes every notion or feeling that divides..the brave man from the brave. 1877Black Green Past. i, The whole estate is going to wreck and ruin. 1883Stevenson Treas. Isl. xxviii, Here you are in a bad way: ship lost,..your whole business gone to wreck.
ellipt.1782Burns ‘No Churchman am I’ v, A letter inform'd me that all was to wreck.
III. 11. a. attrib. and Comb., as wreck buoy, wreck case, wreck chart, wreck flag; objective and instrumental, as wreck-finder, wreck raiser, wreck-seeker; † wreck-fishing, wreck-raising, wreck-threatening; also wreck-devoted, wreck-strewn.
1874Bedford Sailor's Pocket-bk. v. 109 *Wreck buoys are painted green.
1892Marsden Sel. Pleas p. lxiv, In 1377 a *wreck case was tried before justices.
1862Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. No. 2747, Large *wreck chart of the British Isles for 1861.
1819Shelley Cenci v. iv. 42 A *wreck-devoted seaman thus might pray To the deaf sea.
1902Daily Chron. 29 Oct. 7/1 (citing N.Y. Tribune), The wreck of a coal barge was first located... Two boats, termed ‘*wreck-finders’, then..by means of derricks or suction pumps raise the coal to the surface.
1674Temple Let. Wks. 1720 II. 310 This Invention of *Wreck-fishing [by Sir Edmund Curtis], for the Recovery of His Majesty's Tin, cast away before Ostend.
1897Daily News 15 Sept. 8/4 The Thames Conservancy have hoisted their green ‘*wreck flag’, warning all craft to steer clear of the debris.
1881Instr. Census Clerks (1885) 36 Wharfinger, Wharf Agent,..*Wreck Raiser.
1898Westm. Gaz. 14 July 5/2 The *wreck-raising vessels that are to make an attempt to save some of Admiral Cervera's unfortunate squadron.
1843Marryat M. Violet xxviii, The unconscientious *wreck-seeker of a captain.
1821Shelley The Fugitives 21 The Earth is like Ocean, *Wreck-strewn and in motion.
1757Dyer Fleece iv. 620 Inaccessible *Wreck-threatening Staten Land's o'erhanging shore.
b. Attrib. in names of persons having, or appointed to take, charge of wreck or wreckage, as wreck commissioner, -master.
1846Worcester (citing Lee), Wreck-Master, a master of a wreck. a1868in Grant Rep. Wrecking Bahamas 77 The first-licensed wreck-master boarding a vessel wrecked, stranded, or in distress..shall..become the master of all wreckers employed on such vessel, and shall be styled the ‘*wreck-master’. 1876Act 39–40 Vict. c. 80 §29 It shall be the duty of a wreck commissioner..to hold any formal investigation into a loss. 1891Cent. Dict. s.v., Receivers of wrecks (in Great Britain), wreck-masters (in New York and Texas), officers whose duty [etc.]. 1898Engineering Mag. XVI. 70 Instructions for the handling of explosives..should be placed in the hands of the railroad staff, including wreckmasters.
c. Special Combs., as wreck-fish, the stone-bass; † wreck-goods Sc., goods cast ashore from a wreck; † wreck-make, poet. that which causes wrecks; wreck-ware Sc., -weed, = sense 2; wreck-wood, wood washed up or ashore from a wreck; also attrib.; wreck-works, salvage-works for raising a wreck or wrecks.
1880Day Fishes Gt. Brit. I. 18 This fish..is called in Devonshire, *Wreck fish, because it follows floating timbers. 1883Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 270 Special Line, furnished with all accessories, used in fishing for Stone Bass or Wreck-fish.
1693Stair Instit. (ed. 2) Alph. Index K 2, *Wreck-goods..become Escheat as Publick. 1765–8Erskine Inst. Law Scot. ii. i. §13 Wreck-goods..were not claimed as escheat, but secured for the owners.
1582Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 88 And Caulons castels we doe spy, with Scylla the *wreckmake.
1865Way Promp. Parv. 533 note, On the coasts of Scotland sea-weed is called ‘*wreck-ware’.
1821Scott Pirate x, One whom the sea flung forth as *wreck-weed.
Ibid. v, The *wreck-wood that the callants brought in yesterday. 1843Times 25 July 3/2 The mast is still standing, and very little wreck-wood has driven from her. 1895Quiller Couch Wandering Heath 5 The rain drove..aslant like threads of gold silk in the shine of the wreckwood fire.
1903E. Childers Riddle of Sands xx, The *wreck-works were evidently what they purported to be.
▪ II. † wreck, n.2 Sc. Obs.
[var. of wrack n.3, after prec.]
‘Pelf’; ‘dross’; = wrack n.3 1 b.
1562Winȝet Cert. Tractatis Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 8 Hauand regarde to the wrek of this warld or lustis of thair bodyis. a1568Blyth in Bannatyne MS. (Hunt. Club) 321/11 Ane wreche sall haif no mair, Bot ane schort scheit at heid and feit, For all his wrek and wair.
▪ III. † wreck, n.3 Obs. rare.
[Alteration of wreak n.: cf. wreck v.2]
Vengeance; revenge.
1591Legh's Armory 96 b, His irefull heart straight braided out wrothfull wordes of wrecke [1562 wreke] and reuenge. 1596Spenser F.Q. iv. vi. 16 Ah cruell hand, and..hart That workst such wrecke on her.
▪ IV. wreck
obs. erron. var. rack n.1 3.
1707E. Smith Phædra & Hipp. iii. 30 Why did you raise me to the heighth of Joy, Above the wreck of Clouds and Storms below?
▪ V. wreck
var. reck n.2 (= rack n.2 5 d).
1674Ray Coll. Words, Smelting Tin 122 The head tin passes to the wreck, where they work it with a wooden rake in Vessels. 1800M. Edgeworth Lame Jervas ii, I had new models made of the sieves for lueing, the box and trough, the buddle, wreck, and tool.
▪ VI. wreck, v.1|rɛk|
Also 5–6 wrek-.
[f. wreck n.1 Cf. med.L. wrecare (12th cent.).
In various senses common only in passive use.]
†1. trans. To cast on shore. Obs.
c1420Sir Amadas (W.) 475 Folke fordryvon in the schores,..Brone stedes,..All maner of ryches,..Wrekkyd with the water lay. [= xliv. (Camden), He fond wrekun a-mung the stones Knyȝtes in meneuere.] a1440Sir Eglam. 894 He say that lady whyte as flowre, Was wrekyd on the sonde. a1509in Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. Var. Coll. (1907) IV. 87 [Seizing them] as goodes wrekked, which neither can ne may soo bee taken as long as the veray owners thereof be certainly knowen. 1596Spenser F.Q. v. iv. 5 A Coffer strong,..seeming to haue suffred mickle wrong by being wreckt vppon the sands. 1729Jacob Law Dict. s.v., If Goods wreck'd are seised by Persons having no Authority. 1821Act 1–2 Geo. IV, c. 75 §26 That Part of the Coast where the same [goods] shall have been stranded, wrecked or found.
2. To cause the wreck of (a vessel); to wreck (a ship); = shipwreck v. 1 b. Chiefly pass. Also fig. and in fig. context.
1570Lambarde Peramb. Kent. (1576) 228 A shippe laden with the Kings owne goods was wrecked within the precinct of this libertie. 1590Spenser F.Q. ii. xii. 7 The ribs of vessels broke, And shiuered ships, which had bene wrecked late. 1732Gentl. Mag. 976 A great Number of Ships were wrecked..by stormy Weather. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VI. 395 Brought into the European seas, in some India ship that might be wrecked upon her return. 1845J. C. Mangan German Anthol. II. 100 The shallop of my peace is wrecked on Beauty's shore. 1846A. Marsh Father Darcy II. ii. 60 So bravely as we have struggled against the overwhelming waters! The vessel is finally wrecked! 1865H. Kingsley Hillyars & Burtons lxxvii, If the Wainoora has sailed,..she is wrecked somewhere on the coast.
refl.1864Tennyson Aylmer's F. 716 This frail bark of ours, when sorely tried, May wreck itself without the pilot's guilt.
b. To make or cause (a person) to suffer or undergo shipwreck; to involve in wreck; also, to cause the loss of (goods or cargo) by shipwreck; = shipwreck v. 1. Chiefly pass.
1617Moryson Itin. ii. 8 The..Spaniards, last yeere wrecked on the Coasts of Connaght.., had left..great store of treasure. 1796C. Smith Narr. Loss Transports 14 A young Gentleman,..wrecked himself, and wandering along the unhospitable shore. 1836Marryat Midsh. Easy xx, We were wrecked in our boat last night. 1877Tennyson Harold ii. i, Thy villains with their lying lights have wreck'd us! 1903S. E. White Forest vii, A big roller rips along your gunwale [of a canoe]. You are wrecked.
fig.1821Shelley Epipsych. 148 The rocks on which high hearts are wrecked. 1845Bailey Festus (ed. 2) 323 Bound to earth, Wrecked in the deeps of Heaven, in Death's expiring birth! 1880W. H. D. Adams Wrecked Lives Ser. i. p. vi, If he would not wreck his life amid the rocks and quicksands of worldly lusts.
absol.1881H. D. Rawnsley Sonn. Eng. Lakes 115 So may it be when storms my life shall strand On treacherous shoal,..May..waves that wrecked reach out a pitying hand To gulf my sorrow.
c. transf. (See quot.)
1617Moryson Itin. iii. 144 There be some quicksands, wherein footemen are in danger to be wrecked.
3. To cause or bring about the ruin or destruction of (a structure, etc.) as by violence or misuse; to reduce to a ruinous condition in this way; to shatter, ruin, destroy.
1510in Leadam Star Chamber Cases (Selden) II. 70 [He] maketh Fysch garthes & weeres..by reason wherof the seid porte is so wrekked & shallowed, that [etc.]. 1594Spenser Amoretti lvi, That tree..am I, whom ye do wreck, do ruine, and destroy. 1821Shelley Epipsych. 370 Thou too, O Comet.., Who drew the heart of this frail Universe Towards thine own; till, wrecked in that convulsion,..Thine went astray. 1865Pall Mall G. 14 July 9/2 The mob..commenced ‘wrecking’ Conservative houses, stoning one sick old gentleman as he lay in his bed. 1878Browning La Saisiaz 34 The everyway external stream..leaves it [sc. a rush]..wrecked at last. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 123 The joint is found to be completely wrecked.
transf.1878Browning Poets Croisic xli, How now? My Duke's crown wrecked?
b. To cause or bring about the subversion or overthrow of (some condition or order of things); to shatter, ruin.
1749Smollett Regicide i. vi, O recal Those flatt'ring arts thy own deceit employ'd To wreck my peace! 1791Burns Fair Eliza ii, Can'st thou wreck his peace for ever? 1826in Sheridaniana 334 Their want of tact and judgment has wrecked the party. 1858Carlyle Fredk. Gt. vii. iv, Do not wreck, upon trifles, a noble interest we have in common. 1883Sir C. S. C. Bowen in Law Times Rep. XLIX. 251/2 We hear of abuse of different kinds of process..which amounts to wrecking credit. 1884St. James's Gaz. 11 Jan. 6/1 His Administration was very nearly wrecked at the outset.
c. To frustrate or thwart; to prevent the passing of (a measure, etc.).
1855Motley Dutch Rep. v. v, Every fresh attempt at an amicable compromise was wrecked upon the obstinate bigotry of the leading civic authorities. 1901Scotsman 28 Feb. 7/2 The measure will, it is pretty certain, be wrecked before it gets out of committee.
4. To bring (a person) to ruin or disaster; to subvert, ruin. Also refl.
1590Spenser F.Q. iii. ix. 4 All his mind is set on mucky pelfe, To hoord vp heapes of evill gotten masse, For which he others wrongs, and wreckes himselfe. 1594[see 3]. 1644Raleigh's Remains 48 If he resolve..to wreck him, and to have his life. 1732Pope Ess. Man i. 254 Let ruling Angels from their spheres be hurl'd, Being on Being wreck'd, and world on world. 1782Wolcot (P. Pindar) Ode R.A.'s iii. Wks. 1812 I. 20 Despising Pride, whose wish it is to wreck 'em.
b. To shatter (a person's health, constitution, or nerves) by sickness, hardship, or the like; to destroy the quality or tone of. Usu. in pass.
1850Robertson Serm. Ser. iii. (1857) 125 The drunkard..discovers that he is unexpectedly degraded, his health wrecked. 1897Kipling Capt. Cour. 213, I wonder your nervous system isn't completely wrecked.
5. intr.
a. To suffer or undergo shipwreck; = shipwreck v. 2. Also fig. and in fig. context.
1671Milton P.R. ii. 228 Honour, glory, and popular praise; Rocks whereon greatest men have oftest wreck'd. 1671― Samson 1044 What Pilot so expert but needs must wreck Embarqu'd with such a Stears-mate at the Helm? 1729Berkeley Lett. Wks. 1871 IV. 161 My letters were in one of the vessels that wreck'd. 1860C. Clive Why Paul Ferroll iv, With all her early impressions wrecking around her, she did not know to what to cling. 1864Lowell Fireside Trav. 172 The montagna bruna on which Ulysses wrecked. 1884Tennyson Becket ii. ii, Holy Church May rock, but will not wreck, nor our Archbishop Stagger on the slope decks for any rough sea.
b. To break down in health.
1876R. Bridges Growth of Love xiv, What is this wreck of all he hath in fief, When he that hath is wrecking?
6. a. To cause damage by washing up.
1634Rotherham (Yorks.) Feoffees Accounts (MS.), P[ai]d to Tho. Sandall..for paveing at the bridge where the water had wreckt up.
b. To silt up, as with tide-driven sand, etc.
1786in Trans. Soc. Arts (1789) VII. 56 By a gradual, continual loss of out-fall amongst the sands, and by the sluice on the marsh and other parts wrecking up.
7. To seize or collect wreck or wreckage; to search for wreck. Also transf.
1843Times 28 Mar. 7/1 The news of the wreck spread rapidly.., and in the evening a large mob assembled with a view of ‘wrecking’. 1897Westm. Gaz. 2 Oct. 3/1 [Your job,] perhaps, is to go ‘wrecking’ for firewood. Down upon the rocks the friendly tide casts many a spar and log.
▪ VII. † wreck, v.2 Obs.|rɛk|
Also 6–7 wrecke, 6–7, 9 reck, 7 recke.
[Late variant of wreak v.; the exact reason for the shortening of the vowel is not clear, but cf. dial. breck for break v.]
1. trans. = wreak v. 5, 5 b. Chiefly refl.
1570Levins Manip. 54 To Wreck, vindicare. 1583Babington Commandm. (1590) 331 Any larger commission granted to vs to wreck our selues vpon our brethren. 1612T. Taylor Comm. Titus i. 10 The minde and intention of the Apostle here..was not..to wrecke himselfe vpon them. 1622P. Hannay Philomela lxxxiv, The world shall know I was not slow To wreck a wronged maid. 1670Milton Hist. Eng. vi. Wks. 1851 V. 242 They wreck'd themselves on the Countries roundabout, wasting..all Essex, Kent, and Sussex.
2. = wreak v. 3.
1658Whole Duty Man xv. §31 It is a kind desire of his amendment (and not a willingness to wreck his own rage) which [etc.]. 1672Marvell Reh. Transp. i. 11 Being ready at once to asswage his Concupiscence, and wreck his Malice. 1681Character Ill-Court-Favourite 5 These Insufferable Grandees, who reck their Private Spleens.
b. With preps., as on, upon, against (a person, etc.); = wreak v. 3 b. Also with out.
1577Grange Golden Aphrod., etc. Q ij b, She sought on me to wrecke hir spight. 1583Greene Mamillia ii. Wks. (Grosart) II. 151 With what greater plague..can..the vniust gods..wreck their wrath and extreme rigour vppon any man. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 25 That malice..which he could not there so easily wrecke on their Creator. 1649Milton Eikon. xxvi, To wreck his spleen, or ease his mind upon the Parlament. 1702Rowe Tamerl. iv. i, Give him Pow'r to wreck his Hatred Upon his greatest Foe? 1712Addison Spect. No. 439 ⁋3 [They] often wreck their particular Spite or Malice against the person whom they are set to watch. 1777Watson Philip II, I. 191 The king..was determined to wreck his resentment on all concerned. 1793R. Gray Poems 25 Some in the fray wreckt out his spleen On some sly pate or sawney.
3. = wreak v. 6, 7.
1593Marlowe Edw. II, iv. iv, For the open wronges and iniuries Edward hath done to vs,..We come in armes to wrecke it with the swords. 1596Spenser F.Q. v. iv. 24 He Talus sent To wrecke on them their follies hardyment. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 11 Satan..came down..To wrecke on innocent frail man his loss Of that first Battel.
4. = wreak v. 8.
1764Goldsm. Hist. Eng. in Lett. (1772) II. 231 There was no object on whom to wreck their vengeance. a1790Henry Britain (1793) VI. 419 They not only wrecked their vengeance on the living, but on the ashes of dead heretics.
▪ VIII. wreck
obs. erron. var. rack v.3 2 c.
1776G. Semple Building in Water 101 Splicing the long Sides of the Belts, so as they may not wreck in dropping them down. [Cf. wrecking.]
▪ IX. wreck
obs. erron. form of reck v. |