wrongn.1
/rɒŋ/, U.S. /rɔŋ/, /rɑŋ/ Now dialect.† 1. A rib of a ship or other vessel; also, a floor-timber of a ship. (Cf. rung n. 4) Obsolete.The sense of the Old English instances is not clear.1295 Accts. Exchequer King's Remembrancer 5/8 m. 3 Et xv.d. in .j. Wrange empt'... Et .v.s. j.d. in .v. Wranges emptis.1296 Accts. Exchequer King's Remembrancer 5/20 m. 1 dorso, In .lx. arboribus emptis de Priore de Tynemue..ad Wrangas faciendas in Galea, xxv.s.1336 Accts. Exchequer King's Remembrancer 19/31 m. 6 In xl. lignis emptis in grosso pro Wronges faciendis, xv.s.1352 Excheq. Acc. Q.R. 20/27 (P.R.O.) Pro fotynges et wrongs inde confectis in nave predicta.1407 Accts. Exchequer King's Remembrancer 44/11 (1) m. 6 In xxiiij. Wronges..infra paruam batellam expenditis.c1435 Accts. Exchequer King's Remembrancer 53/3 m. 9 Pro lx peciis maeremii..pro Wrangys..dicte balingere Regis inde faciendis.1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid v. xii. 164 Thai..gan to forge newlie wrayngis and airis.1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid ix. ii. 98 Vpblesis ourloft, hechis, wrangis, and how.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > [noun] > timbers of hull > rib
wrongc1000
wrangel1355
rib1378
foot stock1598
coast1631
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > [noun] > timbers of hull > floor timber(s)
wrongc1000
runga1625
ground-timbers1627
cross-piece1706
c1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 201 Cauernamen, wrong.
c1100 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 182 Nomina nauium, et instrumenta earum:..cauernamen, wranga.
2. A large crooked branch or bough of a tree, esp. one cut off and lopped for timber. Latterly dialect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > part of tree or woody plant > [noun] > bough or branch > crooked branch(es)
wrong1764
cramble1788
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood in specific form > [noun] > piece in other specific form
dwang1497
cap1688
wrong1764
flitch1823
1764 Ann. Reg., Chron. 88 An oak..which..contained 13 loads 35 feet of timber, 5 loads of wrongs (pieces not less than six inches girt) [etc.].
1787 W. Marshall Provincialisms in Rural Econ. Norfolk II. 392 Wrongs, crooked arms,..of trees.
1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words 498 The wrongs of oaks..are as valuable nearly as the body or right up timber.
a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Wrong, a crooked bough.
Compounds
C1. attributive (in sense 1), as †wrong-nail, †wrong-rope.
ΚΠ
1296 Accts. Exchequer King's Remembrancer 5/20 m. 3 dorso M. C. clauis s[c]ilicet Wrangnayl emptis, iij.d.
1337–9 in B. Sandahl Middle Eng. Sea Terms (1951) I. 172 Pro M.M.CCC. wrongnaill' emptis pro reparacione nauis.
c1340 in N. H. Nicolas Hist. Royal Navy (1847) II. 477 [Two ropes called] wrangropes, ijs.
1356 in Pipe Roll 32 Edward III m. 33/1 ij. wrangeropes..et .xxj. basteropes.
C2. † wrong-head n. Obsolete = rung-head n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > [noun] > timbers of hull > floor timber(s) > end of
rung-heada1625
wrong-head1633
1633 High Court of Admiralty Exam. 50 (MS.) 6 Nov. She was sheathed from her bende to the wrong head.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
wrongn.2
/rɒŋ/, U.S. /rɔŋ/, /rɑŋ/ I. Action or conduct which is not just or lawful, and related uses.† 4.
1. Personif.1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. i. 61 A wiht þat wrong is i-hote, Fader of Falsness.c1460 Wisdom 728 in Macro Plays 59 Let se fyrst, Wronge & Sleyght! Dobullnes & Falsnes, schew yowur myght!1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades ix. 166 But Wrong a mightie monster is.a1586 Sir P. Sidney Sonn. in Wks. (1922) II. 321 For Love is dead: Sir wrong his tombe ordaineth.a1849 J. C. Mangan Coll. Wks.: Poems (1997) III. 416 It foretold fair Freedom's triumph, and the doom of Wrong!† b. The fact or position of being in the wrong (cf. sense 8a). Chiefly in the phrase to have wrong (cf. French avoir tort). Obsolete.
a. That which is morally unjust, unfair, amiss, or improper; the opposite of right or justice; the negation of equity, goodness, or rectitude. (Frequently contrasted with right.)
ΘΠ
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > [noun]
unrightnessOE
unrightOE
wronga1100
un-i-rightc1275
injustice1390
unreasonc1390
wrongfulnessa1400
unskilfulnessc1410
unjustnessc1443
unjusticea1475
disreason1480
unreasonablenessc1515
non-reason1597
wrongness1833
unconscionability1908
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > [noun] > that which is
wronga1100
the wrongc1330
a1100 Wulfstan's Hom. xlii. 203 Þa unrihtdeman, ðe..wendaþ wrang to rihte and riht to wrange.
c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 193 Talewise men þe..maken wrong to rihte, and riht to wronge.
a1250 Owl & Nightingale 877 If riht goþ forþ & a back wrong.
1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 4381 For wrong ne lefte he nyȝt ne day.
c1430 Chev. Assigne 245 I wolle..fyȝte for þe qwene with whome þat wronge seythe.
1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 177 Degradyt syne wes he Off honour..Quhether it wes throuch wrang or rycht, God wat it.
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Wolf & Lamb l. 2694 in Poems (1981) 100 Quhair wrang and reif suld duell in propertie.
a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 65 They put no difference betuix wrang and right.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. iv. sig. Q8v For to maister wrong and puissant pride. View more context for this quotation
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. iii. 116 Right and wrong, (Betweene whose endlesse iarre Iustice recides). View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 666 One.., eminent In wise deport, spake much of Right and Wrong . View more context for this quotation
1737 Gentleman's Mag. Mar. 131/1 You must acknowledge a Distinction betwixt Right and Wrong, founded in Nature,..by which Actions may be call'd just or unjust.
1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 220 Without the means of knowing right from wrong.
1809–10 S. T. Coleridge Friend (1865) 72 The abandonment of all principle of right enables the soul to choose and act upon a principle of wrong.
1878 R. Browning La Saisiaz 35 Why are right and wrong at strife?
ΘΠ
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > [noun] > fact of being in the wrong
wronga1300
a1300 in Map's Poems (Camden) 335 Ic seyȝe, gas[t], thouȝ hast wrong..Al þe wyt on me to leye.
c1369 G. Chaucer Bk. Duchesse 1282 Whan I had wrong and she ryght She wolde..For-yeve me.
1420–2 J. Lydgate Story of Thebes ii. 1811 But he hadde wronge, Which thoght..the ȝeer was wonder longe Of his Exil.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope xii I..thanke yow gretely. For ryght ye haue and I grete wronge.
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xv. 277 But let Aristotle alone, (for he hath wrong).
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 121 Sche wil be in wrang to her housband, gif that he knaweng, sche offend.
1604 T. Wright Passions of Minde (1620) 117 Whether you have right or wrong, I knowe you must have the last word.
c. Deviation from fact, accuracy, or correct standard; incorrectness, error.
ΘΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > [noun]
falseness1303
falselekea1350
untrothc1386
falsehooda1400
untruth1439
mensongec1450
fallax1530
falsity1579
fallacy1590
impropriety1611
improperness1612
wrongc1620
fallaciousness1644
fallacity1648
untrueness1652
unsubstantiality1838
unsubstantialness1860
incorrectitude1898
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > inaccuracy, inexactness > [noun]
wrongc1620
obliquity1646
untrueness1652
unaccurateness1659
inaccuracy1671
unexactness1677
unaccuracy1702
wrongness1726
looseness1769
inexactitude1786
imprecision1803
inexactness1828
impreciseness1907
c1620 A. Hume Of Orthogr. Britan Tongue (1870) Ded. 2 To command..the schooles to teach the future age right and wrang.
1796 E. Burke Two Lett. Peace Regicide Directory France ii. 171 Whether..there was some mixture of right and wrong in their reasoning.
2. † d. to have (…) wrong, to suffer injustice, prejudice, or harm; to receive injury. Obsolete.
a. Unjust action or conduct; evil or damage inflicted or received; unfair or inequitable treatment of another or others; injustice, unfairness.
Π
α. a1200 [see β. ].
β. a1200 Moral Ode (Lamb. MS.) 168 Ne scal him [sc. God] na mon mene þer of strengþe ne of wronge [Egerton MS. wrange].c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 72 To wronge micht him no man bringe, Ne for siluer, ne for gold.a1350 in K. Böddeker Altengl. Dichtungen (1878) 199 Iesu, for loue þou þoledest wrong.1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. i. 117 Alle þat wrong worchen, wende þei schulen After heore deþ-day [etc.].a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 15922 Ȝe bere me wrong on honde.c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 534 Wronge, a-ȝen truthe and ryghtewysnesse,..injuria.c1510 Gest Robyn Hode xciv, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1888) III. v. 61 The hye iustyce and many mo Had take in to theyr honde Holy all the knyghtes det, To put that knyght to wronge.1526 W. Bonde Rosary sig. Biiiv The false accusacion and testimonyes of the iewes was so euydent and playne wronge.1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. ii. sig. O2v Ne ought he car'd, whom he endamaged By tortious wrong.1611 Bible (King James) Job xix. 7 Behold, I cry out of wrong [margin. or, violence], but I am not heard. View more context for this quotation1624 H. Wotton Elements Archit. 111 Which mention..I haue willingly made of his Name,..with much wrong to his other vertues.1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 76 Expos'd To daily fraud, contempt, abuse and wrong . View more context for this quotation1749 W. Melmoth Lett. by Sir Thomas Fitzosborne II. lxxii Ye plaintive crew, that suffer wrong.1793 R. Gray Poems 126 He doth conceive..of high affront And mighty wrong committed.1846 A. Marsh Father Darcy II. vii. 131 One who never sees wrong, without the noble resolution to revenge it.1874 J. Sully Sensation & Intuition 154 A man who never knows the deep anguish of conscious wrong until [etc.].1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) vi. l. 224 It slakis Ire off wrang thai suld radres.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xxv. 331 I wyrk no wrang, that shall thou wytt.
c1520 M. Nisbet New Test. in Scots (1903) II. 71 (margin) Christ heir, in repreifing wrange, did nocht resist it with wyolence.
1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xiii. 71 Wickit men delytis ay in to wrang.
a1598 D. Fergusson Sc. Prov. (1641) sig. F Wrang hes nea warrand.
1721 A. Ramsay Poems I. 323 I've suffer'd muckle Wrang.
b. Law. Violation, transgression, or infringement of law; invasion of right to the damage or prejudice of another or others: injury, harm, mischief. In early use Scottish.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [noun] > violation of law
unlawOE
wrongc1270
surfeitc1400
violation1433
wrongdoing1480
unlawfulnessa1500
transgressing1535
contravention1579
anomy1595
non-reason1597
contravening1645
law-breaking1881
c1270 (?a1200) Leges Quatuor Burgorum (Berne) xxxi, in Acts Parl. Scotl. (1844) I. 338/1 Et est retinendum quod in placitis burgorum utitur Twertnay in defensionibus defendendo wrang and unlawe [?a1500 tr. And it is to wyt þat in borow mutis þar is hantyd and oysyt thuertnay in defendande wrang and unlawe].
1318 in Acts Parl. Scotl. I. (1844) 471/1 Torth & noun raysoun quod dicitur wrang & unlaw.
a1400 in Acts Parl. Scotl. I. (1844) 647/1 Quoniam attachiamenta sunt principia et origo placitorum de wrang et unlaw.
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 78 So justyce ys oppressyd..& wrong takyth place.
1609 J. Skene tr. Regiam Majestatem i. 95 b Vnjustlie, and against the law, with wouch, wrang, and vnlaw.
1670 T. Blount Νομο-λεξικον: Law-dict. Tort-feasor, a Doer of wrong, a Trespasser.
1875 H. J. S. Maine Lect. Early Hist. Inst. ii. 45 The ancient Irish Law of Civil Wrong.
c. to do (…) wrong, to act unjustly or unfairly (to a person or thing, or with dative).
ΘΠ
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > act unjustly to [verb (transitive)]
to do (…) wrongc1220
wrongc1330
malign1432
injuryc1484
injure1597
to fuck over1961
to screw over1968
dork1969
to dick over1991
c1220 Bestiary 798 Bimene we us, we hauen don wrong.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 29084 Man dos to fasting mikel wrang.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2683 He..brogte vn-warnede on hem figt. He hadden don egipte wrong.
c1330 Spec. Gy Warw. 222 If man wole chese to don wrong.
1372 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 71 Þe child þouthte sche dide him wrong.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 126/2 Do wronge a-ȝene resone (P. ayenst reason or lawe), injurior, prejudico.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 67 The lawe and right doth noman wrong.
1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance xv. f. 28 That he whiche hath done wrong, be compelled to make restitution.
1580 T. Tusser Fiue Hundred Pointes Good Husbandrie (new ed.) f. 37 Place doong heape a low..where water, all winter time, did it such wrong.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 446 I feare you haue done your selfe some wrong . View more context for this quotation
1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης xi. 102 As the King of England can doe no wrong, so neither can he doe right but..by his Courts.
1737 A. Pope Epist. of Horace ii. ii. 4 To say too much, might do my Honour wrong.
1831 W. Scott Castle Dangerous vii, in Tales of my Landlord 4th Ser. IV. 192 By which she has done me great wrong.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam li. 74 Thou canst not move me from thy side, Nor human frailty do me wrong . View more context for this quotation
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > cause or effect (harm) [verb (transitive)] > do harm or injury to
werdec725
wema1000
evilc1000
harmc1000
hinderc1000
teenOE
scathec1175
illc1220
to wait (one) scathec1275
to have (…) wrong1303
annoya1325
grievec1330
wrong1390
to do violence to (also unto)a1393
mischievea1393
damagea1400
annulc1425
trespass1427
mischief1437
poisonc1450
injurea1492
damnify1512
prejudge1531
misfease1571
indemnify1583
bane1601
debauch1633
lese1678
empoison1780
misguggle1814
nobble1860
strafe1915
to dick up1951
1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 9582 Quyte þe weyl oute of borghgang, Þat þou ne haue for hyt no wrang.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3077 ‘Hu? haue ge wrong!’ quad pharaon; ‘Gu wapmen giue Ic leue to gon’.
c1410 Lantern of Light 45 Glotenye..drowneþ þe wittis of þe peple, til þat þei be vnresonable & kunnen not knowe whanne þei han wrong.
c1450 Mirk's Festial i. 5 Þogh þay haue moche wrong, þay may not gete amendes.
1509 Coventry Leet Bk. 626 He had grete wrong in certeyn ffyldes..by the comens of Couentre.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. x Suche as thinke they haue wronge at his hande.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary ii. 12 In their opinion he had wrong to be so charged.
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. v. 100 He thinks he hath wrong, and is not the mean hind that will sit down with it.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth x, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 270 I own you have had some wrong.]
3. In various prepositional phrases:† a. with or mid (…) wrong, wrongly, wrongfully, unjustly. (Cf. sense 4) Obsolete. [Compare Old Norse með rǫngu wrongly.]
ΘΠ
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > wrongly or unjustly [phrase]
with (also mid, on) unrighteOE
with or mid (…) wrong1124
in or by wronga1400
1124 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 1124 [They] sæidon þet se king heold his broðer Rotbert mid wrange on heftnunge.
a1200 Moral Ode (Lamb. MS.) 209 Þa þe ledden hore lif mid unriht and mid wrange.
c1290 Beket 839 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 130 Me þinchez with gret wrong þe chalangez þe king.
1338 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 110 Steuen..suore, Þat..Þe kyng, no non of his, suld chalange þat of fe, With wrong no with right.
c1400 Brut 257 Þe Kyngus person bare..þe blame, wiþ wrong.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 107 Suche false extorcionners..oppresse the poure peple wyth grete wronge.
c1510 Gest Robyn Hode cclxviii, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1888) III. v. 69 There I holpe a pore yeman, With wronge was put behynde.
1598 B. Yong tr. J. de Montemayor Diana 27 Rather then blame discredit me,..Let me with wrong forgotten be.
b. in or by wrong. (Cf. 4b.)
ΘΠ
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > wrongly or unjustly [phrase]
with (also mid, on) unrighteOE
with or mid (…) wrong1124
in or by wronga1400
a1400 Sir Degrev. 542 That y shalle faythly fyeght, Both in worng and in ryght.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Matt. v. 18 For mekenesse obteyneth more..than violence..can purchase or obtayne by right or wronge.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. iv. sig. Q3v His am I Atin, his in wrong and right.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. vii. 30 None could weene Them to efforce by violence or wrong.
1611 Bible (King James) Jer. xxii. 13 Woe vnto him that buildeth..his chambers by wrong . View more context for this quotation
1855 Ld. Tennyson Lett. 11 Then we met in wrath and wrong.
a. Claim, possession, or seizure that is unjustifiable or unwarranted on legal or moral grounds. Esp. in with or †mid (…) wrong. Obsolete.
ΘΠ
society > morality > dueness or propriety > moral impropriety > [noun] > wrongful claim, possession, or seizure
wrongc1275
society > morality > dueness or propriety > moral impropriety > improperly [phrase] > by unwarranted claim or appropriation
with or mid (…) wrongc1275
by, in, o, or of (‥) wronga1300
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13626 For heo al mid wronge wilneden of ure londe.
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 2806 Þat þe swike Haues it [sc. the kingdom] halden with mikel wronge.
a1325 Statutes of Realm in MS Rawl. B.520 f. 56v Ȝif þe Eir mid wronge vsurpede þe seisine of Eldere þoru deseisine.
c1410 Lantern of Light 45 Couetise of hem þat purchasen wiþ wrong her neiȝ boris ground & her catel.
c1450 Godstow Reg. ii. 540 That..none other for hym or in his right, myght neuer clayme..ony thyng of right, or of clayme, or of wronge, in the forsaid acre of lond.
1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 209 And gyff that ony man thaim by Had ony thing that wes worthy,..With rycht or wrang it have wald thai.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. iv. sig. Dv Proud Lucifera..Did vsurpe with wrong and tyrannie Vpon the scepter.
b. In the phrase by, in, †o, or †of (..) wrong.
ΘΠ
society > morality > dueness or propriety > moral impropriety > improperly [phrase] > by unwarranted claim or appropriation
with or mid (…) wrongc1275
by, in, o, or of (‥) wronga1300
a1300 Cursor Mundi 28795 Vr lauerd..receues..nan Almus þat o [v.r. of] wrang es tan.
1528 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Star Chamber (1911) II. 23 [He] hathe of his owne auctoryte and wronge enteryd into the premissis.
1548 T. Cooper Bibliotheca Eliotæ (rev. ed.) Iure uel iniuria, by right or wronge.
1588 T. Kyd tr. T. Tasso Housholders Philos. f. 24v Riches, either miserably gotten, or encreased by wrong.
1594 T. Kyd tr. R. Garnier Cornelia v. 439 Must I liue to see great Pompeys house..Vsurpt in wrong by lawlesse Anthony?
1628 E. Coke 1st Pt. Inst. Lawes Eng. 181 Therefore no relation of an estate by wrong can helpe him.
1729 G. Jacob New Law-dict. at Right An Estate gain'd by Wrong.
1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) V. 141 The defendants had done nothing to vest the freehold in them, either by right or by wrong.
5. With possessive pronoun or genitive:† a. Injustice, harm, or evil inflicted upon another or others; wrongdoing. Obsolete.figurative.1633 G. Herbert Storm in Temple iii There it stands knocking, to thy musicks wrong, And drowns the song.
ΘΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > harm or injury > [noun]
loathc900
teenOE
ungrithlOE
wemming1100
waningc1175
wrongc1275
prejudicec1300
derea1325
torferc1325
eviltyc1330
griefc1330
wem1338
injurec1374
truitc1390
noyinga1398
inconvenience14..
nocument?a1425
outraya1425
injuryc1430
mischieving1432
supprise1442
incommodityc1450
interess1489
grudge1491
tort1532
wreaka1542
impeachment1548
inconveniency1553
indemnity1556
interestc1575
abuse1595
mischievance1600
oblesion1656
grit1876
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > harm, injury, or wrong > [noun] > as inflicted
wrongc1275
derea1325
grievancec1386
resentment1683
c1275 Duty of Christians 59 in Old Eng. Misc. 143 We schule to criste grede, And bidde mylce of vre wrong.
1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 6430 Now we þe executore haue mysseyd, And of hys wrong he haþ vpbreyd.
14.. in Acts Parl. Scot. I. (1844) 352/2 Of a man grantand his awne wrang.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 76 More to wyte is her wrange, þen any wylle gentyl.
c1440 Pallad. on Husb. xiii. 84 Gramerci, Lord, that list eek mortifie My wronge.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid i. i. 63 Sen Pallas mocht on Grekis tak sic wraik..for Aiax Oilus wrang?
1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets xl. sig. D Loue knowes it is a greater griefe To beare loues wrong, then hates knowne iniury. View more context for this quotation
1631 in S. R. Gardiner Rep. Cases Star Chamber & High Comm. (1886) 168 He shall therefore pay 500li..and make recognition of his fault and wrong.
1642 J. March Argument Militia 17 It is against the rule of Law, that any man should take advantage of his owne wrong.
b. Injury, hurt, harm, or prejudice received or sustained by a person or persons. Also in to or †in one's (own) wrong.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > harm, injury, or wrong > [noun] > as suffered
wrong1399
1399 W. Langland Richard Redeles Prol. 13 Whom all þe londe loued,..And ros with him rapely to riȝtyn his wronge.
a1400–50 Wars Alex. 2812 As me is wa for þi woȝe, & þi wrange bathe.
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 15 Ofte haf I wayted wyschande þat wele, Þat wont was whyle deuoyde my wrange.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. lvijv It is not lawfull for anye Christian to reuenge his owne wronge.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. viii. sig. S6v What meane ye thus vnwise Vpon your selues anothers wrong to wreake? View more context for this quotation
1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion ii. 28 That shee, to her owne wrong, and euery others griefe, Would needs be telling things exceeding all beliefe.
1656 H. Phillippes Purchasers Pattern (1676) 93 He will rebate in his own wrong.
1660 E. Waller To King on his Return 62 Armies and fleets..redressed his wrong.
a1740 Spotswood in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Colonial Church: Virginia (1870) I. 204 Be cautious how you dispose of the profits of your parish; least you pay it in your own wrong.
a1768 T. Secker Serm. Several Subj. (1770) II. 364 The Abilities of the Man, that uses them to his Neighbour's Wrong.
a1822 P. B. Shelley tr. P. Calderon Scenes from Magico Prodigioso in Posthumous Poems (1824) 381 My words..shook Heaven, Proclaiming vengeance, public as my wrong.
1822 P. B. Shelley Dirge for Year 8 Wail, for the world's wrong!
6. Physical hurt or harm caused to or sustained by some thing or person; treatment causing material injury or damage. (Cf. sense 11) Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > damage > [noun]
harmOE
tinsela1340
damagec1374
offensiona1382
pairmentc1384
wrongc1384
offencec1385
wrackc1407
lesion?a1425
ruin1467
prejudicec1485
domager1502
qualm1513
jacture1515
imblemishment1529
perishment1540
impeachment1548
blame1549
dommagie1556
execution1581
damagement1603
sufferancea1616
stroy1682
murder1809
punishment1839
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Deeds xxvii. 10 With wrong and harm..of charge and schipp..bygynneth seiling for to be.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) v. xxxii For þe more ese withstonding and putting of wronge and of hurting [of the marrow].
c1440 Pallad. on Husb. x. 12 In wanyng of Phebes be they toflonge, So may hit meest auayle and do leest wronge.
1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 13 Light ladder & long, doth tree least wrong.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 39 The more wrong it [sc. Flaxe] suffereth, the better doth it prooue.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. iv. sig. P There before them stood a Coffer strong,..But seeming to haue suffred mickle wrong . View more context for this quotation
a1607 H. Chettle Trag. Hoffman (1631) sig. H2v A powder..Being set on fire to suffocate each sence Without the sight of wound, or shew of wrong.
c1660 in F. P. Verney & M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (1907) II. 262 Small forts..to defend the merchants and their goods from wrong.
1726 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey V. xxi. 429 Lest time or worms had done the weapon [sc. a bow] wrong.
1873 A. G. Murdoch Lilts on Doric Lyre 44 Dinna dae the door-boards wrang, An absent tenant canna see ye.
7. the wrong, that which is wrong; the opposite of justice or equity; absence of right or fairness; unjust or wrongful action.
ΘΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > unjustness > [noun]
unrighteOE
unrightnessOE
unrightfulnessc1275
wrongousnessc1325
the wrongc1330
unequityc1380
injustice1390
unreasonc1390
wrongfulnessa1400
unskilfulnessc1410
unjustnessc1443
unevennessa1470
unjusticea1475
disreason1480
unreasonablenessc1515
inequity1556
iniquity1587
non-reason1597
unequalness1628
unfairness1713
wrongness1833
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > [noun] > that which is
wronga1100
the wrongc1330
c1330 Spec. Gy de Warw. 749 Here ȝe muwen se þe wrong.
1388 Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) Acts vii. 24 Moises..dide veniaunce for hym that suffride the wronge.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 17458 Þof it neuer haf lasted sua lang, A-wai to wrenk he dos þe wrang.
1411 26 Polit. Poems 44 My swerd..Shal shede þe riȝt fro þe wrong.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid vi. xiv. 25 Brutus..can revenge the wrang in his cuntre.
1556 W. Lauder Compend. Tractate Dewtie of Kyngis sig. A4v And ȝour fals glosing of the wrang Sall nocht mak ȝow to rax heir lang.
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1030 Capacity not rais'd to apprehend Or value what is best In choice, but oftest to affect the wrong . View more context for this quotation
1831 W. Scott Castle Dangerous iv, in Tales of my Landlord 4th Ser. III. 284 If the Scottish have not had the right upon their side, they have..defended the wrong with the efforts of brave men.
1861 F. A. Paley Æschylus' Supplices (ed. 2) 337 (note) If the wrong has been wholly on one side.
8. The fact or position of acting unjustly or indefensibly; the state of being wrong in respect of attitude, procedure, or belief. (Cf. sense 1b.)† a. In the phrase to have the wrong. Obsolete.† c. to give the wrong to, to regard as being in the wrong. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΠ
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > seem wrong [verb (intransitive)] > be in the wrong
to have wough?c1225
to have the wrongc1330
to be or put in the wronga1400
c1330 Amis & Amil. 908 The steward was so strong, And hadde the right and he [= Amis] the wrong.
13.. Seuyn Sages (W.) 2900 Than sal thou thiseluen se Wha haue the wrang, the wife or he.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6029 I haue þe wrang, And al þis wrak on me es lang.
a1450 Generides (Pierpont Morgan) (1865) 5533 I haue the right and he the wrong.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth ii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 64 It is not my part..to decide who had the right or wrong in the present brawl.
b. In the phrase to be or put in the wrong.
ΘΠ
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > seem wrong [verb (intransitive)] > be in the wrong
to have wough?c1225
to have the wrongc1330
to be or put in the wronga1400
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > act unjustly to [verb (transitive)] > put in the wrong
to be or put in the wrong1849
a1400 Chron. R. Glouc. (Rolls) II. 795 Þou wolt..þi soule to helle bringe, Vor þou ert in þe wronke [v.r. wronge].
1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) xvii. 390 Ye knowe ye were in the wronge.
1513 N. West Let. 13 Apr. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. I. 74 Your Grace was in the right and he in the wronge.
1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer ii. sig. X.iiiiv Thinking that he himselfe had bine in the wronge.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) v. i. 86 You are i' the wrong To speake before your time. View more context for this quotation
1700 T. Brown Amusem. Serious & Comical xi. 150 I am in the wrong, I own it.
1795 W. Hutton Hist. Birmingham (ed. 3) 223 The authors I have seen are all in the wrong.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vii. 266 He had now put himself in the wrong.
1859 H. Kingsley Recoll. G. Hamlyn xi I quarrelled with her last night. I was quite in the wrong.
1895 Cornhill Mag. Oct. 380 It puts Lord Tennyson so brutally in the wrong.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > accusation, charge > make accusation [phrase]
to bear (a person or thing) in (also an, a, on) handc1300
to lay the blame on1393
to give the wrong to?1473
to lay in (his) neckc1515
to cast (any one) in the teeth1526
to cast (a thing) in one's teeth1526
to lay to (also cast in) a person's nose1526
to dash one in the teeth with (something)1530
call to or in coram1542
to cast (also lay, throw) (something) in one's dish1551
to throw (cast) a stone or stones (at)1568
to cast up1604
to nail to the barn door1894
?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) II. lf. 278v They shall gyue the wronge and blame to the Troians And to vs the loose.
II. A wrongful or unfair action, and related uses.† 10. An incorrect or improper procedure. Obsolete.† 11. A physical or material injury, hurt, or damage. (Cf. sense 6) Obsolete.† 12. Something obtained or held wrongfully. rare.
9. A wrongful, unjust, or unfair action; a violation or infringement of one's rights; an injury received or inflicted; a mischief.
a. With any, no, that, this, etc.
ΘΠ
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > [noun] > an unjust act
unrighteOE
wrong1067
injuryc1384
wrongness1856
1067–77 Ags. Laws (Liebermann) I. 486/1 Ic nelle geþolian, þæt ænig man eow ænig wrang beode.
c1290 Beket 230 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 113 Þar-of nolde he þolien no wrong.
c1330 Arth. & Merl. 1363 (Kölbing) Ȝif y may atake þis wrong, He worþ to drawe & to hong.
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde iii. 1008 Þer-with mene I fynally þe peyne..Fully to slen and euery wrong redresse.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 19 That he myght auenge this ouer grete wronge.
?1504 W. Atkinson tr. Thomas à Kempis Ful Treat. Imytacyon Cryste (Pynson) iii. li. 239 If any wronge be layde vnto hym.
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. aii* That sege wald sit with none wrang Of berne that wes borne.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) ii. xxii. sig. Cc8 She resolued to spende all her yeares..in bewayling the wrong, and yet praying for the wrong-dooer.
1611 Bible (King James) Ecclus. x. 6 Beare not hatred to thy neighbour for euery wrong . View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 300 Thou thy self with scorne..wouldst resent the offer'd wrong . View more context for this quotation
1715 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad I. ii. 300 Durst he, as he ought, resent that Wrong, This mighty Tyrant were no Tyrant long.
1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 213 All shall give account of ev'ry wrong Who dare dishonour or defile the tongue.
1795–6 W. Wordsworth Borderers v. 2071 He forgave The wrong and the wrong-doer.
1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 47 That each had suffer'd some exceeding wrong.
1862 J. Skelton Nugæ Criticæ x. 444 The wrong indeed was redressed, as far as redress was possible.
b. With a and plural.
Π
α.
β. 1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 11154 God..late hem neuer here soules lese For no wronges þat þey chese!1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. xi. 19 As cloþers..Þat Conterfeteþ disseites and Conspiret wronges.a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) 158 To hym longyth nedes to Esplete,..wronges to redresse.1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) ii. 145 My sowlle suffereth pacyently wronges and contraryous thinges.a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Certain Bks. Aenæis (1557) ii. sig. Civv May such a wrong passe from a fathers mouth?1551 R. Crowley Pleasure & Payne sig. Bviiiv I woulde se all theyr wrongis redreste.1612 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes Don-Quixote: Pt. 1 i. iv. xxv The famous Don Quixote of the Mancha, the righter of wrongs, the redresser of injuries.1660 E. Waller To King on his Return 62 Armies and fleets..Owned their great Sovereign, and redressed his wrong.1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 144 Trees bent their heads to hear him sing his Wrongs . View more context for this quotation1749 T. Smollett Regicide iii. viii. 43 The Sword of Athol Was never drawn but to redress the Wrongs His Country suffer'd.1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 795 A heart To feel, and courage to redress her wrongs.1796 S. T. Coleridge Relig. Musings in Poems Var. Subj. 160 Th' innumerable multitude of Wrongs By man on man inflicted!1811 W. R. Spencer Poems 11 Thy wrongs his guilty soul shall sting.1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People iv. §4. 191 A wrong of brother against brother was also a wrong against the general body of the gild.c1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 5541 Alle þas þat has tholed here Falshedes and wrangs.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6447 Quar thoru in right þai suld be gett, In smale wranges þat þar war.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 138 Quhen thou art ald and ma na wrangis wyrke.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 11616 God, þat..wrangis in his wrathe writhis to ground.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1895) II. 302 Quha war woundet or had gottin vtheris wrangis.
1786 R. Burns Poems 33 Then echo thro' Saint Stephen's wa's Auld Scotland's wrangs.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian xii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. III. 326 We are for righting our ain wrangs.
c. Law. An invasion of right, to the damage, harm, or prejudice of another or others; a violation of law or statute; a tort or trespass.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > specific offences > [noun] > invasion of another's rights, tort, or damage
wrong1387
tort1586
damnum1828
injuria1876
1387–8 Petition London Mercers in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 34 Compleynen..the folk of the Mercerye of London..of many wronges subtiles & also open oppressions.
c1400 Brut i. 265 He was at þe parlement at Wynchestre forto haue amendede þe wronges and trespasses þat were done amongus þe peple.
14.. in Acts Parl. Scotl. I. (1844) 337/2 Þe quhilk wrang was amuffyt betuen þaim in þe lande.
1518 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Star Chamber (1911) II. 128 They came to make their humble peticion..and sewed their grevys and wronges afforseid.
1588 King James VI in 3rd Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1872) 419/2 A puir man that dar nocht seik redres of this wrang be the ordinar course of iustice.
1617 King James I in J. O. Halliwell Lett. Kings Eng. (1846) II. 143 Every wrong must be judged by the first violent and wrongous ground whereupon it proceeds.
1671 F. Philipps Regale Necessarium 259 The parties..endeavouring such breaches of Priviledge, should not take advantage..of their own wrongs or tortious doings.
1768 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. III. 2 Wrongs are divisible into two sorts or species; private wrongs, and public wrongs.
1770 Cases temp. Hardwicke 35 The declarations must fall likewise as grafted on a wrong.
1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scotl. 498 Where there is reparation due on account of wrongs suffered through gross carelessness.
1888 Pollock in Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 454 Civil wrongs..for which there is a remedy by action in courts of common law jurisdiction.
1888 Pollock in Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 454/2 An actionable wrong.
d. In the phrase to do the (…) wrong (to or unto a person, or with dative).
ΘΚΠ
society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > specific offences > [verb (intransitive)] > invade rights or damage
to do the (…) wrongc1330
c1330 Spec. Gy de Warw. 602 Þenk..Off þe wrong and þe vilte, Þat men to Iesu Crist dede.
a1425 (a1400) Northern Pauline Epist. (1916) 2 Cor. vii. 12 Not for hym þat has don þe wrong, nor for hym þat is suffryd.
c1480 (a1400) St. Thomas Apostle 666 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 148 Þe wrange þat to myn god is done.
1556 J. Heywood Spider & Flie 4 The wrong that I have done the flies here among.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. vii The great wrong & iniurie that was done vnto him.
1643 J. Caryl Expos. Job (1676) I. 663 Only the creditor can remit the debt, and he the offence to whom we have done the wrong.
1671 Acts Privy Council Scotl. III. 345 She was the person who did the wrong.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth ix, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 233 The Earl deeply resented the wrong done to himself.
1883 D. C. Murray Hearts xxviii In spite of the wrong he had done and the wrong he meant to do him.
e. Similarly with a, any, etc., or plural.
Π
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. xx. 13 Frend, I do thee no wronge [a1425 L.V. noon wrong].
c1386 G. Chaucer Melibeus ⁋845 That ye causelees..han doon grete Iniuries and wronges to me.
c1400 Rule St. Benet (Prose) vii. 13 Yef man dos yu ani wrang.
c1479 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 620 Th'eniuryes and wrongys don..to John Paston.
1560 Bible (Geneva) 2 Macc. iii. 12 That it were altogether vnpossible to do this wrong to them.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. vii. 80 As thou lou'st me, do him not that wrong . View more context for this quotation
1638 R. Baker tr. J. L. G. de Balzac New Epist. III. 28 I doe not thinke I shall doe you any wrong to send you a better companion.
1676 in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 30 The wrongs Lord Marshall doth him, and all the younger children.
1813 Daily National Intelligencer (Washington) 29 July The wrongs done us by the British government.
1856 Ld. Tennyson Maud (rev. ed.) x. iv, in Maud & Other Poems (new ed.) 39 I might persuade myself then She would not do herself this great wrong.
1861 J. S. Mill Utilitarianism (1863) 73 In each case the supposition implies two things—a wrong done, and some assignable person who is wronged.
ΘΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > [noun] > incorrect manner or procedure
wrongc1440
the (or a) wrong way1490
byway1493
c1440 Pallad. on Husb. viii. 53 The figtre now teneye [L. inoculare] hit is no wronge In weet lond.
c1440 Pallad. on Husb. x. 3 The same ek is no wronge Rather to do.
ΘΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > damage > [noun] > an instance of
violencea1393
wrong1398
scathec1440
spoil1551
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum xvii. cxvii. (Tollem. MS.) By þe leues þe spray is defendid..aȝens colde and hete, and aȝens all wronges of frostes and snowe.
c1440 Pallad. on Husb. i. 339 Yf me ferne hit wel..That in the tre the morter do no wronge.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > dueness or propriety > moral impropriety > [noun] > wrongful claim, possession, or seizure > something wrongfully obtained or held
wrongc1450
c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 136 Ȝoure nede þanne excusyth ȝou nouȝt fro dedly synne, but ȝe ȝerne ȝelde to hem ȝoure dette & ȝoure wrong!
c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 133 Þerfore, restoryth ȝoure wrongys, & caste out þe wose of false coueytise!
Compounds
Chiefly objective, as wrong-repressing, wrong righting; wrong-redresser, wrong-righter; also wrong-caused, wrong incensed, wrong-vexed; wrong-proof adj.
Π
a1586 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David (1823) xxxv. i Speake thou for me against wrong speaking foes.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) i. ii. f. 7 Striuing..which coulde..recount their wrong-caused sorow.
1595 S. Daniel First Fowre Bks. Ciuile Warres i. lxxxi. sig. E2v Wrong-worker Riot.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III ii. i. 52 These swelling wrong insenced peeres.
1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) sig. Rr*3 Long Wrong-vext in a not-Need-lesse Cause.
1816 J. Bentham Introductory View 17 in Extract Constit. Code: Official Aptitude Maximized A penal, or say a wrong-repressing code.
1835 W. Wordsworth Yarrow Revisited 21 Some gentle heart wrong-proof, Meek, patient, kind.
1849 E. Bulwer-Lytton King Arthur v. lxxxiii The great Wrong-Redresser.
1869 C. Kingsley Lett. (1877) II. 296 The most unexpected forms of actual wrong-saying and doing.
1889 J. K. Stephen Lapsus Calami (1891) 51 A nursery of wrong-righters.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† wrongn.3
Obsolete. rare.
= leaf n.1 12.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > wheel > [noun] > parts of wheels > tooth
coga1250
tooth?1523
sprocket1655
staff1659
leaf1675
wrong1688
round1731
wrist1864
whelp1875
wrist-pin1875
pinion leaf1881
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 374/1 All the Nicks or Notches in the [watch] Wheels are termed Teeth, and those in the Pinions are called Wrongs.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online September 2020).
wrongadj.adv.
/rɒŋ/, U.S. /rɔŋ/, /rɑŋ/ A. adj.
I. Crooked, misshapen, and related uses.† 1. figurative.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 159 Yef þe onderstondingge is wrong, oþer yef he tuysteþ oþer wyþwent.., al þe inwyt ssel by þiestre and þe hieap of uirtues.† b. Marked by deviation; deflected. Obsolete.† c. Of an oblong shape. Obsolete.
a. Having a crooked or curved course, form, or direction; twisted or bent in shape or contour; wry.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > misshapenness > [adjective] > crooked
wough862
crumba1100
wrongc1175
crooked?c1225
crochedc1300
forcrookedc1305
miscrookeda1398
crumpleda1400
kirkeda1425
camshoch1513
crooken1589
awry1728
thraward1814
ajee1816
ahoo1828
crinkly-crankly1850
unstraight1860
cockeye1891
cockeyed1899
crookedy1907
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 9653 All þatt ohht iss wrang. & crumb. Shall effnedd beon. & rihhtedd.
c1220 Bestiary 78 His [sc. the eagle's] bec is ȝet biforn wrong.
a1252 in Cartul. Mon. Rameseia (Rolls) I. 353 Fulbrocfurlange; Wrongelande; Wylokescroft.]
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Lev. xxi. 19 A man..[that] is ether of litil, ether of greet, and wrong [L. tortus] nose.
1426 J. Lydgate tr. G. de Guileville Pilgrimage Life Man 19656 The crookydnesse..off my crok, Wrong at the ende, as ys an hook.
a1470 Dives & Pauper (1493) viii. xv. F ii The bowe is made of ii. thynges, Of a wronge tree, and a right strynge.
a1500 Hist. K. Boccus & Sydracke (?1510) sig. P j A cocatryce..hath..many teth crokyd and wronge.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Gauche, left, left-handed;..wrong, sinister, awry.
1613 in Quarter Sessions Rec. (N. Riding Rec. Soc.) (1886) IV. Thone acre a brode wrangland, stinting att the strete, lying between six narrow wranglandes, towards the north, and one narrow wrangland..towardes the south.
ΚΠ
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 197/1 Glacynge, or wronge glydynge of boltys or arowys,..devolatus.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [adjective] > oval or elliptical
avelong1440
wrongc1440
oval1561
ellipsical1571
elliptical1656
round-long1663
elliptic1715
ovated1752
ovate1760
ovoid1776
ellipsoidal1831
dromic1850
oliviform1857
ellipsoid1861
vesical1865
dromical1875
the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [adjective] > quadrilateral > square or rectangular > rectangular or oblong
eavelonga1387
long-warpeda1400
avelong1440
wrongc1440
squarelike1557
rectangular?a1560
rectangulous1680
fenestriform1860
oblong1888
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 517/1 Warpyn, or wex wronge or avelonge, as vesselle, oblongo.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 534/1 Wronge, or avelonge.., oblongus.
2. Of persons: mis-shapen; deformed. Latterly dialect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > deformity > [adjective]
crumpa800
crookedc1290
counterfeited1340
courbe1395
crumpleda1400
wanshapena1425
courbedc1430
wrongc1430
crumped1480
mismadec1480
counterfeit1483
crabby1550
crab-tree-like1576
crab-tree1598
crabbed1601
bossive1658
stumping1852
arthritic1961
c1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode (1869) iii. xxx. 152 Boistows j am, and haltinge, and wronge. To the virly j go hippinge.
1787 F. Grose Provinc. Gloss. Wrong, crooked. A wrong man or woman. Norf.
a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Wrong,..deformed; mishapen in person.
II. That is not just or right, and related uses.
3.
a. Of actions, etc.: deviating from equity, justice, or goodness; not morally right or equitable; unjust, perverse. Also absol.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > [adjective]
unrighteOE
unrightfulOE
wronga1275
wrongfulc1325
wrongous1357
unjustc1384
untrue1393
injustc1430
unreasonablec1440
unconscionable1492
injuriousa1513
wry1561
justless1578
iniquous1655
iniquitous1726
α.
β. a1275 Prov. Ælfred B. 596 Þe woke ginne þu coueren, þe wronke ginne þu rihten mid alle þine mihten.a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 4582 Alle þe werre & þis wo is our wronge dedes.1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Lev. xix. 13 Thow shalt not doo wronge chalenge to thi neiȝbore.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 22276 Anticrist..shal him shewe in þo d[a]yes..His werkes wronge to fulfille.c1440 York Myst. xxxv. 26 So þat oure wirkyng be noght wronge.1535 Bible (Coverdale) Hab. i. A This is the cause, yt wronge iudgment procedeth.1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. May 102 So often times, when as good is meant, Euil ensueth of wrong entent.1620 T. Peyton Glasse of Time i. 50 That none by wrong oppression might Be crost, by..wrestling guile.1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxvi. 144 A wrong Sentence given by authority of the Soveraign.1710 J. Swift Tale of Tub (ed. 5) Apol. sig. A6v One of the wrongest Attempts in Nature, to turn into ridicule..a Work which had cost so much time.1728 C. Cibber Vanbrugh's Provok'd Husband iii. i. 50 When a sad wrong Word is rising just to one's Tongue's End, I..swallow it.1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued I. ii. 202 If the finger rest against the trigger of a loaded musket, and a man stand just before, you cannot do a wronger thing.1853 C. M. Yonge Heir of Redclyffe I. ix. 143 She did not awaken her mind to consider that anything could be wrong that Philip desired.1861 J. S. Mill Utilitarianism (1863) 9 [That] creed holds that actions are wrong..[in proportion] as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.1878 W. S. Jevons Polit. Econ. 65 There is nothing..morally wrong in a strike..when properly conducted.c1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 5994 Alle wrang haldyngs of gudes sere.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 16498 I sal me-seluen on me wreck For þis marchandis wrang.
c1400 (?c1380) Patience l. 384 Wepande ful wonderly alle his wrange dedes.
c1400 Rule St. Benet (Verse) 2248 For wit þai wele þat þai sal cum To reknyng on þe day of dome..Als sche sal for hir warkes wrang.
c1420 Anturs of Arth. (Douce) 421 Þou has wonene hem in werre, with a wrange wille.
a1513 W. Dunbar Tabill of Confessioun in Poems (1998) I. 267 The wrang spending of my wittis five.
1794 Har'st Rig cvi. 33 The beding time does now begin... Now, tho' they're a' together mixt, There's naething wrang.
1822 W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel I. ii. 41 I hope there was naething wrang in standing up for ane's ain country's credit.
b. In the phrase it is (would be, etc.) wrong to (do some thing).
ΚΠ
1596 E. Spenser Hymne Heauenly Loue in Fowre Hymnes 180 Had he required life of vs againe, Had it beene wrong to aske his owne with gaine?
1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 227 'Tis wrong to bring into a mixt resort, What makes some sick.
1857 G. Borrow Romany Rye II. xi. 153 I confess it was wrong in me to interrupt you.
1879 J. McCarthy Donna Quixote I. iv. 87 It was very wrong of him to make such a request.
1881 W. H. Mallock Romance 19th Cent. II. 93 It would be indeed wrong..to say he was making love at all.
4.
a. Of persons: deviating from integrity, rectitude, or probity; doing or prone to do that which is evil, noxious, or unjust; opprobrious, vicious.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > [adjective]
misfaringc1300
fayllarda1325
wronga1382
wrongfulc1384
misdoinga1398
misdeedya1400
wrongdoingc1400
digressinga1535
transgressing1535
offending1552
exorbitant1556
offensive1595
transgressive1646
maleficent1760
transgredient1837
the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > evil person > [adjective]
unseelyOE
illa1200
unwrast?c1225
wrackc1375
wronga1382
viciousc1386
naughtyc1460
society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > [adjective]
illa1200
thewlessa1327
unrightyc1350
wronga1382
noughtc1400
unhonestc1422
ill-disposedc1460
naughtyc1460
thowless1487
misaffectionate1533
naught1550
ill-conditioned1614
uncharactered1841
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. iii. 12 My puple his pleteres, or wrong axers [L. exactores], spoileden.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 29 Þe wrang to here o right is lath.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 2204 Þis nembrot..was wrang werour, Reuer and manqueller grett.
a1470 Dives & Pauper (1493) viii. xv. F ii Of them yt ben wronge throughe synne.
a1470 Dives & Pauper (1493) viii. xv. F ii b So Crist at the doome shal sett the wrong lyuers on his left honde.
1715 D. Defoe Family Instructor I. i. iv. 91 For I think..we have all been wrong, and..it is my part to submit.
1785 W. Cowper Tirocinium in Task 780 Th' incorrigibly wrong, the deaf, the dead! View more context for this quotation
a1845 R. H. Barham Ingoldsby Legends (1847) 347 Queer little devils were they! Cob was the strongest, Mob was the wrongest.
b. Actively opposed (†to another); antagonistic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > hatred > hostility > [adjective]
witherwardc888
unholdc900
fremda1000
foeOE
hatelyOE
onwardOE
fiendlyc1050
witherc1175
unbaina1300
quedec1300
wrong1340
aliena1382
enemiablea1382
enemyfula1382
enemyc1384
ingrate1393
unfriendly1425
undisposed1456
oppugnanta1513
infest1513
enemious?1529
cold1557
enemylike1561
enemyly1573
ingratefulc1575
opposed1584
misliking1586
infestuous1593
infensive1596
infestious1597
affrontous1598
foe-hearted1598
ill-affecteda1599
inimicous1598
friendless?1611
haggardly1635
infensea1641
inimicitious1641
inimicitial1656
inimical1678
inamicable1683
indisposed1702
uneasy1725
hostile1791
adversarial1839
chilly1841
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 204 Ssarpnesse of liue to do his uless onderuot þet is wrang to þe goste.
1780 W. Cowper Rep. Adjudged Case 2 Between Nose and Eyes a strange contest arose,—The spectacles set them unhappily wrong.
c. Criminals' slang. Untrustworthy, unreliable; not sympathetic to or co-operative with criminals. Cf. right adj. 7d.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > undutifulness > unfaithfulness > [adjective] > untrustworthy
trustless1554
as slippery as an eel1601
independable1802
unreliable1810
undependable1860
untrustworthy1878
wrong1908
1908 J. M. Sullivan Criminal Slang 27 Wrong, man too familiar with police; not to be trusted.
1928 E. Booth in Amer. Mercury May 81/2 Aw, don't rap [i.e. speak indiscreetly] to that guy; he's wrong.
1953 W. S. Burroughs Junkie vi. 59 By and large, the reason a man can't score is because he is known to be ‘wrong’.
1955 D. W. Maurer in Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. No. 24. 130 He [sc. a pickpocket] tries to avoid those cities or those districts which are known to be wrong, or where the police will not have any part of protecting him.
1955 D. W. Maurer in Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. No. 24. 140 He was what thieves call a wrong copper; that is, he did not take the fix.
5.
a. Not in conformity with some standard, rule, or principle; deviating from that which is correct or proper; contrary to, at variance with, what one approves or regards as right.
ΚΠ
a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 35 Ywis hit is al wrong. Al wrong y wrohte for a wyf þat made vs wo in world ful wyde.
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. xi. 67 Whi wolde God..suffre such a worm In such a wrong wyse þe wommon to bi-gyle?
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 169 Of here wrong condicion To do justificacion.
c1459 in T. Stapleton Plumpton Corr. (1839) p. xxxix Her hosband cometh..and seyeth the feyrest langwage that ever ye hard. But all is rong; he is ever in trouble.
1550 R. Crowley One & Thyrtye Epigrammes sig. Cviiv Ye must saye as they saye, be it wrounge or ryght.
1591 E. Spenser Daphnaïda sig. B3 She fell away in her first ages spring,..For age to dye is right, but youth is wrong.
1676 M. Hale Medit. Lord's Prayer 183 When I look into my Conscience, I find her easily bribed, and brought over to the wrong party.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. xix. 360 The Foundation of Vice, in wrong Measures of Good.
1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 21 Most by Numbers judge a Poet's Song, And smooth or rough, with such, is right or wrong.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. ii. xix. 125 Revenues that in ignorant times were applied to a wrong use.
1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison III. xxviii. 331 Permitting the interview, which they suppose the wrongest step that could have been taken.
b. Not in consonance with facts or truth; incorrect, false, mistaken.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > [adjective]
unrightlyeOE
leasea900
falsec1175
untruec1370
untruefulc1380
erroneousc1400
fallacec1400
wrongc1420
unsubstantialc1455
wrongfulc1470
unrighteous1507
improper1531
perverse1531
mistaken1540
square1549
truthless1568
uncorrect1568
misconceiveda1612
errorous1633
swervinga1638
tralatitious1645
out of the way1676
wrongous1768
aberrated1834
aberrational1837
unsubstantiated1837
unevidenced1842
non-realistic1882
unsubstantiate1890
screwed-up1942
disauthentic1960
c1420 Prose Life Alex. 34 And ȝe haffand in vs a wrange consayte, blamez vs.
1528 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iii, in Wks. 210/1 Our hart euer thinketh the iudgement wrong, that wringeth us to the worse.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III ii. i. 55 If any here By false Intelligence or wrong surmise, Hold me a foe. View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) Deut. xix. 16 If a false witnes..testifie against him that which is wrong . View more context for this quotation
1670 in Buccleuch MSS (Hist. MSS Comm.) (1899) I. 475 I do not use to be found in a wrong story.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding ii. xi. 71 Mad Men put wrong Ideas together, and so make wrong Propositions.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding (new ed.) ii. xxi. 150 Fashion and the common Opinion having settled wrong Notions.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Errour Some Philosophers define Error..a wrong Judgment, disagreeing with the Things whereon it is pass'd.
1730 N. Bailey et al. Dictionarium Britannicum at Misacceptation A wrong understanding or apprehending of any thing.
1865 Williams Mem. M. Henry 304 A wrong date is assigned to the delivery of this Sermon.
1871 J. S. Le Fanu Rose & Key II. 27 Her watch..being seldom more than twenty minutes wrong, either way.
1884 tr. H. Lotze Logic 370 An allegation..if wrong..deviates more or less from the truth.
1891 C. Roberts Adrift in Amer. 111 There is something wrong in this, deer do not stand up..to be shot down that way.
c. Of belief, etc.: Partaking of or based on error; erroneous.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > error in belief or opinion > [adjective]
falsec1175
ungroundedc1380
ungroundable1395
erroneousc1400
wrongc1400
rotten1529
mistaken1540
sinistral1542
sinistrous1562
errorful1570
unsolid1593
unsound1595
misgrounded1606
mistaking1631
errorous1633
unbottomed1641
erratile1652
heterodox1654
unbased1860
misfelt1935
fuzzy1937
flaky1972
c1400 Rule St. Benet (Prose) 42 Þat þai ne falle in wrang trouȝ.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) ii. iii. 30 Marry, for that shee's in a wrong beleefe, I goe to certifie her Talbot's here. View more context for this quotation
1656 A. Cowley On Death of Crashaw 56 His Faith perhaps in some nice Tenents might Be wrong; his Life..was in the right.
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man iii. 305 For Modes of Faith let graceless Zealots fight; His can't be wrong whose Life is in the right.
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. at Misbelief False religion; a wrong belief.
d. Of a painting: having an erroneous attribution.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > work of art > [adjective] > attribution > erroneous
wrong1969
1969 C. Irving Fake! (1970) xiv. 173 It's an ugly thing..when you have to tell a client he's bought a fake. Of all things in this business..the thing I dislike most is being called in to tell if a painting is right or wrong... Fernand..brazenly offered Juviler a genuine Roualt in exchange for the ‘wrong’ Dufy.
1979 Daily Tel. 28 Feb. 10/2 There are huge numbers of ‘wrong’ paintings and other works on the market, not strictly fakes, although they often become fakes when resold with the intention to deceive. ‘Forty per cent. of the pictures we see are wrong,’ said Mr Peter Nahum, the Victorian paintings expert at Sotheby's Belgravia. ‘They are wrongly attributed, have a false signature or are genuine contemporary copies.’
1983 Sunday Times 10 July 2/3 They invited Ronald Alley, deputy director of the Tate to inspect the pictures. He pronounced them ‘wrong’—in art world parlance, fakes.
6. Not right or satisfactory in state or order; in unsatisfactory or bad condition; amiss. what's wrong with (modern colloquial), what is the matter with (see matter n.1 5a), what objection is there to, why not have (etc.)?
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > [adjective] > amiss, out of order
amissc1325
out of harrea1327
wronga1425
wide1545
misplaced1563
awrya1586
ajar1807
off the rails1848
agley1882
blooey1920
off-centre1930
off base1940
snafued1944
off target1954
off beam1958
a1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula 58 Also flowyng emoroydez somtyme ar hidde.., þat of som þai ar demed to be dissenterikez and yuelz wrong.
a1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 80 What aylithe you? y trow there be sum thinge wronge with you.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. iii. 33 If any thyng wrang be, Soyne is she wroth.
1567 R. Sempill in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. 56 In thy default se that na thing be wrang.
a1568 Wyfe of Auchtermuchty (Bannatyne MS) 103 Scho fand all wrang that sowld bene richt.
1781 W. Cowper Expostulation 301 Policy is busied all night long In setting right what faction has set wrong.
1793 Earl of Dundonald Descr. Estate Culross 56 We shall never get right till we get as far wrong as we can.
1823 W. Scott St. Ronan's Well II. ii. 43 ‘Something wrong here they tell me’ said the traveller, pointing to his own forehead significantly.
1835 J. H. Newman Lett. & Corr. (1891) II. 138 He and Keble both being away puts everything wrong.
1856 C. Dickens Little Dorrit (1857) ii. ix. 394 It might put us wrong with our son-in-law.
1860 A. Leighton Curious Storied Trad. Sc. Life 52 Nothing wrong with Mrs. Græme, I hope?
1892 H. R. Mill Realm of Nature ii. 20 The least mistake..would put the calculation all wrong.
1925 R. A. Knox Viaduct Murder ix. 90 I want to know what's wrong with a game of bridge?
7.
a. Not adapted, according, or answering to intention, requirement, or purpose; not proper, fitting, or appropriate; unsuitable. †Also const. to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > disharmony or incongruity > unsuitability or inappropriateness > [adjective]
unkinOE
un-i-feieOE
unbecomelyc1200
amissc1325
wrongousa1350
uncovenablec1374
unsitting1390
undue1398
ungainanda1400
unquemea1400
inconvenientc1400
unlikelyc1405
disconvenienta1425
impertinenta1425
discovenablec1436
unmeetc1440
wrongc1440
unjustc1443
unbehovablec1450
inconvenientc1460
uncordial1488
unmeetly1534
unapt1539
unfit1548
incommodious1553
ungreeing1560
impertinent1565
stravagant1565
unproper1566
improper1570
unhovable1570
unapt1579
unbeseeming1583
unsuitablea1586
unappliable1588
unapt1588
unlikely1590
unfittinga1592
unfitted1592
unsuiting1596
unbefitting1598
unsorted1598
unsuited1598
contrary1600
impair1609
unfitty1613
incompetible1621
incongruous1623
infita1626
uncompetiblea1628
inaccommodatea1657
inapplicable1656
inconcinnate1657
inconcinnous1662
inept1675
unaccommodatea1676
incommode1678
indecorous1681
untoward1682
unapplicable1690
insuitable1692
unsuit1704
malapropos1709
inapt1744
out of place1748
uncongenial1788
unfit-like1796
ungain-like1796
inappropriate1804
unadapted1805
dissuitable1807
dissuited1819
ineligible1828
infelicitous1835
unapropos1840
butt-ended1850
malappropriate1851
ungenial1871
misappropriate1878
unbecoming1893
unappropriate1898
unadjusted1899
offside1910
off-key1943
improbable1958
c1440 Pallad. on Husb. xii. 109 Kitte of euery roten thyng or drie, For grene yf that me kitte of, that is wronge.
a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 99 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 302 Yf hit go þy wrang throte into, And stoppe þy wynde.
?1518 A. Barclay Fyfte Eglog sig. Avj Than was no cocko,..To laye wronge egges, within a straunge nest.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) x. 65 The iueis interpret it to the vrang sens.
1551 T. Lever Serm. xiiii. December (new ed.) sig. G.vii They wrest the saying of Paule vnto a wrong meanynge.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. ix What places of scripture the Papistes do depraue and wraste into a wronge sense.
1602 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor iii. i. 99 I haue directed you to wrong places.
1616 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor (rev. ed.) ii. i, in Wks. I. 20 He..claps his dish at the wrong mans dore.
1673 in O. Airy Essex Papers (1890) I. 63 Of which if he thinks to make me ye first example he will find he has fixed upon a wrong man.
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 126 They brought me to the wrong side of a pretty Square Tank, or Well.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) at Misrepresent To give a wrong or false Character of.
1726 Bp. J. Butler 15 Serm. 306 There was a Probability, if he could see the whole Reference of the Parts appearing wrong to the general Design, that this would destroy the Appearance of Wrongness and Disproportion.
1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Misplace, to put in a wrong Place.
a1778 A. Toplady Wks. (1794) IV. 152 To put your hand into the wrong pocket.
1793 W. Roberts Looker-on No. 36. 283 This was the wrongest time that could be chosen.
1823 C. Lamb Mrs. Battle's Opinions on Whist in Elia 73 An adversary, who has slipt a wrong [playing] card.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 2nd Ser. 303 Shoving the old and helpless, into the wrong buss.
1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch II. iv. xl. 333 The fatal step of choosing the wrong profession.
1884 E. Yates Recoll. & Experiences II. 67 Never did a man so persistently..do the wrong thing in the wrong place.
b. In various allusive phrases: (see quots. and bark v.1 2, box n.2 Phrases 5, shop n., adj., and int. Phrases 1, sow n.1 3). to catch (a person) on the wrong foot, to get off, etc., on the wrong foot: see foot n. and int. Phrases 4.
ΚΠ
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. ix. sig. Kiv Ye tooke..the wrong sow by theare.
1563 J. Foxe Actes & Monuments 931/1 If you wil heare how Saint Augustine expoundeth that place, ye shal perceaue that ye are in a wronge boxe.
1616 Withals' Dict. 584 Vlulas Athenas, you bring your Corne to a wrong market.
1639 J. Clarke Paroemiologia 7 You bring your hogs to a wrong market.
1761 Brit. Mag. 2 440 You'd have sworn he had got the wrong pig by the ear.
1833 J. Hall Legends of West 46 You are barking up the wrong tree, Johnson.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 2nd Ser. 361 Does he want..money? meat? drink? He's come to the wrong shop for that, if he does.
1877 R. De B. Trotter Galloway Gossip Sixty Years Ago 190 Ye've got the wrang soo by the lug this time.
1897 Daily News 4 Mar. 6/1 The now well-quoted phrase of Lord Salisbury's, ‘we put all our money upon the wrong horse’.
1907 Notes & Queries 19 Jan. 46/2 ‘You will find yourself in the wrong shop!’ is a vague threat.
c. the wrong end, the end, extremity, or limit less adapted, suitable, or proper for a required or particular purpose. Occasionally figurative. Also quasi-adv. (quot. 1897).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > end or extremity > [noun] > less suitable end
latter enda1382
the wrong end1587
1587 T. Underdowne tr. Heliodorus Æthiop. Hist. vi. (1895) 166 Calasiris carried Cariclias quiver.., the wrong ende downeward on his shoulders.
1602 2nd Pt. Returne fr. Parnassus iii. iii. 1323 My master..then turning..the wrong end of the booke vpward.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. xi. 259 They..begin at the wrong end, learning Words first.
1692 R. L'Estrange Fables clxxv. 147 Till a Vain Repentance Minds us of it at the Wrong End on't.
1740 H. Bracken Farriery Improv'd (ed. 2) II. i. 40 I don't think our saying, such a Horse goes the wrong End before, altogether improper, when we speak it of a Horse that goes wide before, and near behind.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas II. vi. iii. 454 This was setting up the trade of a steward, but beginning at the wrong end.
1836 Hooton Bilberry Thurland III. 252 He looked prodigiously cruel, having, as our country folks term it, got out of bed the wrong end first.
1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) Pref. 6 Most of the elementary works I have seen begin at the wrong end.
1886 T. L. Kington-Oliphant New Eng. I. 491 We talk of the wrong end of the stick.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 249 If you happen to have the arrangement of a bargain..with the rural Australian, you will rarely find that the apparently impassive countryman has ‘got the wrong end of the stick’.
1897 R. Kipling Captains Courageous 125 Patent rockets that went off wrong-end-first.
1902 S. E. White Blazed Trail xxxii. 228 Daly knew men. He was at the wrong end of the whip.
1939 ‘G. Orwell’ Coming up for Air iv. vii. 283 Listen, Hilda. You've got hold of the wrong end of the stick about this business.
d. Typography. Not of the proper size, character, or face. Frequently in wrong fount (abbreviated w.f.); also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > style of type > [adjective] > not proper size, character, or face
wrong1770
society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > style of type > [noun] > type face or font > wrong assorting of types
wrong fount1770
mismating1857
1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 444 Letters that..are of a wrong Fount.
1808 C. Stower Printer's Gram. 216 Plate The Exemplification of Typographical Marks... Stet. Ital...w.f.
1896 T. L. De Vinne in Moxon's Mech. Exerc. (new ed.) I. p. xviii Wrong-font characters, broken space-lines, and bent rules.
e. Not of requisite social standing.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > socially inferior person > [adjective]
low-bred1599
dunghilled1600
ungenteel1633
underbred1650
half-bred1694
ingenteel1694
ungentlemanlike1719
lowlife1728
under-degreed1748
lower class1812
downstairs1819
low-class1836
wrong1859
(as) common as dirt (also muck)1877
plebbish1928
downscale1930
non-U1954
1859 C. J. Lever Davenport Dunn xxxii She is ‘tres grande dame’,..and never knows wrong people,..such as are to be met with in society; not by claim of birth and standing, but because they are very rich, or very clever, in some way or other.
f. Music. wrong note n. a note such as one would not expect in a given key, a discordant note. Frequently attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > [noun] > incorrect pitch
wrong note1934
1934 C. Lambert Music Ho! ii. 127 The spicing up of a simple harmonic basis by the addition of what are popularly—and rightly— known as ‘wrong notes’, such as we find in Auric.
1946 C. Mason in A. L. Bacharach Brit. Music x. 139 The ‘wrong-note lyricism’ of Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto is as vulgar as the street tunes it distorts.
1958 Listener 16 Oct. 623/3 The fierce new musical idioms that had been developed by those whom he [sc. Vaughan Williams] called ‘wrong-note’ composers.
1979 Oxf. Jun. Compan. Mus. (ed. 2) 269/2 His [sc. Poulenc's] style was neo-classical, full of unexpected twists and delightful ‘wrong-note’ harmonies.
g. to get a person in wrong: to place in an unfavourable light; to bring into disfavour (with one). U.S.
ΚΠ
1917 War Birds (1927) 30 There are a few rough-necks in every outfit that will cause trouble and get the whole bunch in wrong.
1925 J. Sutherland Circle of Stars xxii. He's got you in wrong with the Governor while you were away.
8.
a. Of a way, course, etc.: leading in, having a trend or aspect to, a direction other than one intends, desires, or expects. to go the wrong way, of food, etc.: see way n.1 18a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > change of direction of movement > [adjective] > deviating from straight course
wrongc1440
swerving1534
wrya1586
wriedc1595
diverted1608
dissilient1656
deviatory1702
out-of-the-waya1732
tangent1787
wide1827
deflected1860
tangential1867
deviative1878
deviating1883
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > [adjective] > wrong
wrongc1440
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 527/2 Wylgate, or wronge gate, deviacio.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 765 Some brekyng downe the walles to bring in the next way, and some yet drew to them that holpe to carye a wrong way.
1572 G. Gascoigne Hearbes in Wks. (1907) I. 349 He much mistooke and shot the wronger way.
1603 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Hist. Descr. Worlde 158 The Russe Emperor..leading foorth his armie to incounter him marched a wrong way.
1632 P. Holland tr. Xenophon Cyrupædia 94 They chaunced upon a wrong by-lane.
1778 F. Burney Evelina I. xxi. 169 That he had himself ordered the man to go a wrong way.
1787 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen 25 Only take care to point his head the wrong way.
1833 Redding Shipwrecks I. 71 They were steering a wrong course.
1835 T. B. Macaulay Sir James Mackintosh in Ess. (1897) 324 Were their faces set in the right or in the wrong direction?
1856 S. Robinson Kansas (ed. 3) 40 We..took the wrong road when nearly there.
1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island vi. xxxii. 271 This here crew is on a wrong tack, I do believe.
b. figurative and in figurative context.
ΚΠ
1412–20 J. Lydgate tr. Hist. Troy ii. 1818 Þoruȝ myst of errour falsely to forveye By pathis wrong from þe riȝte weye.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Fiv Takyng the wrong way, they lyue here a whyle in worldly pleasure.
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. ix. sig. Kiv Ye maie see, ye tooke The wrong waie to wood.
1614 T. Overbury et al. Wife now Widdow Countrey Newes sig. G That the allegorie of Iustice drawne blind, is turned the wrong way.
1698 J. Collier Short View Immorality Eng. Stage 210 I observe the Moral is vitious: It points the wrong way.
1781 W. Cowper Truth 17 Grace leads the right way: if you choose the wrong, Take it, and perish.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas III. vii. i. 9 I..muttered blessings on them the wrong way, and swore outright.
1856 Olmsted Mech. Heavens 133 Because all the inquirers into Nature were upon a wrong road, groping their way through the labyrinth of error.
1901 Scotsman 8 Mar. 6/5 The bill..seemed to proceed upon the wrong tack.
9.
a. the (or a) wrong way, the way or method least conducive to a desired end or purpose; the (or an) incorrect manner.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > [noun] > incorrect manner or procedure
wrongc1440
the (or a) wrong way1490
byway1493
1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) xxvi. 546 Rohars..sayd, ‘Sire,..here is my gage.’ ‘Rohars,’ sayd Charlemagne, ‘here ye take a wronge waye.’
1639 J. Clarke Paroemiologia 8 You go the wrong way to worke.
1651 in F. P. Verney & M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (1907) I. 518 Hee tooke the wrong way to right himself.
1699 A. Boyer Royal Dict. (at cited word) You go the wrong way to work, Vous vous y prenez mal.
1884 Times (Weekly ed.) 31 Oct. 14/3 They went the wrong way to work to gain the ear of the House.
b. (the) wrong way ( †wrong-way, Sc. wrang-gates), in adverbial use, = in a contrary or opposite direction or position to the proper or usual one.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > direction > in the direction that [phrase] > in the wrong direction
(the) wrong way1693
the world > space > relative position > inversion > [adverb] > reversed or turned the wrong way
awkward1340
backwarda1475
wrong-way1693
reversely1752
reversewise1800
wrong-wise1849
back to front1869
hindside-foremost1929
arseways1938
the world > space > relative position > inversion > inverted [phrase] > the wrong way round
hind and forth13..
(the) wrong side out (outwards)1600
(the) wrong way1693
1693 W. Congreve Old Batchelour iv. iii. 35 You wou'd have taken 'em for Friezland-Hens, with their Feathers growing the wrong way.
1697 London Gaz. No. 3325/4 The S stands the wrong way.
1700 T. Brown Amusem. Serious & Comical xii. 157 A Band, or a Cravat put the wrong way.
1733 J. Tull Horse-hoing Husbandry xxiii. 171 Being wrong-way upwards, the Seed is apt to arch in them.
1750 T. R. Blanckley Naval Expositor 103 Marking-Yarn,..is white Yarn spun the wrong Way.
1806 R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads I. 210 Syne wrang-gaites round the kirk gaed he.
1840 T. Hood Miss Kilmansegg iii, in New Monthly Mag. 60 394 At night..He lies like a hedgehog rolled up the wrong way, Tormenting himself with his prickles.
1862 H. Aïdé Carr of Carrlyon III. 55 Don't rub her prejudices up the wrong way,..if you can help it.
1886 W. Besant Children of Gibeon II. ii. ix. 108 All three [had] got out of bed the wrong way that morning.
1897 Catholic Mag. Sept. 169 I did not answer, for I felt completely rubbed up the wrong way.
c. to go the wrong way: (of food or drink) to go into the windpipe instead of the gullet when being swallowed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > [verb (intransitive)] > go into windpipe (of food)
to go the wrong way1766
1766 Philos. Trans. 1765 (Royal Soc.) 55 42 An acquaintance..was killed by a piece of chesnut, which went the wrong way, as we commonly express it.
1860 O. W. Holmes Elsie Venner (1887) vii. 94 He's swallered somethin' the wrong way.
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. iv. 67 In a constant sort of mild epileptic fit, from laughter, and wine going the wrong way.
10. wrong side ( †wrong-side, wrongside).Cf. Danish vrangside, Norwegian rangsida.figurative and in figurative contexts.1553 R. Ascham Rep. Affaires Germany in Wks. (1904) 147 Homer..: whose saying in Greeke is excellent, but beyng turned in the wrong side into English, it shall lesse delight you.1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xvi. 9 Of Glosters treacherie..when I enform'd him, then hee cald me sott, and told me I had turnd the wrong side out.1637 S. Rutherford Let. 7 Sept. in Joshua Redivivus (1664) 166 Christ's..winds turn not when he seemeth to change, it is but we who turn our wrong side to him.1687 J. Dryden Hind & Panther iii. 98 Till frowning skys began to change their chear And time turn'd up the wrong side of the year.1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus i. x. 23/1 In looking at the fair tapestry of human Life,..he dwells..chiefly on the reverse; and indeed turns out the rough seams, tatters, and manifold thrums of that unsightly wrong-side, with..indifference.figurative.1728 C. Cibber Vanbrugh's Provok'd Husband i. i. 10 We are got a little on the wrong side of the Question.1783 W. Cowper Ode to Apollo 2 Patron of all those luckless brains, That, to the wrong side leaning, Indite much metre.1861 A. Leighton Curious Storied Trad. Sc. Life 2nd Ser. 65 That he would not speak to his wife on this the wrong side of eternity.1865 A. C. Swinburne Chastelard i. ii. 38 For love, I think of that as dead men of good days Ere the wrong side of death was theirs.
a. That side of some thing, a fabric, etc., which lies or is normally turned inward, downward, or away from one; the side opposite to the usual, or principal; the lower or under, the back or reverse, of two surfaces.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surface > [noun] > rear surface
wrong side1511
back1626
backside1645
counterfront1730
reverse1775
the world > space > relative position > quality of having sides or being a side > [noun] > fact of having distinct sides > one or other side or hand > side opposite to usual
wrong side1511
1511–12 Act 3 Hen. VIII c. 6 §1 The Walker..shall not rowe..Clothe..on the right side nor of the wrong side.
1555 J. Heywood Two Hundred Epigrammes with Thyrde sig. Bi He hath turnd his typpet, twyse..: Fyrst on the wronge syde and last on the ryght.
a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 43 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) The manner of their Woemens riding on the wrong side of the horse, I meane with their faces towards the right side.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) iii. i. 13 How quickely the wrong side [of a glove] may be turn'd outward. View more context for this quotation
1631 T. Heywood Fair Maid of West: 1st Pt. iv. 42 The three sheep-skins with the wrong side outward.
1715 London Gaz. No. 5353/12 A jet black Mare,..a thick Mane lying on the wrong side.
a1756 E. Haywood New Present (1771) 98 Slit the leg of lamb down on the wrong-side.
1890 L. C. D'Oyle Notches Rough Edge Life 92 He jumped hastily on to his pony (from the wrong side, after the Indian fashion).
b. In the adverbial phr. (the) wrong side out (†outwards), wrong side before. In later use frequently without article.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inversion > inverted [phrase] > the wrong way round
hind and forth13..
(the) wrong side out (outwards)1600
(the) wrong way1693
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iii. i. 68 So turnes she euery man the wrong side out . View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) ii. iii. 47 My sicke foole Roderigo, Whom loue has turn'd almost the wrong side outward.
a1716 R. South 12 Serm. (1717) V. 100 He will find, that if ever another Turn befals the Nation, it will be the Wrongside outwards, the Lowest Uppermost.
1859 H. Kingsley Recoll. G. Hamlyn xxxiv His hat was on wrong-side before.
1883 ‘M. Twain’ Life on Mississippi liv. 536 We all struggled frantically into our clothes,..getting them wrong-side-out and upside-down, as a rule.
1888 ‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Children ix. 66 Trying hard to twist into its proper place a finger of the glove which would go on wrong side out.
c. Phrases: to laugh on the wrong side (of one's mouth, face, etc.) (see laugh v. Phrases 1g); on the wrong side of the blanket Sc. (see blanket n. and adj. Phrases 2).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > be or become dejected [verb (intransitive)] > change from exultation to dejection
to laugh on the wrong side (of one's mouth, face, etc.)1771
to laugh on (also out of) the other (also wrong) side1779
to laugh on (also out of) the other (also wrong) side of one's face1807
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > child > relationship to parent > [adverb] > illegitimately
unlawfullya1425
bastardlike1563
spuriously1755
on the wrong side of the blanket1771
1714 T. Lucas Mem. Most Famous Gamesters & Sharpers 65 But tho' he laugh'd, 'twas on the wrong side of his Mouth.
1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker III. 242 I did'n't come on the wrong side of the blanket, girl.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas I. i. vii. 63 I..began to laugh and sing, though it was sometimes on the wrong side of my mouth.
1820 W. Scott Monastery III. xii. 338 Shafton.., men say, was a-kin to the Piercie on the wrong side of the blanket.
1837 T. Carlyle Diamond Necklace iii, in Fraser's Mag. Jan. 7/1 By-and-by thou wilt laugh on the wrong side of thy face mainly.
1889 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xxxiii I'll make some of ye laugh on the wrong side.
d. The side, party, or principle of which one disapproves.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > opposition > [noun] > opponent > one's opponent(s)
counterparty1557
wrong side1649
other side1653
1649 Bp. J. Taylor Great Exemplar Ep. Ded. 6 Oftentimes they choose the wrong side, and they that take the righter, doe it so by contingency.
1785 W. Cowper Tirocinium in Task 740 Because forsooth thy courage has been tried And stood the test, perhaps on the wrong side . View more context for this quotation
1857 W. Collins Dead Secret I. iii. i. 137 He could argue on the wrong side of any question with an acuteness [etc.].
e. on the wrong side of, older than (a specified age); upwards of. (Cf. shady adj. 2b.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > age > [adjective] > older than an age
on the wrong side of1664
on the shady side of1807
1664 T. Killigrew Parsons Wedding v. ii, in Comedies & Trag. 140 She is smitten in years o'th wrong side of forty.
1692 R. L'Estrange Fables cccl. 306 An Old Man on the Wrong-side of Four~score.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 282. ⁋3 They had..passed their Prime, and got on the wrongside of Thirty.
1773 F. Burney Early Jrnls. & Lett. (1988) I. 276 He is on the wrong side of an Elderly man, but seems to have good Health.
1828 E. Bulwer-Lytton Pelham III. xx. 341 Am I..to look like a methodist parson on the wrong side of forty.
1895 Pall Mall Mag. Nov. 394 A good-looking woman, a little on the wrong side of thirty, perhaps.
f. The disadvantageous, undesirable, or unsafe side of some place, object, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > [noun] > disadvantageous side of something
worsec1275
wrong side1719
short end1860
ass-endc1947
arse-end1958
downside1977
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 264 We were on the wrong side of the Straits of Malacca.
1728 C. Cibber Vanbrugh's Provok'd Husband iv. i. 64 He takes me..into the Lobby [to vote];..but..I was got o' th' wrong side the Post.
1791 ‘G. Gambado’ Ann. Horsemanship vi. 27 [The horse] has got an awkward trick..of leaving the other two on the wrong side of the fence.
1796 J. Aikin & A. L. Barbauld Evenings at Home V. 119 At length,..Young Peer [sc. a race-horse] ran on the wrong side of the post, was distanced, and the squire ruined.
1814 Family Politics iii. iv, in J. Galt New Brit. Theatre II. 224 I find I am on the wrong side of the post; I must flatter a little.
1814 W. Scott Waverley I. x. 135 His grandsire was from the wrong side of the Border. View more context for this quotation
1853 C. Dickens Bleak House xx. 197 Still, Tony, you were on the wrong side of the post then.
1861 A. Trollope Framley Parsonage III. xvi. 308 He had bolted from his appointed course, going terribly on the wrong side of the posts.
1893 M. Cholmondeley Diana Tempest i The poor meagre home in a dingy street; the wrong side of Oxford Street.
g. to get up or out of bed (on) the wrong side, with allusion to the supposed disturbing effect on one's temper. (Cf. right side n. Phrases 1.) colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > ill humour > be ill-humoured [verb (intransitive)]
to have pissed on a nettle1546
mumpc1610
to sell souse1611
sullena1652
sumpha1689
frump1693
hatch1694
sunk1724
mug?c1730
purt1746
sulk1781
to get up or out of bed (on) the wrong side1801
strum1804
boody1857
sull1869
grump1875
to hump the back1889
to have (also pull, throw, etc.) a moody1969
1801 E. Wright Marvellous Pleasant Love-story I. 167 You have got up on the wrong side, this morning, George.
1867 H. Kingsley Silcote xi Miss had got out of bed the wrong side.
1887 G. R. Sims Mary Jane's Mem. 203 I never lived in a family that so often got out of bed on the wrong side, to use a homely expression.
h. The side (of a highway) reserved for oncoming traffic (in Great Britain the right-hand side, in most other countries the left). Also jocular with reference to roads in countries having the opposite system to one's own.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > road > parts of road > [noun] > part where vehicles run > side for oncoming traffic
wrong side1838
1838 C. Dickens Oliver Twist II. xxi. 20 Keeping on the wrong side of the road.
1914 M. Beerbohm in Eng. Rev. Dec. 19 Our car..was, for an instant, full on the wrong side of the road.
1933 A. G. Macdonell England, their England xv. 264 A motor-bicycle..had been taking the natural advantage of its speed..to pass the limousine at fifty-five miles an hour on the wrong side at a blind corner.
1965 L. Sands Something to Hide ii. 31 ‘We..usually winter abroad.’ ‘Very nice too! If you can get used to driving on the wrong side.’
1972 Guardian 27 Nov. 12/7 750,000 British drivers took their cars abroad last year... Many..accidents..[were] possibly caused by confusion over driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road.
11. Of persons, etc.:
a. Judging, believing, or acting contrary to the facts of the case; incorrect in judgement, assertion, or action; mistaken, in error.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > an error, mistake > [adjective]
erringa1340
overseena1393
willa1400
out of one's book (also books)1549
straying1553
faulting1566
deceived1569
seek1569
tripping1577
amiss1582
mistaking1582
naught1597
errant1609
solecistical1654
solecismical1656
wrong1695
solecistic1865
1695 J. Locke Some Thoughts conc. Educ. (new ed.) §89. 140 His Practice must by no means cross his Precepts, unless he intend to set him wrong.
1734 A. Pope Epist. to Arbuthnot 158 Did some more sober Critics come abroad? If wrong, I smil'd; if right, I kiss'd the rod.
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa III. lvi. 271 And I own I am wrong.
1797 H. Lee Canterbury Tales I. 93 Though my head was wrong, my heart was right.
1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. v. 100 If I am wrong in this, Mrs. Siddons must answer it.
1836 E. Bulwer-Lytton Duchess de la Vallière iii. iii I was not wrong to feel remorse, But wrong to give it utterance!
1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 34 I should be very wrong not to obey you.
b. Not normal or sound in the senses, etc.; not sane.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > [adjective] > insanity or madness > affected with
woodc725
woodsekc890
giddyc1000
out of (by, from, of) wit or one's witc1000
witlessc1000
brainsickOE
amadc1225
lunaticc1290
madc1330
sickc1340
brain-wooda1375
out of one's minda1387
frenetica1398
fonda1400
formada1400
unwisea1400
brainc1400
unwholec1400
alienate?a1425
brainless1434
distract of one's wits1470
madfula1475
furious1475
distract1481
fro oneself1483
beside oneself1490
beside one's patience1490
dementa1500
red-wood?1507
extraught1509
misminded1509
peevish1523
bedlam-ripe1525
straughta1529
fanatic1533
bedlama1535
daft1540
unsounda1547
stark raving (also staring) mad1548
distraughted1572
insane1575
acrazeda1577
past oneself1576
frenzy1577
poll-mad1577
out of one's senses1580
maddeda1586
frenetical1588
distempered1593
distraught1597
crazed1599
diswitted1599
idle-headed1599
lymphatical1603
extract1608
madling1608
distracteda1616
informala1616
far gone1616
crazy1617
March mada1625
non compos mentis1628
brain-crazed1632
demented1632
crack-brained1634
arreptitiousa1641
dementate1640
dementated1650
brain-crackeda1652
insaniated1652
exsensed1654
bedlam-witteda1657
lymphatic1656
mad-like1679
dementative1685
non compos1699
beside one's gravity1716
hyte1720
lymphated1727
out of one's head1733
maddened1735
swivel-eyed1758
wrong1765
brainsickly1770
fatuous1773
derangedc1790
alienated1793
shake-brained1793
crack-headed1796
flighty1802
wowf1802
doitrified1808
phrenesiac1814
bedlamite1815
mad-braineda1822
fey1823
bedlamitish1824
skire1825
beside one's wits1827
as mad as a hatter1829
crazied1842
off one's head1842
bemadded1850
loco1852
off one's nut1858
off his chump1864
unsane1867
meshuga1868
non-sane1868
loony1872
bee-headed1879
off one's onion1881
off one's base1882
(to go) off one's dot1883
locoed1885
screwy1887
off one's rocker1890
balmy or barmy on (or in) the crumpet1891
meshuggener1892
nutty1892
buggy1893
bughouse1894
off one's pannikin1894
ratty1895
off one's trolley1896
batchy1898
twisted1900
batsc1901
batty1903
dippy1903
bugs1904
dingy1904
up the (also a) pole1904
nut1906
nuts1908
nutty as a fruitcake1911
bugged1920
potty1920
cuckoo1923
nutsy1923
puggled1923
blah1924
détraqué1925
doolally1925
off one's rocket1925
puggle1925
mental1927
phooey1927
crackers1928
squirrelly1928
over the edge1929
round the bend1929
lakes1934
ding-a-ling1935
wacky1935
screwball1936
dingbats1937
Asiatic1938
parlatic1941
troppo1941
up the creek1941
screwed-up1943
bonkers1945
psychological1952
out to lunch1955
starkers1956
off (one's) squiff1960
round the twist1960
yampy1963
out of (also off) one's bird1966
out of one's skull1967
whacked out1969
batshit1971
woo-woo1971
nutso1973
out of (one's) gourd1977
wacko1977
off one's meds1986
1765 Sir J. Porter in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. i. 381 Any suspicion that he was wrong in his senses.
1835 D. Webster Orig. Sc. Rhymes 13 This maid that was wrang in the mind.
1881 D. Thomson Musings among Heather 44 Lasses will laugh at yer havers, An' think ye are wrang in the head.
III. That is not lawful, and related uses.† 12. † b. wrong-heir n. Obsolete the hermit-crab.† 14. False; fictitious; unreal. Obsolete. rare.† 15. Belonging to, situated on, the left side. Obsolete. rare.
a. That has no legal right, title, or claim; not legitimate; unlawful; = wrongful adj. 3b. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal right > [adjective] > not
wrong1303
unnatural1554
1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 2026 Ȝyf a womman yn hordam do swyche outrage Þat a wrong eyre bere herytage.
c1420 J. Lydgate Assembly of Gods 682 There were..Wrong vsurpers, with gret extorcioners.
a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 176 Herry, þe wrong kyng of Spayn.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 22 Jn the quhilk tyme the traytrous romaynis maid thre wrang papis.
a1586 Maitland in M. Folio MS. (S.T.S.) 428 Fray god degressouris and vrang possessouris, repent sall ȝe.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Crustacea > [noun] > subclass Malacostraca > division Thoracostraca > order Decapoda > suborder Macrura > member of family Paguridae of Anomura
hermit-fish1605
hermit1661
soldier1666
soldier-crab1668
wrong-heir1730
hermit-crab1736
pagurian1840
hermit-lobster1850
pirate1857
paguroid1879
Jack-in-the-box1889
pagurid1893
pagurine1899
1730 S. Dale Taylor's Hist. & Antiq. Harwich 436 The Wrong-Heire or Bernard the Hermit.
1854 R. G. Mayne Expos. Lexicon Med. Sci. (1860) 155 The hermit crab..takes up its abode in univalve shells which it finds empty; hence has been named Wrong heir.
13. † b. Obtained unjustly; held unlawfully. Obsolete.
a. Marked or characterized by illegality; not legally valid.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > rule of law > illegality > [adjective]
unleefula1382
unlawfula1387
wrongfulc1386
unleesomec1400
unlisible?c1425
wrong1480
unlegitimate1602
illicit1606
illegal1626
non licet1628
adulterine1640
unlegal1640
illegitimate1645
illegitime1669
wrongous1671
contraband1686
illicitous1693
sly1829
unprocedural1929
bent1930
bust-out1934
bandulu1980
1480 Coventry Leet Bk. 459 Þe chirchewardens kepen hit still be wronge possession and sett hit to ferme yerely.
1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 i. i. 160 Be thy title right or wrong, Lord Clifford vowes to fight in thy defence.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > dueness or propriety > moral impropriety > [adjective] > claiming unduly > claimed unduly > obtained or held wrongfully
wrongousc1425
usurpedc1430
wrong1563
1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Rogation Week 524 God neuer suffereth the thirde heyre to enioye his fathers wrong possessions.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > fabrication of statement or story > [adjective]
feignedc1374
wronga1375
forged14..
falsesome1533
compound1574
flim-flam1577
coined1582
minted1598
fabled1606
commentitial1611
inventive1612
commentitious1615
fictiousa1644
fictitious1660
manufactured1705
commentative1716
made-up1806
inventeda1831
concocted1840
accrete1846
fictive1855
mythical1870
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 706 For soþe, ich am a mad man now wel ich may knowe, Forto wene in þis wise þis wrong metyng soþe.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > quality of having sides or being a side > [adjective] > situated at the side > left
winstereOE
lefta1200
car1279
wrong?a1400
left hand1440
sinister1483
sinistral1534
left-hand side1581
nar1607
sinistrous1646
nigh1722
left-handed1757
larboard1781
leftward1791
sinistrine1792
left-sided1801
toward1866
?a1400 Morte Arth. 1480 Wrothely one the wrange hande sir Gawayne he strykkes.
1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1901) I. 38 Becaus the Rivere of tyber severit þame fra þe romane landis on þare richt handis, þai turnit þame on þare wrang handis.
B. adv.
1. figurative.1399 W. Langland Richard Redeles iii. 80 Thus lafte þey [sc. the young eagles] þe leder þat hem wrong ladde.1726 Bp. J. Butler 15 Serm. xii. 248 How liable we are to be led wrong by Passion and private Interest.1755 Man xxxvii. 4 When the powers of the soul are wrong directed.1786 R. Burns Poems 169 List'ning to their [sc. passions] witching voice Has often led me wrong.1859 J. Ruskin Two Paths App. i. 254 Tintoret..may lead you wrong if you don't understand him.† b. In an oblique or deflected line or position; obliquely, askew. Obsolete.
a. In a direction differing from the right or true one; by an erroneous course or way; astray.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > [adverb] > astray
willa1300
wrongc1330
astrayc1380
astrayly1440
errantly1834
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 15720 He sailed al day, & on þe nyght, Vmwhile boþe wrong & ryught, Til he com in-til an ilde.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 5760 Mi folk of ysrael es in wa; þai haue ben led wrang alsua.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 332 By god thoghte he, al wrang I haue mysgon.
1572 G. Gascoigne Gascoigne's Woodmanship 31 He winked wrong, and so let slippe the [bow-]string, Which cast him wide.
1614 J. Sylvester Parl. Vertues Royall 706 A fair Ship..wants..A skilfull Pilot,..That never wry shee sail, nor wrong shee row.
1715 London Gaz. No. 5295/11 Lost or carried wrong.., several Parcels of Goods.
1773 O. Goldsmith She stoops to Conquer i. 14 Lock-a-daisy, my masters, you're come a deadly deal wrong!
1824 J. Mactaggart Sc. Gallovidian Encycl. (1876) 293 We may wander even on kend grun; so I may run myself wrong in Gallowa, a land I weel ken.
1869 W. S. Gilbert Bab Ballads 193 He loved to send old ladies wrong, And teach their feet to stray.
1875 I. L. Bird Hawaiian Archipel. 403 Our guide took us a little wrong once... ‘Wrong’ on Mauna Loa means being arrested by an impassable a-a stream.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > [adverb] > askew
acrooka1387
wrongc1440
overthwartlya1470
adoylea1475
awry1487
crooked1545
across1559
askew1565
cam1579
alurk1581
skew-whiff1754
a-twist1755
agley1786
skeow-ways1869
off-kilter1929
c1440 Pallad. on Husb. iv. 312 Sette hit [sc. a bough] in the delf so lenyng wronge [L. oblique].
c1440 York Myst. xxxv. 182 We twoo schall see tille aythir side, For ellis þis werke wille wrie all wrang.
?a1500 Chester Pl. xvi. 547 This Caytyfe I have cast, shall be wronge wrast, or I wend away.
2. to go wrong.(b)1837 E. Bulwer-Lytton Ernest Maltravers I. i. vi. 68 She had a vague idea about girls going wrong.1888 J. McCarthy & R. C. Praed Ladies' Gallery III. viii. 169 A home..for poor girls who had gone wrong.
a. To take a wrong way, road, or course; to go astray. Also in figurative context; and figurative, to make a mistake; to fall into error; to err.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > direct one's course [verb (intransitive)] > take the wrong way
to go wrongc1340
misgo1340
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > be mistaken, err [verb (intransitive)]
dwelec900
haltc900
marOE
slidea1000
misfangOE
missOE
to have wough?c1225
misnimc1225
misrekec1275
mis-startc1275
err1303
to go wrongc1340
misgo1340
slipc1340
snapperc1380
forvay1390
to miss of ——c1395
to make a balkc1430
to run in ——1496
trip1509
fault1530
mistake1548
misreckon1584
misstep1605
warpa1616
solecize1627
hallucinate1652
nod1677
to go will1724
to fare astray (misliche, amiss)a1849
slip1890
skid1920
c1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 193 Na wonder es, yf þai ga wrang, For in myrknes of unknawyng þai gang.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 25681 All þat singes þis sang..þu lede þaim right þar þai ga wrang.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 15448 A taken þan i sal youu giue, þat yee sal noght ga wrang.
c1400 26 Pol. Poems 120 Whenne he wolde noȝt folwe hym [sc. the angel],..Out of the waye he wente wronge.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 202 Goo wronge, devio, deliro.
1513 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid vi. Prol. 8 To follow Virgile in this dirk poese, Convey me, Sibill, that I ga nocht wrang.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Tiiv Whan this sterre was hydde..they went wrong to their great paryll.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida v. i. 64 Aga[memnon]. We go wrong we goe wrong. Aiax. No, yonder tis. View more context for this quotation
1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 25 The Learn'd..So much..scorn the Crowd, that if the Throng By Chance go right, they purposely go wrong.
1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 1 It being easy to go wrong where no-body has beaten the Way.
1793 R. Gray Poems 10 There's mony a ane..That far frae gude's way hath gane wrang.
1849 Tait's Edinb. Mag. 16 188/1 We went wrong in making any active intervention.
1873 H. Spencer Study Sociol. xiv. 337 There are more ways of going wrong than of going right.
b. To deviate or depart from moral rectitude or integrity; to take to evil courses; also, to fall from virtue.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > wrong conduct > act wrongly or immorally [verb (intransitive)] > err or go wrong or astray
misfareeOE
wanderc897
dwelec900
miswendOE
misfereOE
misnimc1225
failc1290
to go willa1300
misgoc1300
misstepc1300
errc1315
strayc1325
folly1357
wryc1369
crookc1380
miscarryc1390
ravec1390
astray1393
forloinc1400
delire?a1475
to go wrong?1507
to tread the shoe awrya1542
swerve1576
prevaricate1582
tread awrya1625
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > loss of chastity > fall from chastity (of woman) [verb (intransitive)]
to tread (her) shoe awry (rarely amiss)c1422
to go wrong?1507
falla1616
to tread one's shoe awry (the shoe, one's foot, amiss, etc.)1642
to take a stone (up) in the ear1691
to sprain one's ankle1785
?1507 Ballad of Kynd Kittok in W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen sig. b.ivv Sanct petir hat hir with a club..becaus ye wif ȝeid wrang.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ecclus. iv. 19 But yf he go wronge, she shall forsake him.
1780 W. Cowper Progress of Error 556 Thus men go wrong..; Bend the straight rule to their own crooked will.
1848 C. Dickens Dombey & Son lviii. 587 That when ladies had bad homes and mothers, they went wrong in their way, too.
1888 ‘H. S. Merriman’ Phantom Future viii I tried..to show you that I was not quite a blackguard. But it was useless; I went wrong again.
c. Of events, etc.: To happen amiss or unfortunately; to issue or result unsuccessfully or unprosperously.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > fail or be unsuccessful [verb (intransitive)] > go wrong
mistimeOE
to come evil to pass1481
tread awry1524
mischance1552
to go wrong1592
pall1604
to go haywire1929
snafu1943
1592 Arden of Feversham ii. ii Should you deceiue vs, twould go wrong with you.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) i. i. 41 Your strong possession much more then your right, Or else it must go wrong with you and me. View more context for this quotation
1711 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 9 Oct. (1948) II. 387 This day has gone all wrong, by sitting up so late last night.
1819 W. Irving Rip Van Winkle in Sketch Bk. i. 64 It was no use to work on his farm;..every thing about it went wrong, and would go wrong, in spite of him.
1857 G. Borrow Romany Rye II. xi. 174 Everything seemed to go wrong with me—horses became sick [etc.].
1885 G. R. Sims in Pall Mall Gaz. 7 Apr. 19/2 A thick slime of what looks like toffee gone wrong.
1891 E. Kinglake Austral. at Home 114 A pal or two..ready to help a chap if things go wrong.
d. Of things: To get out of gear or working order; to fail to work, run, etc., by reason of friction, trouble, or breakdown. Of a clock or watch: To fail to keep correct time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [verb (intransitive)] > go fast or slow
go1508
to go or run on wheels1738
to go wrong1809
gain1861
lose1861
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > fail or be unsuccessful [verb (intransitive)] > go wrong > of equipment or machinery
to go wrong1809
to break down1831
conk1917
poop1927
1809 W. Irving Hist. N.Y. I. v. i. 8 Others [sc. clocks] may keep going continually, and continually be going wrong.
1861 C. Dickens Great Expectations I. v. 62 We have had an accident with these [handcuffs], and I find the lock of one of 'em goes wrong.
1871 E. Bulwer-Lytton Coming Race xxii That watch..has never gone wrong since I had it.
1885 Law Rep.: Probate Div. 10 100 The machinery had gone wrong.
1898 Tit-Bits 29 Jan. 342/2 The water supply has gone wrong.
e. Of persons: To fail in some undertaking or enterprise, or in the general conduct of life.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > fail or be unsuccessful [verb (intransitive)] > specifically of persons
miscarry1602
to come off bluely1654
to buy the rabbit1807
flunk1823
to go wrong1827
slip1890
to fall (also go) by the wayside1898
crack1918
to go down the tube(s)1963
1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 203 Seein' Papists' side gae wrang, Out at the Chanc'llor's-door he flang.
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xvii. 150 He was a very kind old man... I'm really sorry he's gone wrong.
f. Of food, etc.: To get into bad or unsound condition; to become unwholesome.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > deteriorate in condition [verb (intransitive)]
marc1225
pairc1390
starvec1400
dispair1580
to go off1583
die1612
spoil1692
to go bad1799
to go wrong1882
to go in the tank1974
the world > food and drink > food > qualities of food > [verb (intransitive)] > go bad
to go wrong1882
1882 Imperial Dict. II. 403 To go wrong, to become unsound, as meat, fruit.
3. Not in accordance with good morals or a just standard of actions; in a manner contrary to equity or uprightness; unjustly, unfairly; = wrongfully adv. 1, wrongly adv. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > unjustness > [adverb]
unevenc1000
unrightOE
unrightlyOE
wronga1250
falsely1303
wrongouslyc1325
unskilfully1338
unskilwiselya1340
wrongly1340
unrightfullyc1350
wrongfullyc1374
unevenly1382
unjustlyc1384
unduly1399
slanderously1429
injustly1502
undeservedly1549
slanderfully1550
unequallya1599
unequitably1649
unfairly1713
iniquitably1742
inequitably1857
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > [adverb]
unrightOE
unrightlyOE
wronga1250
mislichec1275
falsely1303
wrongouslyc1325
unskilfully1338
unskilwiselya1340
wrongly1340
unrightfullyc1350
wrongfullyc1374
unjustlyc1384
injustly1502
a1250 Owl & Nightingale 1362 Heo may do bi myne songe, hweþer heo wile wel þe wronge.
1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 12180 Þys erymyte..beheld..whyche come with gode deuocyoun, And whyche for ouþer enchesoun: Alle sagh þys ermyte euerydeyl, Who come wrong, and who come weyl.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1176 Þer-for þe wronger he wirches, al þe world may know.
c1400 Rule St. Benet (Verse) 1608 Wyne þat es myghty & strang Mase witty men forto wirk wrang.
c1430 Chev. Assigne 170 Hit is þorowe þe werke of god or þey [sc. gold chains] be wronge wonnen.
1568 in J. Small Poems W. Dunbar (1893) II. 322 The regeand tirrant..is exilit and his ofspring The land of Juda, that josit wrang.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iii. vi. 80 We perceiu'd both how you were wrong led, And we in negligent danger. View more context for this quotation
1742 A. Pope New Dunciad 182 The right divine of kings to govern wrong.
1801 Farmer's Mag. Apr. 191 The tithes..were gifted away to others (right or wrong, I do not presume to enquire).
1848 C. Dickens Dombey & Son lxi. 618 I do conjure my relative..to set right..whatever she has done wrong,..because it is wrong, and not right.
1865 G. Grote Plato I. vii. 299 We ought not..to act wrong or unjustly.
4.
a. Out of accordance or consistence with facts or the truth of the case; mistakenly, erroneously; incorrectly; = wrongfully adv. 2b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > [adverb]
wrongc1175
miss?c1225
untruea1350
untrulyc1380
falselya1400
wilsomelyc1420
awrong1430
unpurelyc1460
fallibly1552
erroneously1578
sinistrously1581
wrongously1597
false1598
unproperly1604
incorrectly1611
fallaciously1612
mistakingly1652
foul1683
wrongfully1743
wrongly1755
erringly1815
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 18312 Acc þatt niss nohht—ȝe wenenn wrang. Off me.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 10020 Swillke sinndenn alle þa Þatt spellenn wrang. & leȝhenn.
13.. Gosp. Nicodemus 110 Me think in thoght Þe bedell wrang ȝe blame.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 4118 Ȝif i wrong seie any word, wo worþ me euer.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 13906 Qua will þe sla? qui sais þou wrang?
c1400 Rule St. Benet (Prose) 14 Ofte speke þai wrang.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) x. l. 86 To Fyfe he past to wesy that cuntre, Bot wrongwarnyt off Inglismen was he.
1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. A.viijv Anethum is wronge englished, of some, anise.
?1593 G. Fletcher Licia iii. 4 Wrong they doe esteeme She hath no heat.
1681 W. Robertson Phraseologia Generalis 1355 You took my meaning wrong.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. xvi. 338 A thousand odd Reasons..may make one Man quote another Man's Words or Meaning wrong.
1703 N. Rowe Ulysses iv. i Whoe'er Brought you the Message..Mistook the Queen, and has inform'd you wrong.
1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks III. Misc. iv. i. 204 Thus at last a Mind..sees its Hindrances and Obstructions, and finds they are wholly from it-self, and from Opinions wrong-conceiv'd.
1791 W. Cowper Judgm. Poets 19 To poets..The nymphs referr'd the cause, Who..all judg'd it wrong.
1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lxiii. 574 In spite of her care and assiduity she guessed wrong.
1851 Ld. Tennyson Princess (ed. 4) v. 120 I take her for the flower of womankind, And so I often told her, right or wrong.
1864 W. D. Latto Tammas Bodkin xxiii Ye maun hae been wrang informed.
b. to get (someone) wrong: to misunderstand a person's meaning or intentions, to misinterpret someone. slang (originally U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > misinterpretation > misunderstand [phrase]
to take amissa1425
to walk wide in words1529
to have (also take, catch) the wrong pig by the ear (also tail)1536
to be out of the story1649
to be at cross-purposes1688
I beg your pardon1806
to lose track of1894
to get (someone) wrong1927
to speak past ——1952
to lose the thread1956
1927 P. Dunning & G. Abbott Broadway (1928) xix. 196 ‘Ever been accused of murder?’..‘Don't get me wrong—that stuff ain't in my line.’
1934 T. Wilder Heaven's my Destination ii. 39 Don't get her wrong.
1942 P. G. Wodehouse Money in Bank xii. 107 We got Soapy all wrong, Chimp. He's explained everything.
1966 Listener 20 Oct. 561/1 Old L. B. J. is riddled with anxiety over the thought that we shall go to our graves having got him all wrong.
1968 Listener 5 Sept. 308/2 Stuart Hood's review of Harold Nicolson's last volume of Diaries..ends sympathetically, but begins with a devastating attack on my father's ‘snobbishness’... I think, not merely as his son and editor, that they have got him wrong, and are a little uncertain what snobbishness really means.
1974 N. Freeling Dressing of Diamond 200 Don't get me wrong; there's no offence meant.
5.
a. Not in the right or proper way; in an improper or unfitting manner; improperly, unduly, amiss.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > unfittingness > [adverb]
evilOE
wrongc1175
unworthlyc1200
unkindly?c1225
ungraithlya1300
unkindlyc1300
wrongly1303
unconablya1340
unworthily1377
ungoodlyc1380
falsely1393
uncomelya1400
unsittinglyc1412
uncomelilyc1420
unorderly1471
ungainlya1500
ill?1529
unmeetly1533
unconveniently1538
undecently1563
unproperly1604
unbeseemingly1617
viciously1617
unbecomingly1653
abusefully1656
unbefittingly1871
society > morality > dueness or propriety > moral impropriety > [adverb]
wrongc1175
unworthlyc1200
unkindly?c1225
ungraithlya1300
wrongly1303
unconablya1340
unworthily1377
ungoodlyc1380
uncovenablya1382
improperly1390
falsely1393
unduly1399
unseemlya1400
unsittinglyc1412
unorderly1471
induly1483
unseemlily1483
ungainlya1500
uncomely?1518
unmeetly1533
unconveniently1538
wrongfully?1549
uncomelily1561
undecently1563
indecently1589
unproperly1604
unbeseemingly1617
viciously1617
unseemingly1619
misbecominglya1625
unbeseeming1645
unbecomingly1653
invalidly1705
naughty1892
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > disharmony or incongruity > unsuitability or inappropriateness > [adverb]
wrongc1175
unkindlyc1300
wrongly1303
unworthily1377
uncovenablya1382
improperly1390
inconveniently1509
ineptly1523
impertinently1546
unaptly1548
unfeatly1548
unhandsomely1548
unfitly1561
disagreeably1566
unmeet1577
unsuitably1624
malapropos1630
unfittingly1637
unfit1653
unworthy1661
inaptly1809
misappropriatelyc1831
infelicitouslya1834
ineligibly1846
inappropriately1847
inapplicably1864
unapropos1956
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 10030 Whatt teȝȝ don þe læwedd follc O drihhtin wrang to trowwenn. & wrang to ledenn þeȝȝre lif & drihhtin wrang to þeowwtenn.
a1250 Owl & Night 196 He wot insyht in euche songe, huo singeþ wel huo singeþ wronge.
c1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 2487 Our gude dedys er ofte done wrang.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 12480 Quen þat þai wrang wit iesu delt.
c1400 26 Pol. Poems 107 My wittes on nyȝtes wrong y ware.
c1440 York Myst. xxxvii. 264 Here workis þou all wrang.
1504 W. Cornishe in J. Skelton Pithy Pleasaunt & Profitable Wks. (1568) sig. Zvv If he [sc. the harper] play wrong.
1531 W. Tyndale Expos. 1 John Prol. (1538) 7 b Because we be wronge taught.
c1620 A. Hume Of Orthogr. Britan Tongue (1870) i. iii. §9 U, the south..pronunces eu, we ou, both, in my simple judgement, wrang.
1755 Man xlv. 5 Methods..extremely wrong calculated for promoting the real perfection..of individuals.
1787 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) II. 332 They will amend it whenever they find it works wrong.
1828 Marly: Planter's Life in Jamaica 96 The estate was wrong managed.
1881 M. E. Braddon Asphodel I. x. 298 I asked him to come on with me... I hope I did not do very wrong.
1897 O. Wister Lin McLean 164 Every guest's uneasiness lest he drink his coffee wrong.
b. Out of proper order or due place.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > [adverb] > wrongly arranged
wrong1574
1574 J. Baret Aluearie W 421 To put on his shoes Wrong, inducere calceos alicui præpostere.
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man i. 58 All the question..Is only this, if God has plac'd him wrong?
c. Clumsily; inelegantly; badly. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > [adverb] > clumsily or awkwardly
unhagherlyc1175
unslyly?a1400
roughc1400
unslya1425
rudelyc1425
unhandsomely1545
grosslyc1550
untowardly?1550
botcherly?1566
bungerly1574
lubberlike1575
lumpishly1583
clouterly1593
lubberly1594
foggily1599
awkly1603
unwieldilyc1610
cumbersomely1611
uneasily1611
sinisterly1628
left-handedly1648
ungainlya1661
awkwardly1663
clumsily1691
uncleverly1697
wrong1727
unwieldly1793
gawkily1811
maladroitly1827
undexterously1848
flat-footedly1886
ham-fistedly1964
ham-handedly1964
1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Misfashioned, shapen wrong or illy.
Compounds
C1. Compounds of the adjective.
a. Parasynthetic, as wrong-ended (see A. 7c; hence wrong-endedness), wrong-hearted (hence wrong-heartedness), wrong-heired, wrong-jawed, wrong-minded, wrong-principled.
ΚΠ
a1400 Octavian (Cambr.) 107 Moche sorowe deryth mee, That Rome schalle wrong-heyred [v.r. wrange-ayerde] bee In vnkynde honde.
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum (at cited word) Wronge iawed, or hauinge the neither longer then the vpper iaw, bronchus.
1805 C. James New Mil. Dict. (ed. 2) (at cited word) The inhabitants of England and Ireland are seldom wrong-hearted.
1835 T. P. Thompson Exercises (1842) III. 275 Evidences of the wrong-endedness of a property-qualification, with which the British people are unhappily familiar.
a1849 H. Coleridge Ess. & Marginalia (1851) II. 88 His judgment of books is not so much superficial..as it is wrong-principled.
1883 Imperial Dict. IV. 669 Wrongminded, having a mind wrongly inclined; entertaining erroneous or distorted views.
1885 Cent. Mag. 29 910 Wrong-headedness may be as fatal now as wrong-heartedness.
b.
wrong number n. a telephone number obtained other than the one required by the caller.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > [noun] > number
number1879
telephone number1880
home number1898
phone number1911
silent number1913
wrong number1930
4111931
9991937
area code1946
9111968
800 number1971
cell number1988
0800 number1988
digit1989
1930 P. G. Wodehouse Very Good, Jeeves vi. 169 A woman has tossed my heart lightly away, but what of it?..The voice of Love seemed to call to me, but it was a wrong number.
1942 A. Christie Body in Libr. i. 12 Miss Marple's telephone rang... ‘It must be,’ Miss Marple decided, ‘a wrong number.’
1972 H. MacInnes Message from Malaga xii. 183 The telephone will ring... I shall..apologize for speaking to a wrong number.
C2. Compounds of the adverb.
a. With past participles.† wrong-feigned adj. Obsolete
wrong-directed adj.
ΚΠ
a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. iii. 167 A dull or careless or wrong directed application.
ΚΠ
a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) ii. xxii. sig. r.vii Subtell policy and wrong feyned euidens.
wrong-grounded adj.
ΚΠ
a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. i. 209 Wrong-grounded piety and obstinacy.
wrong-ordered adj.
ΚΠ
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1593) i. f. 50 To heare The poore-clad truth of loues wrong-ordred lot.
wrong-screwed adj.
ΚΠ
1849 G. Cupples Green Hand vi, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 723/1 As if one saw through a wrong-screwed glass.
wrong-timed adj.
ΚΠ
1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 111 Don't let a little wrong-timed Bashfulness take place.
b. With strong past participles.
(a) † wrong-take adj. (also wrong-taken) Obsolete
ΚΠ
a1300 Cursor Mundi 27867 Til wrang takin [þ]yng [v.rr. wrang(e) þing] be quite again.
c1400 26 Pol. Poems 97 He þat ful is fylde Wiþ wrong take pore mennys thrift.
(b) † wrong-gotten adj. Obsolete unjustly obtained; ill-gotten.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > acquisition > [adjective] > obtained or acquired > by evil means
wrong-gotten1388
evil winc1425
extort1430
misgottena1450
evil-gotten1539
ill-gottena1555
misbegotten1591
ill-gota1616
1388 Wyclif's Sel. Wks. III. 472 If he..make restituccione of wrong-goten godis.
c1425 in Anglia VIII. 156/10 Summe men..þat hadde mykel spendid..of wrange-goten goodes.
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 202 It was all of robbery & of wrong-getten gudis.
c. With verbal nouns and present participles.
(a) † wrong-believing n. Obsolete† wrong-going n. Obsolete† wrong-thinking n. Obsolete† wrong-voting adj. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1652 H. Bell tr. M. Luther Colloquia Mensalia iv. 90 Superstitions and wrong-believings.
ΚΠ
1850 J. Brown Disc. & Sayings our Lord I. 367 Our short-comings and wrong-goings.
ΚΠ
1877 T. H. Huxley Techn. Educ., Sci. & Cult. (1881) 66 Clear and consecutive wrong-thinking is the next best thing to right-thinking.
ΚΠ
1858 T. P. Thompson Audi Alteram Partem I. xlvi. 184 Depriving wrong-voting officers of their commissions.
(b) † wrong-wresting n. Obsolete = turning aside.
wrong-reading adj. such as can only be read after being first reversed by a mirror.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > blocks, plates, or transfers > [adjective] > image read after reversed by mirror
wrong-reading1955
1955 J. Ashworth Operation & Mech. of Linotype & Intertype II. xxxiii. 329 The film magazine is a holder containing the film and a mechanism for advancing it between lines... Production models will be able to produce either wrong- or right-reading positives as desired.
1967 R. R. Karch & E. J. Buber Graphic Arts Procedures: Offset Processes iv. 87 Images can be right reading or wrong (as seen in a mirror) reading to suit the process used in offset-lithography.
ΚΠ
a1560 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Æneid ix. Cc iv The winds vpcaught that stroke, and Iuno Queene the daunger brake Wrongwresting as it went.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
wrongv.
/rɒŋ/, U.S. /rɔŋ/, /rɑŋ/ I. transitive.elliptical.1607 S. Rowlands Diogines Lanthorne 34 Haue I wrong'd thee in all my life, Mouthfull of Hay or Grasse?
1.
a. To do wrong or injury to (a person); to treat with injustice, prejudice, or harshness; to deal unfairly with, withhold some act of justice from (some one).In frequent use from c1600.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > harm, injury, or wrong > harm, injure, or commit offence against [verb (transitive)]
misdoc1230
forworkc1275
wrongc1330
to do (one) spite or a spitec1380
to commit (also do, make) an offencec1384
offenda1387
unrighta1393
to do disease toc1400
injuryc1484
offence1512
misfease1571
watcha1586
injure1597
envya1625
disserve1637
hinder1639
disservice1837
serve1887
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > act unjustly to [verb (transitive)]
to do (…) wrongc1220
wrongc1330
malign1432
injuryc1484
injure1597
to fuck over1961
to screw over1968
dork1969
to dick over1991
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > unjustness > [verb (transitive)] > treat
wrongc1330
injuryc1484
injure1597
α.
reflexive.a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iii. iii. 158 Good master Ford, be contented: You wrong your selfe too much. View more context for this quotation1683 D. A. Whole Art Converse 88 We wrong ourselves if we oppose their Sentiments.1860 Ld. Tennyson Sea Dreams 168 His gain is loss; for he that wrongs his friend Wrongs himself more.β. 1423 Kingis Quair xcii Thus were thai wrangit that did no forfet.c1459 Reg. Aberbrothoc (Bannatyne Club) II. 105 Ewyl myndit personis..wrangis and tribulis ws.c1540 Dr. Doubble Ale a iv b Some wolde he shuld be hanged Or els he shulde be wranged.1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1895) II. 182 J suffirit him nocht in ane iot to be wrangte.1785 W. Cowper Task iii. 101 Hypocrisy, detest her as we may, (And no man's hatred ever wrong'd her yet) May claim this merit.1792 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) II. 597 He'd look into thy bonie face, And say, ‘I canna wrang thee!’1793 R. Gray Poems 27 Some silent sang, And glow'rt as they were wranged.1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 11868 Þen schul we ryghte, þat now vs wranges.
c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 64 Now are iust men oft wrongid, and schrewis vnpunischid.
1479 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 619 He wyll be wyth me ayenst myn oncle in iche mater..that he entendyth to wrong me in.
1496–7 Act 12 Hen. VII c. 12 §4 At the complaynte of the Constable..in the name of any party so hurted or wronged.
1526 Pilgr. Perf. (1531) 38 Shewynge hymselfe to be rather glad to be so despysed & wronged.
a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 25 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) By this Statute, the said Irish Lord is wronged, for that hee is cut off from his customarye services.
1611 Bible (King James) Prov. viii. 36 Hee that sinneth against me, wrongeth his owne soule. View more context for this quotation
1654 J. Bramhall Just Vindic. Church of Eng. iv. 73 Why should it be in the power of a Subject..to wrong his Prince and his Country?
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis vii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 415 To this false Foreigner you give your Throne, And wrong a Friend, a Kinsman, and a Son.
1720 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad V. xix. 182 'Tis the chief Praise that e'er to Kings belong'd, To right with Justice, whom with Pow'r they wrong'd.
1747 S. Richardson Clarissa I. xxvii. 171 Vilely suspicious of..[his servants] wronging him.., he is always changing.
1792 J. Almon Anecd. Life W. Pitt (octavo ed.) II. xxix. 141 The Americans have been wronged. They have been driven to madness by injustice.
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xx. 191 [That] day of reckoning..will be a heavy one for you if they are wronged.
1881 Act 44 & 45 Vict. c. 58 §180 (2 d) An officer..who thinks himself wronged by his commanding officer.
b. To violate or do violence to; to treat unfairly or without due respect.
ΘΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrespect > [verb (transitive)]
unworthc1200
unworshipc1380
to hold no state ofa1400
dishonour1411
wrongc1449
disglorify1584
baffle1592
indignify1595
deglory1610
disrespect1614
violate1692
undertreat1721
deconsider1881
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > act unjustly to [verb (transitive)] > specifically a thing
wrongc1449
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > unjustness > [verb (transitive)] > treat > and disrespectfully
wrongc1449
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 70 So that he not wrongee [sic] the lawe of kinde..neither therbi wrongee Holi Scripture.
?1592 Trag. Solyman & Perseda iii. i Spare me not, for then thou wrongst my honour.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet v. ii. 198 I doe receaue your offerd loue, like loue, And will not wrong it. View more context for this quotation
1672 J. Dryden Conquest Granada i. iii. i. 22 You wrong our Friendship when your Right you name.
1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 45 Without wronging the Rules of the Gospel.
1786 R. Burns Poems 146 To say aught less wad wrang the cartes, And flatt'ry I detest.
1794 R. B. Sheridan Duenna (new ed.) iii. 63 I wou'd return it, but that I must touch it that way, and so wrong my oath.
1808 W. Scott Marmion iii. Introd. 123 Thy friendship thus thy judgment wronging, With praises not to me belonging.
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess vii. 154 She pray'd me not to judge their cause from her That wrong'd it.
1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xix. 191 Rely on my not wronging your forbearance and consideration.
1855 Ld. Tennyson Maud iv. iii, in Maud & Other Poems 16 You wrong your beauty,..in being so proud.
1861 C. Reade Cloister & Hearth xlvii Well then, mother, she is comely, and wrongs her picture but little.
2. To deprive or dispossess (a person) wrongfully of something; to cheat, defraud.
ΘΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > perpetrate (a swindle) [verb (transitive)] > defraud or swindle > out of something
beguile1394
wrongc1484
delude1493
licka1500
to wipe a person's nose1577
uncle1585
cheat1597
cozen1602
to bob of1605
to bob out of1605
gull1612
foola1616
to set in the nick1616
to worm (a person) out of1617
shuffle1627
to baffle out of1652
chouse1654
trepan1662
bubble1668
trick1698
to bamboozle out of1705
fling1749
jockey1772
swindle1780
twiddle1825
to diddle out of1829
nig1829
to chisel out of1848
to beat out1851
nobble1852
duff1863
flim-flam1890
c1484 in T. Stapleton Plumpton Corr. (1839) 64 [He] is injuried & wronged of his tennor in Arkenden, contrarie to right and concience.
1594 T. Kyd tr. R. Garnier Cornelia iv. 208 A Cittizen so wrong'd Of the honor him belong'd.
1660 Myst. Good old Cause 13 He hath wrong'd him of a great estate.
1730 J. Swift Let. to Esquire 3 Jan. You wronged me of half my due.
a1774 R. Fergusson Poems (1785) 197 The succeeding generations [to] wrang O' braw bien maintenance.
1839 W. M. Thackeray Fatal Boots Jan. I never wronged any man of a shilling.
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop ii. lx. 134 Ask anybody..whether I have ever wronged them of a farthing.
1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xlv. 311 [He wants] to vrang no man o's money.
3. To do injustice to (a person) by statement, imputation, opinion, etc.; to impute evil to, asperse or calumniate undeservedly; to discredit or dishonour by word or thought.
ΘΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > slander or calumny > slander or calumniate [verb (transitive)]
to say or speak shame of, on, byc950
teleeOE
sayOE
to speak evil (Old English be) ofc1000
belie?c1225
betell?c1225
missayc1225
skandera1300
disclanderc1300
wrenchc1300
bewrayc1330
bite1330
gothele1340
slanderc1340
deprave1362
hinderc1375
backbite1382
blasphemec1386
afamec1390
fame1393
to blow up?a1400
defamea1400
noise1425
to say well (also evil, ill, etc.) of (also by)1445
malignc1450
to speak villainy of1470
infame1483
injury1484
painta1522
malicea1526
denigrate1526
disfamea1533
misreporta1535
sugill?1539
dishonest?c1550
calumniate1554
scandalize1566
ill1577
blaze1579
traduce1581
misspeak1582
blot1583
abuse1592
wronga1596
infamonize1598
vilify1598
injure?a1600
forspeak1601
libel1602
infamize1605
belibel1606
calumnize1606
besquirt1611
colly1615
scandala1616
bedirt1622
soil1641
disfigurea1643
sycophant1642
spatter1645
sugillate1647
bespattera1652
bedung1655
asperse1656
mischieve1656
opprobriatea1657
reflect1661
dehonestate1663
carbonify1792
defamate1810
mouth1810
foul-mouth1822
lynch1836
rot1890
calumny1895
ding1903
bad-talk1938
norate1938
bad-mouth1941
monster1967
a1596 G. Peele Loue King Dauid & Fair Bethsabe (1599) sig. Bijv Woman thou wrongst the King, & doubtst his honour.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III iv. iv. 352 Qu. Shall I forget my selfe, to be my selfe? King. I, if your selfes remembrance, wrong your selfe. View more context for this quotation
1621 Orig. Jrnls. House of Commons 3 Mar. 10 f. 50 To cleerre himself from suspycion of wrongynge this [or the] house.
1634 W. Tirwhyt tr. J. L. G. de Balzac Lett. 120 Nor will I believe he was made after the image of God, lest therein I should wrong so excellent a nature.
1667 S. Pepys Diary 27 July (1974) VIII. 355 He says that the Duke of York is suspected..and says that he doth know that he is wronged therein.
1713 J. Addison Cato iii. i Thou wrong'st me, if thou think'st Ever was love..like mine.
1782 W. Cowper tr. Mme Guion Happy Solitude 9 Thy creatures wrong thee, O thou sov'reign Good! Thou art not lov'd, because not understood.
1795–6 W. Wordsworth Borderers i. 167 I wot not what ill tongue has wronged him with you.
1831 W. Scott Quentin Durward (new ed.) I. vi. 89 He wronged his uncle, however, in supposing [etc.].
1836 E. Bulwer-Lytton Duchess de la Vallière iii. v My foolish fancies wronged him!
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam l. 73 I wrong the grave with fears untrue. View more context for this quotation
4. reflexive.1620 T. Venner Via Recta viii. 190 They..greatly erre and wrong themselues, that..surcharge their bodies with ouer-much meat.1899 J. B. Salmond My Man, Sandy xiii. 93 Blair leuch till I thocht he wudda wranged himsel'.† b. To impair or injure the quality or substance of (something); to affect detrimentally or harmfully; to mar, spoil. Obsolete.
a. To cause undeserved physical harm or injury to (a person, etc.); to affect harmfully or injuriously; to hurt or damage. Now Scottish.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > damage > damage or injure [verb (transitive)]
mareOE
shendOE
hinderc1000
amarOE
awemc1275
noyc1300
touchc1300
bleche1340
blemisha1375
spill1377
misdoa1387
grieve1390
damagea1400
despoil?a1400
matea1400
snapea1400
mankc1400
overthrowa1425
tamec1430
undermine1430
blunder1440
depaira1460
adommage?1473
endamage1477
prejudicec1487
fulyie1488
martyra1500
dyscrase?1504
corrupt1526
mangle1534
danger1538
destroy1542
spoil1563
ruinate1564
ruin1567
wrake1570
injury1579
bane1587
massacre1589
ravish1594
wrong1595
rifle1604
tainta1616
mutilea1618
to do violence toa1625
flaw1665
stun1676
quail1682
maul1694
moil1698
damnify1712
margullie1721
maul1782
buga1790
mux1806
queer1818
batter1840
puckeroo1840
rim-rack1841
pretty1868
garbage1899
savage1899
to do in1905
strafe1915
mash1924
blow1943
nuke1967
mung1969
1595 E. Spenser Epithalamion in Amoretti & Epithalamion iii. sig. G5 For feare the stones her tender foot should wrong.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 37 The people after dinner, warmed with drinke, are apt to wrong any stranger.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 211 One [fruit] out of curiositie I tasted of, which..malignantly bit and wronged my mouth and lips.
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 123 The edges of his Graver..may, in a slip, touch upon the Side and Face of the next Stroak, and wrong that more or less.
1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 151 Without breaking or wronging the greater Roots.
a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 376 Those boughs also..draw all the sap to them and wrong the rest that are weaker.
1793 R. Gray Poems 54 A gude man loves his beast, And will not wrange him.
1826 R. Hetrick Poems 92 Is't 'cause some farmer's wranged his pechan At some drunk frolic.
ΘΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > corruption > [verb (transitive)] > quality
wrong1592
debauch1603
1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. ii. sig. Dv If she..forgoe his loue, She both will wrong her owne estate and ours.
1630 J. Smith True Trav. xxii. 50 All authoritie being dissolved, want of government did more wrong their proceedings, than [etc.].
1638 W. Melvin tr. C. Garcia Sonne of Rogue 149 I was constrained..with the force of my sneezing to wrong my breeches.
1639 S. Du Verger tr. J.-P. Camus Admirable Events Pref. Do not scoffe at the Histories, being good in themselves, though wronged by my want of language.
1661 S. Pepys Diary 8 Jan. (1970) II. 8 ‘The Widdow’, an indifferent good play, but wronged by the womens being much to seek in their parts.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1662 (1955) III. 321 Her teeth wronging her mouth by stiking a little too far out.
1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 748 Sweet is the harp of prophecy; too sweet Not to be wrong'd by a mere mortal touch.
5. Nautical. To outsail (another vessel); to outdo or surpass in sailing; also = blanket v. 4a ? Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > action or motion of vessel > [verb (transitive)] > outsail another vessel
outsail1580
outcarry1631
outbeara1665
wrong1685
1685 T. Phelps True Acct. Captivity 2 We had try'd his sailing all ways, but found we could not wrong him any way.
1691 T. Hale Acct. New Inventions p. vi One Ship is said to wrong another, that exceeds it in swiftness of sailing.
1727 ‘S. Brunt’ Voy. to Cacklogallinia 21 Our Sloop wrong'd 'em so much, that we soon came up with, and took them.
1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random II. lxv. 320 We were very much wronged by the ship that had us in chace.
1760 C. Johnstone Chrysal I. i. x. 73 The officers [of an English man-of-war]..observed they wronged her so much, they could go round her if they pleased.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 739 To outsail a vessel by becalming her sails is said to wrong her.
II. intransitive.† 6. To act wrongly, harmfully, or injuriously; to do wrong (to a person, etc.). Obsolete.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > cause or effect (harm) [verb (transitive)] > do harm or injury to
werdec725
wema1000
evilc1000
harmc1000
hinderc1000
teenOE
scathec1175
illc1220
to wait (one) scathec1275
to have (…) wrong1303
annoya1325
grievec1330
wrong1390
to do violence to (also unto)a1393
mischievea1393
damagea1400
annulc1425
trespass1427
mischief1437
poisonc1450
injurea1492
damnify1512
prejudge1531
misfease1571
indemnify1583
bane1601
debauch1633
lese1678
empoison1780
misguggle1814
nobble1860
strafe1915
to dick up1951
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > unjustness > [verb (intransitive)]
wrong1390
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 262 For whan that holi cherche wrongeth, I not what other thing schal rihte.
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 389 God and..the world..Largesse awaiteth as belongeth, To neither part that he ne wrongeth.
c1460 Oseney Reg. 61 Our beloued sonnys Abbot and Couent..shewed þat Richard Clerke and summe oþer.., vppon tithis possessions and oþer thynges.., wronge to þe same.
1540 in W. Cramond Rec. Elgin (1903) I. 49 The assise deliuerit that Angnes Baldon wrangit in the..breking of Katerine Falconeris heid.
1613 W. Browne Britannia's Pastorals I. i. 4 I wrong to say so.
1618 Bp. J. Hall Contempl. II. N.T. iv. 313 It argues an ignoble mind, where we have wronged, to higgle and dodge in the amends.
7. To heel over. (Cf. right v. 8b) nonce-use.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > action or motion of vessel > [verb (intransitive)] > heel or list
blencha1300
rolla1325
heelc1575
seela1618
list1626
stoop1663
careen1762
to lie along1769
to lay along1779
wrong1842
to roll down1856
1842 C. Dickens Amer. Notes I. ii. 26 The ship rights. Before one can say, ‘Thank Heaven!’ she wrongs again.
Derivatives
ˈwronging adj.
ΘΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > [adjective]
litherc893
scathefulc900
balefulOE
orneOE
teenfulOE
evilc1175
venomousc1290
scathela1300
prejudiciala1325
fell?c1335
harmfula1340
grievous1340
ill1340
wicked1340
noisomea1382
venomed1382
noyfulc1384
damageousc1386
mischievousc1390
unwholesomea1400
undisposingc1400
damnablec1420
prejudiciable1429
contagiousc1440
damagefulc1449
pestiferous1458
damageable1474
pestilent?a1475
nuisable1483
nocible1490
nuisible1490
nuisant1494
noxiousa1500
nocent?c1500
pestilential1531
tortious1532
pestilentious1533
nocive1538
offensivea1548
vitiating1547
dangerous1548
offending1552
dispendious1557
injurious1559
offensible1575
offensant1578
baneful1579
incommodious1579
prejudicious1579
prejudical1595
inimicous1598
damnifiable1604
taking1608
obnoxious1612
nocivousc1616
mischieving1621
nocuous1627
nocumentous1644
disserviceable1645
inimical1645
detrimentous1648
injuring1651
detrimental1656
inimicitial1656
nocumental1657
incommodous1677
fatal1681
inimic1696
nociferous1706
damnific1727
inimicable1805
violational1821
insalutary1836
detrimentary1841
wronging1845
unsalvatory1850
damaging1856
damnous1870
wack1986
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > harm, injury, or wrong > [adjective]
wrongfulc1325
wrongous1357
injuriousa1513
tortious1532
offendent1547
wronging1845
injuring1877
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > slander or calumny > [adjective]
horyc1000
missayingc1330
slandering1402
disclanderous1421
maligningc1425
defamatoryc1485
calumnious1490
defamative1502
slanderous?1521
infaming1535
obtractuous1537
defaminga1550
defamous1557
black-mouthed1560
sycophanticala1566
malignious1578
libelling1587
blasting1591
maledicent1599
traducing1601
black-throated1604
blasphemous1605
depraving1606
abusive1608
calumniating1609
obloquious1611
vilifying1611
infamatory1612
calumniatory1625
aspersionating1639
aspersive1642
scandalizing1646
reflexive1654
unworthying1654
reflecting1656
reflective1664
slanderful1669
aspersing1673
reflectious1715
traducent1736
obloquial1790
sycophantic1801
wronging1845
trash-talking1975
1845 J. C. Mangan Anthologia Germanica II. 60 That strong..devotion which..saved from wronging stain the sacred garland of Homage.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1c1000
n.21067
n.31688
adj.adv.c1175v.c1330- policymakings
- polies
- polifugal
- poligar
- poligar dog
- poligar hound
- poligar wars
- poligarship
- poling
- poling board
- poling boat
- poison-dipped
- poison-eater
- poison-gas
- poison-laden
- poison-maker
- poison-monger
- poison-nut
- poison-proof
- poison-secretor
- poison-shooting
- poison-sprinkled
- poison-swallower
- poison-tainted
- poison-taking