wreckn.¹

Brit.

/rɛk/, U.S.

/rɛk/

Forms: [Old English–Middle English wrec (Old English werec, waerece, warec), Middle English wrech, wrek, wreck-, wreck,] Middle English–1500s wrek, Middle English–1600s wrekke, wrecke, 1500s– wreck1600s wreake.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman wrec, wrech, wrek (also werec , waerec , warec , whence French varech , varec varec n.), < Old Norse *wrec , *wrek (Norwegian and Icelandic rek , noun), < the stem of wrekan to drive: see wreak v., and compare wrack n.² The Anglo-Norman word is also the source of medieval Latin wreccum , warectum . The Old Norse variant *wreke (Icelandic reki ) is represented in English by the obsolete wreke n. Another French form appears in vraic n.

I. Something that is wrecked or destroyed, and related uses.

1. Law. That which is cast ashore by the sea in tidal waters; esp. goods or cargo as thrown on land by the sea from a wrecked, stranded, or foundered vessel. Occasionally wreck of the sea (medieval Latin. wreccum maris, Anglo-Norman wrec or wreck de mer), †wreck of the king (medieval Latin. wrech regis). Cf. shipwreck n. 1, shipbreche n.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > personal or movable property > flotsam or jetsam

shipwreck?a1100

wreke1420

wrecka1425

wrack1428

jetsam1491

waveson1526

wrake1544

sea-wracks1548

water1552

wracksa1586

flotsam1607

wrack-goods1671

floatage1672

wreck-goods1693

jettison1708

wreck-wood1821

wreckages1864

1600 E. Coke Les Reports v. 106 b Ietsam est quant le nief est in perill d'être merge et pur disburden le niefe les biens sont iects in le mere..et nul de ceux byens que sont appelles Ietsam Flotsam ou Lagan sont appeles wreck cy longe come ils remain in ou sur la mere, mais si ascun de eux sont mise al terre per le mere, donques ils seront dit wreck.

1077 King William I in Chron. Abb. Ramsey (Rolls) 201 Bramcestre..cum omni maris ejectu quod nos wrec [v.r. waerec] nominamus.

1175–6 Pipe Roll Hen. II (1904) 83 Quia accepit wrech regis.

1200 K. John Charter to Dunwich in Rotuli Chart. (1837) 51/2 De ewagio de wrec et lagan et de omnibus aliis consuetudinibus.

a1268 H. de Bracton De Legibus Angliæ i. xii. (Rolls) I. 60 Item ubi non apparet dominus rei, sicut est de wrecco maris.

1292 Britton I. 216 Par fraunchises de aver wrek de mer trové en soen soil.

1343 in A. Clarke & F. Holbrooke Rymer & Sanderson's Fœdera (1821) II. ii. 1225 Wreccum maris..tam de piscibus regalibus, quam de aliis rebus quibuscumque, ad terram ibidem projectis.]

a1425 ( in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1882) I. 52 Wrek, weyf, stray, merchet, lecherwyt, blodewyt.

a1425 ( in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1882) I. 57 Wrek et weyf, stray.

1455 Rolls of Parl. V. 311/2 Wrecke of the Sea, Weyves, Estrayes.

1477 W. Pecock in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 421 Mastras Clere hath sen[t] down hyre men and with-set alle þe stuff and wrekke.

1482 Rolls of Parl. VI. 205/1 The same Duc shall have..Wrekke of the See, Tresour founde.

1576 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent 229 If from thencefoorth any one thing (being within the vessell) arriued on liue, then the ship and goods should not be seised for wrecke.

1576 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent 229 If a ship were cast on shoare,..and were not repaired by suche as escaped on liue within a certaine time,..this was taken for Wreck.

1630 Aldeburgh Rec. in Notes & Queries May (1921) 427/2 Burying a man that came ashore when the Kings wreck came ashore.

1651 tr. J. Kitchin Courts Leet (1657) 24 The Kings Prerogative, chap. 11. the King shall have Wreck of the Sea throughout the whole Realm.

1666 in Quarter Sessions Rec. (N. Riding Rec. Soc.) (1888) VI. A warrant against 11 Britton men for riotously taking a whale and other wrecke.

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Wreck antiently not only comprehended Goods which came from a perishing Ship, but whatever else the Sea cast upon Land; whether it were precious Stones, Fishes, Sea-weed, or the like.

1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. 283 If any persons..take any goods so cast on shore, which are not legal wreck.

1768 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. III. 106 The court of the admiral [had]..no manner of cognizance..of any wreck of the sea: for that must be cast on land before it becomes a wreck.

1800 A. Addison Rep. Cases Pennsylvania 63 Wreck, in its legal signification, is confined to such goods as, after shipwreck at sea, are by the sea cast upon the land.

1822 Act 1 & 2 Geo. IV c. 75 §26 That no..person who may be entitled..to Wreck of the Sea..shall be entitled to appropriate such Wreck or Goods..until he [etc.].

1866 Daily Tel. 3 Nov. The more scrupulous deliver up their spoil to the receiver of wreck.

1888 J. Williams in Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 687/1 As wreck in the last resort became crown property, it was never subject to forfeiture.

1888 J. Williams in Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 687/1 Wreck was frequently granted to subjects as a franchise.

a. = wrack n.² 3, sea-wrack n. 2a, varec n. 1. Latterly Scottish and northern dialect.Cf. tangle-wrack n. at tangle n.¹ Compounds 2, sea-wrack n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > algae > seaweed > [noun]

sea-frothc1440

wrekec1440

ooze?c1475

wreck1499

wrack1513

moss1543

reek1545

wrake1547

sea-wrack1551

seaweed1577

varec1676

wreck-weed1821

Algal alliance1846

wreck-ware1865

1499 Promptorium Parvulorum (Pynson) sig. sv^v/1 Wrek of the see, alga, norga.

1500 Ortus Vocabulaorum B iij Alga,..herba marina, i.e. illud quod mare projicit, wrekke or frothe of the see.

a1661 W. Brereton Trav. (1844) 97 The grass, weeds and wreck, brought by the sea..and left upon the sands.

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Wreck,..a kind of Herb, growing in the Sea, upon Rocks, and which the Waves tearing off, cast upon Shore. In some Places it is used to manure the Ground.

1753 Extracts Trial J. Stewart in Scots Mag. July 335/2 He was then employed in gathering wreck.

1791 J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. I. 113 The shores [of Ayrshire] abound with..rich sea-weed or wreck for manure.

1806 R. Forsyth Beauties Scotl. III. 351 Sea-ware..driven upon the shore by the tides..is commonly called blown wreck.

1876 in Cleveland Gloss. Suppl.

1894 K. Hewat Little Sc. World vii. 112 The ‘Wreck Brethren’..annually..raised funds for their purposes and regulated the carting of the wreck.

b. = wrack n.² 3b. Now dialect.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > refuse or rubbish > [noun] > by a river or pond

wreckc1440

wrack1605

c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 533/2 Wrek, of a dyke, or a fenne, or stondynge watyr, ulva.

1742 in Quarter Sessions Rec. (N. Riding Rec. Soc.) (1890) VIII. The Treasurer to pay £1 for clearing away the wreck from How and Kirby Misperton Bridges.

1851 M. Reid Scalp Hunters II. 298 Our faces were concealed by the ‘wreck’ that covered the stones.

1877–86 in Lincoln and Chesh. glossaries.

1884 G. S. Streatfeild Lincolnshire & Danes 376 Wreck, weeds and other rubbish floating down streams or on ditch water.

c. Scottish and dialect. = wrack n.² 3c.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > refuse or rubbish > [noun] > on agricultural land

wrack1715

wreck1743

1743 Sel. Trans. Soc. Improvers Knowl. Agric. Scotl. 11 Cause pull up and gather carefully the Wreck, or Roots of Weeds and Grass, into Heaps.

1787 W. Marshall Provincialisms in Rural Econ. Norfolk II. 392 Wreck, dead undigested roots and stems of grasses and weeds in plowland.

1801 Farmer's Mag. Jan. 59 A field..where dung was applied amid mountains of wreck, or couch grass.

a. A vessel broken, ruined, or totally disabled by being driven on rocks, cast ashore, or stranded; a wrecked or helpless ship; the ruins or hulk of such. Occasionally also wreck of a ship.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > [noun] > wrecked vessel

wrackc1386

wreck?a1500

carcass1600

racka1658

silver wreck1700

c1290 Fleta (1647) i. xliv. 61 Item dicitur wreckum navis vel batellus fractus, de quibus nihil vivum evaserit.]

?a1500 Chaucer's Man of Law's T. 415 in Wks. (1532) 24 b The constable of the castel downe is fare To seen this wrecke, & al the shyp he sought.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Vuaresque, a wrecke, or ship cast away.

1625 P. Heylyn Μικρόκοσμος (rev. ed.) 442 Charybdis is a gulfe..which violently attracting all vessels that come too nigh it, deuoureth them, and casteth vp their wrecks.

1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 80 He shall restore whatever Wrecks may happen on his Coasts.

1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 220 I could plainly see..the Wreck of a Ship cast away in the Night.

1743 J. Bulkeley & J. Cummins Voy. to South-seas 14 The Ship is a perfect Wreck.

1764 W. Falconer Shipwreck (new ed.) iii. 112 Three..from the wreck on oars and rafts descend.

1805 J. Turnbull Voy. World (1813) 391 The ship..struck upon a reef of rocks.., and shortly became a total wreck.

1812 J. Wilson Isle of Palms i. 32 Fast the miserable Ship Becomes a lifeless wreck.

1865 H. Kingsley Hillyars & Burtons lxxix The wreck of a little coasting craft still lay about two hundred yards to sea.

figurative and in figurative context.1781 W. Cowper Retirem. 386 To the fair haven of my native home, The wreck of what I was, fatigu'd, I come.1796 E. Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 350 Such is the person you come to see, or rather the wreck of what was never a first-rate vessel.1883 S. C. Hall Retrospect Long Life I. 322 All of manhood in him..had given way and left him a stranded wreck.1885 Ld. Tennyson Wreck 5 My life itself is a wreck,..I am flung from the rushing tide of the world as a waif of shame.

b. An unserviceable or crazy old vessel.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > [noun] > old or useless vessel

hull1582

coffin1833

ballyhoo1836

old lady1841

rack-heap1850

wreck1896

crock1903

rust bucket1944

1896 Westm. Gaz. 5 Dec. 5/1 There are too many of these old wrecks [= barges] on the river.

a. Law. A piece or article of wreckage; a fragment of a wrecked vessel or its cargo. Frequently plural.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > personal or movable property > flotsam or jetsam > a piece of

waif1377

waith1478

wreck1570

weft1579

1570 in W. Boys Coll. for Hist. Sandwich (1792) 775 Wrecks and fyndalls floating, and the half of all wrecks and fyndalls jottsome.

1577 R. Holinshed Chron. II. 489/2 [Richard I] pardoned al wreckes by sea.., releasing for euer al his right to the same.

1579 Rastell's Expos. Termes Lawes (new ed.) 187 b The Lorde shall haue that as a wreck of y^e sea.

1652 M. Nedham tr. J. Selden Of Dominion of Sea i. xxv. 167 The Question is, whether the Goods bee..called Spoils or Wrecks.

1729 G. Jacob New Law-dict. at Lagan [If] these Goods..are cast away upon the Land, they are then a Wreck.

1729 G. Jacob New Law-dict. (at cited word) It was usual to seise and forfeit Wrecks to the King, only when no Owner could be found.

1768 [see sense 1].

b. Without article. = wreckage n. 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > [noun] > wrecked vessel > pieces of

shipwreck?a1100

lagan1531

wrake1544

wreck1744

wreckage1846

1744 Gentleman's Mag. 616/2 Several chests, broken masts, and other pieces of wreck floating in the sea.

1796 C. Smith Narr. Loss Transports 34 The Chissel-bank..was strewn..with pieces of wreck, and piles of plundered goods.

1815 Ann. Reg., Chron. 42 Six men reached the shore..upon planks, being much bruised by the surf and wreck.

1833 Redding Shipwrecks I. 194 All the crew believed the ship was crushed to pieces, but no wreck floated up.

1865 A. C. Swinburne Felise 80 [Such things] As the sea feeds on, wreck and stray and castaway.

5. A drifted or tossed-up mass; a large heap; a great quantity; an abundance. Now northern dialect.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > (a) great quantity or amount

felec825

muchc1230

good wone1297

plentyc1300

bushelc1374

sight1390

mickle-whata1393

forcea1400

manynessa1400

multitudea1400

packc1400

a good dealc1430

greata1450

sackful1484

power1489

horseloadc1500

mile1508

lump1523

a deal?1532

peckc1535

heapa1547

mass1566

mass1569

gallon1575

armful1579

cart-load1587

mickle1599

bushelful1600–12

a load1609

wreck1612

parisha1616

herd1618

fair share1650

heapa1661

muchness1674

reams1681

hantle1693

mort1694

doll?1719

lift1755

acre1759

beaucoup1760

ton1770

boxload1795

boatload1807

lot1811

dollop1819

swag1819

faggald1824

screed1826

Niagara1828

wad1828

lashings1829

butt1831

slew1839

ocean1840

any amount (of)1848

rake1851

slather1857

horde1860

torrent1864

sheaf1865

oodlesa1867

dead load1869

scad1869

stack1870

jorum1872

a heap sight1874

firlot1883

oodlings1886

chunka1889

whips1888

God's quantity1895

streetful1901

bag1917

fid1920

fleetful1923

mob1927

bucketload1930

pisspot1944

shitload1954

megaton1957

mob-o-ton1975

gazillion1978

buttload1988

shit ton1991

the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > mass formed by collection of particles > an accumulation > heap or pile

heapc725

cockeOE

hill1297

tassc1330

glub1382

mow?1424

bulkc1440

pile1440

pie1526

bing1528

borwen1570

ruck1601

rick1608

wreck1612

congest1625

castle1636

coacervation1650

congestion1664

cop1666

cumble1694

bin1695

toss1695

thurrock1708

rucklea1725

burrow1784

mound1788

wad1805

stook1865

boorach1868

barrow1869

sorites1871

tump1892

fid1926

clamp-

1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion ii. 24 Where Chesill lifts Her ridged snake-like sands, in wrecks and smouldring drifts.

1683 G. Meriton York-shire Dialogue in Pure Nat. Dial. 15 There's sike a wreck, it [sc. corn] liggs all down o'th Land.

1846 W. E. Brockett J. T. Brockett's Gloss. North Country Words (ed. 3) Wreck, a great quantity..as a confused heap.

1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby I saw wrecks on 't.

a. That which remains of something that has suffered ruin, demolishment, waste, etc.; the dilapidated, disorganized, or disordered residue or remainder of anything. Also (a) with a and plural.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [noun] > demolition > a ruin or wreck > ruins

tatter1402

ash1553

downfall1575

destruction1585

parietines1621

masure1623

detriments1632

wreck1713

wrecking1855

lagan1906

the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [noun] > remains > after destructive agency

residue1560

wreck1713

the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [noun] > remains > after destructive agency > decayed remnant(s)

relicsc1350

ruinc1425

ruins1544

decays1582

debris1708

wreck1713

shard1786

faulturea1821

detritus1834

(a)

1713 J. Addison Cato v. i But thou shalt flourish..Unhurt amidst..The Wrecks of Matter, and the Crush of Worlds.

1756 Mrs. Calderwood's Journey in Coltness Coll. (1842) 250 His friends..got him, out of the wrecks of his estate, betwixt L. 30 or L. 40 per annum.

1780 Westm. Mag. 371 He continued obstinate and mad, going..over the wrecks of the house.

1821 P. B. Shelley Epipsychidion 26 An envy of the isles, a pleasure-house..It scarce seems now a wreck of human art.

1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. lv. 355 The Republican party was formed..out of the wrecks of the Whig party.

(b)1743 R. Blair Grave 4 Names once fam'd, now dubious or forgot, And buried 'midst the Wreck of Things which were.1751 T. Smollett Peregrine Pickle I. ix. 69 From the wreck of the hammock [she] made an occasional bed for herself on the floor.1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho III. iii. 52 Assisted with suggestions, which they had since executed with the wreck of their fortunes.1804 W. L. Bowles Spir. Discov. iii. 46 My destined voyage, by the shores Of Asia, and the wreck of cities old.1840 T. Arnold Hist. Rome II. xxxi. 255 There he was joined by the wreck of the consul's army.1854 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross (new ed.) lxxvi. 540 As Mamma surveyed the wreck of luncheon.figurative and in extended use.1792 R. Burns in J. Johnson Scots Musical Museum IV. 399 Thou strik'st the dull peasant, he sinks in the dark, Nor saves e'en the wreck of a name.1813 P. B. Shelley Queen Mab v. 64 He sheds A passing tear perchance upon the wreck Of earthly peace.

b. The broken-down, debilitated, or emaciated form of a person. (Cf. sense 7b.)

ΚΠ

1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. I. 225 It was, indeed, the wreck of her once noble lad.

1836 E. Bulwer-Lytton Duchess de la Vallière v. iii These wrecks of man Worn to decay.

1893 F. C. Selous Trav. S.-E. Afr. 62 All the Portuguese here were mere wrecks of men—frail, yellow, and fever-stricken.

a. That which is in a state of ruin; anything that is broken down or has undergone wrecking, shattering, or dilapidation.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [noun] > demolition > a ruin or wreck

fallinga1382

wracka1586

wrakea1627

land-wracka1657

wreck1814

rack-heap1850

wreckage1874

crack-up1926

1814 R. Southey Roderick xvi. 62 Amid heaps Of mountain wreck, on either side thrown high,..The tortuous channel wound.

1816 W. Scott Antiquary I. iii. 52 This wreck of ancient books and utensils.

1842 T. B. Macaulay Horatius lv Like a dam, the mighty wreck [sc. of a bridge] Lay right athwart the stream.

1855 C. Kingsley Westward Ho! xx Alas! a crack, a flap, a rattle,..and all forward was a mass of dangling wreck.

1889 M. E. Kennard Landing Prize (1891) i. 4 What was left of the wreck had to be given up to creditors.

figurative.1849 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1866) 1st Ser. viii. 145 The life-hopes have become a wreck.

b. A person of undermined, shattered, or ruined constitution; one who is debilitated by ill-health, hardship, etc. (Cf. sense 6b.)

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > sick person > [noun] > weak person

dwininga1400

molla1425

impotenta1513

gristlea1556

weakling1576

puler1579

puling1579

shadow1588

shotten herring1598

doddle1681

sickrel1699

seven-months1724

wandought1726

wallydraigle1736

wreck1795

werewolf1808

windlestraw1818

weed1825

shammock1828

sickling1834

forcible feeble1844

dwindle1847

weedling1849

crock1876

feebling1887

asthenic1893

dodderer1907

pencil-neck1956

burnt-out case1959

weakie1959

the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > tribulation, trouble, or affliction > wretched person

wretchc1000

caitiffc1325

crachouna1400

wretcheda1425

miserable1484

miser1542

afflicted1545

seggon1570

elf1573

devil1593

wreck1795

1795–6 W. Wordsworth Borderers i. 336 Osw. But how fare you? Her. Well as the wreck I am permits.

1828 E. Bulwer-Lytton Pelham I. xxxii. 285 ‘Yes,’ continued the venerable wreck, after a short pause.

1857 J. W. Carlyle Lett. (1883) II. 335 It is easy to see you have suffered! an entire wreck, like myself.

1899 E. W. Hornung Dead Men xii I was slowly dying of insomnia. I was a nervous wreck.

1901 W. R. H. Trowbridge Lett. Mother to Elizabeth xxxi. 154 I think I am in for influenza. I feel a perfect wreck.

8. [By misapprehension.] = wrack n.¹ 5b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [noun] > demolition > a ruin or wreck > trace or vestige following destruction

wreck1793

1793 W. Wordsworth Evening Walk 306 No wreck of all the pageantry remains.

1813 P. B. Shelley Queen Mab ix. 117 These ruins soon left not a wreck behind.

1835 I. Taylor Spiritual Despotism v. 185 Other systems have..been swept away, leaving hardly a wreck behind.

II. The action or process of wrecking or destroying, and related uses.

a. The disabling or destruction of a vessel by any disaster or accident of navigation; loss of a ship by striking on a rock, stranding, or foundering; an instance of this; = shipwreck n. 2 to make wreck: cf. make v.¹ 49.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > shipwreck > [noun]

shipbrechea1067

ship-breaking1398

ship-brechinga1400

shipwreckc1450

wreck1463

wrake1513

wrack1579

naufrage1589

wrecking1775

society > travel > travel by water > shipwreck > suffer shipwreck [verb (intransitive)]

wrack1470

make1526

to make wreck1577

split1602

shipwreck1607

wreck1671

1463–4 Rolls of Parl. V. 507/1 Yf eny of the forseid Wares or Chaffares..come into this Reame or Wales by wey of wrek.

1477 W. Pecock in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 421 There is a grete chyppe go to wrekke be-for Wynterton.

1569 R. Grafton Chron. I. i. 9 This Arke..by diuine prouidence..was gouerned from running to wreck.

1577 R. Holinshed Chron. II. 490/1 That euery person makyng wrecke by sea, & comming aliue to lande, shoulde haue all his goodes free.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. x. sig. X4^v Learning his ship from those white rocks to saue,..Threatning vnheedy wrecke and rash decay.

1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Gg1/1 Jetson is a thing cast out of the shippe being in daunger of wrecke.

1672 J. Dryden Conquest Granada ii. iii. ii. 107 As Seamen, parting in a gen'ral wreck, When first the loosening planks begin to crack Each catches one.

1749 Gentleman's Mag. 396/1 The ill behaviour of his crew, and the bad condition of the ship occasioned its wreck.

a1796 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 421 Her two eyes..Would keep a sinking ship frae wreck.

1809 R. Warner Tour Cornwall 158 A range of rocks, the terrible scene of many a disastrous wreck.

1844 C. Wilkes Narr. U.S. Exploring Exped. II. 91 In leaving the harbour we had a narrow escape from wreck.

1888 F. Hume Madame Midas i. Prol. 15 We are..shipwrecked sailors; and I will tell the story of the wreck.

figurative and in figurative context.1564 W. Bullein Dialogue against Fever Pestilence f. 72^v The Shippe of Fooles..wanteth a good Pilot: the Storme the Rocke and the wreke at hande.1770 W. Cowper Let. 25 Sept. (1979) I. 235 The Storm of 63 made a Wreck of all the Friendships I had contracted.

b. Stock Market. (See first quot.)

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [noun] > specific operations or arrangements > disreputable

poison pill1653

rig1826

cornering1841

wash-sale1848

washing1849

market-rigging1851

corner1853

watering1868

wreck1876

manipulation1888

wash1891

market mongering1901

matched orders1903

grey market1933

bond washing1937

warehousing1971

bed-and-breakfasting1974

dawn raid1980

1876 ‘E. Pinto’ Ye outside Fools! 360 A Corner, Pool, Clique, Ring are all terms equivalent to a Rig or Wreck.

1876 ‘E. Pinto’ Ye outside Fools! 408 The seductive interest of Rigs and Wrecks.

c. North American. A road or railway accident.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > vehicular traffic > [noun] > collision or accident

car accident1834

street accident1835

accident1836

smash-up1856

car crash1877

car wreck1877

motor accident1910

wreck1912

crash1917

rollover1955

prang1959

shunt1959

1912 J. Sandilands Western Canad. Dict. & Phrase-bk. Wreck, the word to apply to a railway accident; or, more correctly, train wreck.

1974 Evening Herald (Rock Hill, S. Carolina) 19 Apr. 11/4 In spite of the reduction in accidents, the sergeant said, ‘We still have too many wrecks.’

1979 N. Mailer Executioner's Song (1980) i. xviii. 304 On the drive back to Springville, she was dreaming away and got in a wreck. Nobody was hurt but the car.

d. The death of a large number of pelagic birds, usually as the result of a storm.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > [noun] > death of large number of

wreck1936

1936 Brit. Birds 29 327 In January, 1915, there was a great oil ‘wreck’ of Scoters.

1971 New Scientist 8 Apr. 69/1 There have been similar wrecks in the past, and the report mentions 11 for guillemots and the auks in the last century.

10.

a. The action of subverting or overthrowing an established order of things, etc.; the fact of being brought to disaster; downfall, overthrow, ruin.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [noun] > overthrow of a person, institution, belief, etc.

fallOE

confusionc1290

subversiona1325

overthrowingc1330

overturninga1398

downcasta1400

wrackc1400

downcastingc1425

eversionc1425

profligationc1475

demolitionc1550

overturec1555

wreck1577

overturnc1592

racking?1689

upsetting1827

subversal1843

demolishment1884

society > authority > lack of subjection > rebelliousness > revolution > [noun] > action of overthrowing

subvertingc1384

inverting1573

wreck1577

1577 M. Hanmer tr. Evagrius Scholasticus v. viii, in Aunc. Eccl. Hist. 494 He came into Mesopotamia, not without plaine daunger and wrecke to the state.

1595 E. Spenser Amoretti xxv, in Amoretti & Epithalamion sig. B6 Then all the woes and wrecks which I abide, As meanes of blisse I gladly wil embrace.

1608 Great Frost (ad fin.) Being..thus round beset with the horrors of so present a wreck, he fell down on his knees.

1763 J. Brown Diss. Poetry & Music v. 78 The most celebrated bards of ancient Greece, whose songs have perished in the wreck of time.

1775 R. B. Sheridan Rivals iii. iii Proud of calamity, we will enjoy the wreck of wealth.

1838 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Ferdinand & Isabella I. Introd. p. lii The wreck of their ancient liberties.

1839 T. N. Talfourd Glencoe i. i You come To share the wreck of the Macdonalds.

1885 J. Payn Talk of Town I. 182 It was not that she feared to risk the wreck of her own happiness.

figurative.1793 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) II. 715 All that has caused this wreck in my bosom, Is Jenny.

b. The action of wrecking or breaking apart; the fact of being materially wrecked or ruined; destruction or demolition.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [noun] > demolition

subversiona1382

razinga1400

racing?a1450

beating down1530

rasing1552

demolishing1560

plucking1560

demolitiona1572

downpulling1581

demolishment1602

slighting1640

wreck1711

wrecking1775

wreckage1837

train-wrecking1872

unbuilding1879

demo1945

1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 166. ¶2 Books, which..may last as long as the Sun and Moon, and perish only in the general Wreck of Nature.

1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth I. 25 The manner in which he relieves the earth from this universal wreck.

1839 R. I. Murchison Silurian Syst. i. xxix. 376 In accounting for these extraordinary accumulations of broken coal we may undoubtedly refer their origin to the wreck of the regular seams.

1864 J. R. Lowell Fireside Trav. 31 Dealing thunderous wreck to the two hostile vessels.

1886 J. Barrowman Gloss. Sc. Mining Terms 73 Wreck, a break-down, as in a shaft or on an incline.

c. In the phrase to go to wreck (and ruin).

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (intransitive)] > be destroyed, ruined, or come to an end

losec888

fallOE

forlesea1225

perishc1275

spilla1300

to go to wreche13..

to go to the gatec1330

to go to lostc1374

miscarryc1387

quenchc1390

to bring unto, to fall into, to go, put, or work to wrakea1400

mischieve?a1400

tinea1400

to go to the devilc1405

bursta1450

untwindc1460

to make shipwreck1526

to go to (the) pot1531

to go to wreck (and ruin)a1547

wrake1570

wracka1586

to hop (also tip, pitch over, drop off, etc.) the perch1587

to lie in the dusta1591

mischief1598

to go (etc.) to rack (and ruin)1599

shipwreck1607

suffera1616

unravel1643

to fall off1684

tip (over) the perch1699

to do away with1769

to go to the dickens1833

collapse1838

to come (also go) a mucker1851

mucker1862

to go up1864

to go to squash1889

to go (to) stramash1910

to go for a burton1941

to meet one's Makera1978

a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Certain Bks. Aenæis (1557) ii. sig. Biv^v Our fained shields and wepons then they found, And..our discording voice they knew. We went to wreck, with nomber ouerlayd.

1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Mark v. f. 11–17 The flocke goeth to wrecke and vtterly perisheth.

1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. 676 All things els about him went to wreck.

1766 Defoe's Mil. Hist. Germany & Eng. 64 I saw our men go to wreck.

1789 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 45 A Towmont, Sirs, is gane to wreck!

1853 T. De Quincey Autobiogr. Sketches in Select. Grave & Gay I. 129 To wreck goes every notion or feeling that divides..the brave man from the brave.

1877 W. Black Green Pastures & Piccadilly I. i. 14 The whole estate is going to wreck and ruin.

1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island vi. xxviii. 231 Here you are in a bad way: ship lost,..your whole business gone to wreck.

elliptical.1787 R. Burns Poems (new ed.) 337 A letter inform'd me that all was to wreck.

Compounds

C1.

(a) General attributive.

wreck buoy n.

ΚΠ

1874 F. G. D. Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. v. 109 Wreck buoys are painted green.

wreck case n.

ΚΠ

1892 R. G. Marsden Sel. Pleas Admiralty p. lxiv In 1377 a wreck case was tried before justices.

wreck chart n.

ΚΠ

1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 2747 Large wreck chart of the British Isles for 1861.

wreck flag n.

ΚΠ

1897 Daily News 15 Sept. 8/4 The Thames Conservancy have hoisted their green ‘wreck flag’, warning all craft to steer clear of the debris.

(b) Objective and instrumental.

wreck-finder n.

ΚΠ

1902 Daily Chron. 29 Oct. 7/1 (citing N.Y. Tribune ) The wreck of a coal barge was first located... Two boats, termed ‘wreck-finders’, then..by means of derricks or suction pumps raise the coal to the surface.

wreck raiser n.

ΚΠ

?1881 Census Eng. & Wales: Instr. Clerks classifying Occupations & Ages (?1885) 36 Wharfinger, Wharf Agent,..Wreck Raiser.

wreck-seeker n.

ΚΠ

1843 F. Marryat Narr. Trav. M. Violet II. xi. 237 The unconscientious wreck-seeker of a captain.

(c)

wreck-devoted adj.

ΚΠ

1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci v. iv. 99 A wreck-devoted seaman thus might pray To the deaf sea.

† wreck-fishing n. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1674 W. Temple Let. in Wks. (1720) II. 310 This Invention of Wreck-fishing [by Sir Edmund Curtis], for the Recovery of His Majesty's Tin, cast away before Ostend.

wreck-raising adj.

ΚΠ

1898 Westm. Gaz. 14 July 5/2 The wreck-raising vessels that are to make an attempt to save some of Admiral Cervera's unfortunate squadron.

wreck-strewn adj.

ΚΠ

1821 P. B. Shelley Fugitives 21 The Earth is like Ocean, Wreck-strewn and in motion.

wreck-threatening adj.

ΚΠ

1757 J. Dyer Fleece iv. 152 Inaccessible Wreck-threat'ning Staten-lands o'erhanging shore.

b. Attributive in names of persons having, or appointed to take, charge of wreck or wreckage.

wreck commissioner n.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > associated shore-based personnel > [noun] > person in charge of wreckage

lagander1526

wreck-master1832

wreck commissioner1876

1876 Act 39 & 40 Vict. c. 80 §29 It shall be the duty of a wreck commissioner..to hold any formal investigation into a loss.

wreck-master n.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > associated shore-based personnel > [noun] > person in charge of wreckage

lagander1526

wreck-master1832

wreck commissioner1876

1832 in Blackstone's Comm. Laws Eng. (new ed.) i. iv. 219/1 Any one having in his possession goods from a stranded vessel, is to deliver them..to the sheriff, coroner, or wreck-master.

a1868 in Grant Rep. Wrecking Bahamas 77 The first-licensed wreck-master boarding a vessel wrecked, stranded, or in distress..shall..become the master of all wreckers employed on such vessel, and shall be styled the ‘wreck-master’.

1891 Cent. Dict. (at cited word) Receivers of wrecks (in Great Britain), wreck-masters (in New York and Texas), officers whose duty [etc.].

1898 Engin. Mag. 16 70 Instructions for the handling of explosives..should be placed in the hands of the railroad staff, including wreckmasters.

C2. Special combinations.

wreck-fish n. the stone-bass.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > family Serranidae (sea-bass) > [noun] > member of genus Polyprion (stone-bass)

hapuku1820

stone-bass1823

grouper1843

wreck-fish1880

1880–4 F. Day Fishes Great Brit. & Ireland I. 18 This fish..is called in Devonshire, Wreck fish, because it follows floating timbers.

1883 Great Internat. Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 270 Special Line, furnished with all accessories, used in fishing for Stone Bass or Wreck-fish.

† wreck-goods n. Scottish Obsolete goods cast ashore from a wreck.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > personal or movable property > flotsam or jetsam

shipwreck?a1100

wreke1420

wrecka1425

wrack1428

jetsam1491

waveson1526

wrake1544

sea-wracks1548

water1552

wracksa1586

flotsam1607

wrack-goods1671

floatage1672

wreck-goods1693

jettison1708

wreck-wood1821

wreckages1864

1693 J. Dalrymple Inst. Law Scotl. (ed. 2) Alphabet. Index K 2 Wreck-goods..become Escheat as Publick.

1765–8 J. Erskine Inst. Law Scotl. ii. i. §13 Wreck-goods..were not claimed as escheat, but secured for the owners.

† wreck-make n. poetic Obsolete that which causes wrecks.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > shipwreck > [noun] > cause of shipwreck

wreck-make1582

1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis iii. 60 And Caulons castels we doe spy, with Scylla the wreckmake.

wreck-ware n. Scottish, = sense 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > algae > seaweed > [noun]

sea-frothc1440

wrekec1440

ooze?c1475

wreck1499

wrack1513

moss1543

reek1545

wrake1547

sea-wrack1551

seaweed1577

varec1676

wreck-weed1821

Algal alliance1846

wreck-ware1865

1865 A. Way in Promptorium Parvulorum 533 (note) On the coasts of Scotland sea-weed is called ‘wreck-ware’.

wreck-weed n. Scottish, = sense 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > algae > seaweed > [noun]

sea-frothc1440

wrekec1440

ooze?c1475

wreck1499

wrack1513

moss1543

reek1545

wrake1547

sea-wrack1551

seaweed1577

varec1676

wreck-weed1821

Algal alliance1846

wreck-ware1865

1821 W. Scott Pirate I. x. 243 One whom the sea flung forth as wreck-weed.

wreck-wood n. wood washed up or ashore from a wreck; also attributive.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > personal or movable property > flotsam or jetsam

shipwreck?a1100

wreke1420

wrecka1425

wrack1428

jetsam1491

waveson1526

wrake1544

sea-wracks1548

water1552

wracksa1586

flotsam1607

wrack-goods1671

floatage1672

wreck-goods1693

jettison1708

wreck-wood1821

wreckages1864

1821 W. Scott Pirate I. v. 95 The wreck-wood that the callants brought in yesterday.

1843 Times 25 July 3/2 The mast is still standing, and very little wreck-wood has driven from her.

1895 ‘Q’ Wandering Heath 5 The rain drove..aslant like threads of gold silk in the shine of the wreckwood fire.

wreck-works n. salvage-works for raising a wreck or wrecks.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > other nautical operations > [noun] > salvaging operations

salvage1713

wrecking1804

wreck-works1903

1903 E. Childers Riddle of Sands xx The wreck-works were evidently what they purported to be.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

† wreckn.²

Etymology: variant of wrack n.³, after wreck n.¹

Scottish. Obsolete.

‘Pelf’; ‘dross’; = wrack n.³ 1b.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > worldly or secular property

temporalty1377

temporalitiesc1475

world's wrack?a1513

temporala1525

wreck1562

temporaries1596

worldhood1841

1562 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) I. 8 Hauand regarde to the wrek of this warld or lustis of thair bodyis.

a1568 Blyth in Bannatyne MS. (Hunterian Club) 321/11 Ane wreche sall haif no mair, Bot ane schort scheit at heid and feit, For all his wrek and wair.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online September 2020).

† wreckn.³

Etymology: Alteration of wreak n.: compare wreck v.²

Obsolete. rare.

Vengeance; revenge.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > punishment > retributive punishment > [noun]

wrakec825

wrechec1175

yielda1200

wrakedomc1275

vengeancea1300

hevening1303

vengement1338

wreakc1340

rewardc1350

retributiona1425

revengeancec1480

wratha1500

revengementa1513

avengeance1535

avenge1568

ultion1575

venge1587

wreck1591

nemesis1597

revanche1615

vindict1639

vindication1647

the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > revenge > [noun]

wrakec825

wrackc900

wrechec1175

yielda1200

wrakedomc1275

vengeancea1300

vengement1338

awreaking1340

rewardc1350

revengeancec1480

wratha1500

avengementa1513

revengementa1513

revengea1525

avengeance1535

avenge1568

requital1569

ultion1575

venge1587

wreck1591

revanche1615

vindict1639

payback1973

1591 Legh's Armory 96 b His irefull heart straight braided out wrothfull wordes of wrecke [1562 wreke] and reuenge.

1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. vi. sig. F2^v Ah cruell hand, and..hart, That workst such wrecke on her.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online September 2020).

wreckv.¹

Brit.

/rɛk/, U.S.

/rɛk/

Forms: Also Middle English–1500s wrek-, 1500s wreake.

Etymology: < wreck n.¹ Compare medieval Latin wrecare (12th cent.).

In various senses common only in passive use.

†1. transitive. To cast on shore. Obsolete.

ΘΠ

the world > the earth > land > land mass > shore or bank > seashore or coast > cast on shore [verb (transitive)]

wreckc1420

wruck?a1600

c1420 Sir Amadas (W.) 475 Folke fordryvon in the schores,..Brone stedes,..All maner of ryches,..Wrekkyd with the water lay. [= xliv. (Camden), He fond wrekun a-mung the stones Knyȝtes in meneuere.]

a1440 Sir Eglam. 894 He say that lady whyte as flowre, Was wrekyd on the sonde.

a1509 in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Var. Coll. (1907) IV. 87 in Parl. Papers 1906 (Cd. 3218) LXIV. 1 [Seizing them] as goodes wrekked, which neither can ne may soo bee taken as long as the veray owners thereof be certainly knowen.

1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. iv. sig. P A Coffer strong,..seeming to haue suffred mickle wrong..By being wreckt vppon the sands.

1729 G. Jacob New Law-dict. (at cited word) If Goods wreck'd are seised by Persons having no Authority.

1821 Act 1 & 2 Geo. IV c. 75 §26 That Part of the Coast where the same [goods] shall have been stranded, wrecked or found.

a. To cause the wreck of (a vessel); to wreck (a ship); = shipwreck v. 1b. Chiefly passive. Also figurative and in figurative context.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > shipwreck > cause to suffer shipwreck [verb (transitive)] > wreck a vessel

break1382

score1504

wrack1562

wreck1576

throw1577

to cast away1600

shipwreck1624

pile1891

1576 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent 228 A shippe laden with the Kings owne goods was wrecked within the precinct of this libertie.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. xii. sig. Z7^v The ribs of vessels broke, And shiuered ships, which had beene wrecked late.

1599 T. Moffett Silkewormes 49 Huge whales in Seas that mighty carricks wreake.

1732 Gentleman's Mag. 976 A great Number of Ships were wrecked..by stormy Weather.

1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VI. 395 Brought into the European seas, in some India ship that might be wrecked upon her return.

1845 J. C. Mangan Anthologia Germanica II. 100 The shallop of my peace is wrecked on Beauty's shore.

1846 A. Marsh Father Darcy II. ii. 60 So bravely as we have struggled against the overwhelming waters! The vessel is finally wrecked!

1865 H. Kingsley Hillyars & Burtons lxxvii If the Wainoora has sailed,..she is wrecked somewhere on the coast.

reflexive.1864 Ld. Tennyson Aylmer's Field in Enoch Arden, etc. 88 This frail bark of ours, when sorely tried, May wreck itself without the pilot's guilt.

b. To make or cause (a person) to suffer or undergo shipwreck; to involve in wreck; also, to cause the loss of (goods or cargo) by shipwreck; = shipwreck v. 1. Chiefly passive.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > shipwreck > cause to suffer shipwreck [verb (transitive)]

shipwreck1589

wreck1617

naufragiate1618

1617 F. Moryson Itinerary ii. 8 The..Spaniards, last yeere wrecked on the Coasts of Connaght.., had left..great store of treasure.

1796 C. Smith Narr. Loss Transports 14 A young Gentleman,..wrecked himself, and wandering along the unhospitable shore.

1836 F. Marryat Mr. Midshipman Easy II. iv. 112 We were wrecked in our boat last night.

1876 Ld. Tennyson Harold ii. i. 36 Thy villains with their lying lights have wreck'd us!

1903 S. E. White Forest vii A big roller rips along your gunwale [of a canoe]. You are wrecked.

figurative.1821 P. B. Shelley Epipsychidion 13 The rocks on which high hearts are wreckt.1845 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 2) 323 Bound to earth, Wrecked in the deeps of Heaven, in Death's expiring birth!1880 W. H. D. Adams Wrecked Lives 1st Ser. p. vi If he would not wreck his life amid the rocks and quicksands of worldly lusts.absolute.1881 H. D. Rawnsley Sonn. Eng. Lakes 115 So may it be when storms my life shall strand On treacherous shoal,..May..waves that wrecked reach out a pitying hand To gulf my sorrow.

c. transferred. (See quot. 1617.)

1617 F. Moryson Itinerary iii. 144 There be some quicksands, wherein footemen are in danger to be wrecked.

a. To cause or bring about the ruin or destruction of (a structure, etc.) as by violence or misuse; to reduce to a ruinous condition in this way; to shatter, ruin, destroy.

ΘΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > break [verb (transitive)] > break down, demolish, or ruin

spillc950

fellOE

to cast downc1230

destroy1297

to turn up?c1335

to throw down1340

to ding downc1380

to break downa1382

subverta1382

underturn1382

to take downc1384

falla1400

to make (a building, etc.) plain (with the earth)a1400

voida1400

brittenc1400

to burst downc1440

to pull downc1450

pluck1481

tumble1487

wreck1510

defacea1513

confound1523

raze1523

arase1530

to beat downc1540

ruinate1548

demolish1560

plane1562

to shovel down1563

race?1567

ruin1585

rape1597

unwall1598

to bluster down16..

raise1603

level1614

debolish1615

unbuilda1616

to make smooth work of1616

slight1640

to knock down1776

squabash1822

collapse1883

to turn over1897

mash1924

rubble1945

to take apart1978

1510 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Star Chamber (1911) II. 70 [He] maketh Fysch garthes & weeres..by reason wherof the seid porte is so wrekked & shallowed, that [etc.].

1595 E. Spenser Amoretti lvi, in Amoretti & Epithalamion sig. D5^v That tree..am I, Whom ye doe wreck, doe ruine, and destroy.

1821 P. B. Shelley Epipsychidion 21 Thou too, O Comet.., Who drew the heart of this frail Universe Towards thine own; till, wreckt in that convulsion,..Thine went astray.

1865 Pall Mall Gaz. 14 July 9/2 The mob..commenced ‘wrecking’ Conservative houses, stoning one sick old gentleman as he lay in his bed.

1878 R. Browning La Saisiaz 34 The everyway external stream..leaves it [sc. a rush]..wrecked at last.

1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VII. 123 The joint is found to be completely wrecked.

in extended use.1878 R. Browning Poets Croisic xli How now? My Duke's crown wrecked?

b. To cause or bring about the subversion or overthrow of (some condition or order of things); to shatter, ruin.

ΘΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > overthrow or overturn

to-warpc888

overwarpeOE

fallOE

cumber1303

overthrowc1375

overturna1382

subverta1382

overwalta1400

sinka1400

to wend downa1400

tuyrec1400

reverse1402

tirvec1420

pervert?a1425

to put downa1425

cumrayc1425

downthringc1430

overthwart?a1439

thringc1480

subvertise1484

succumb1490

renverse1521

precipitate?1528

everta1538

wrake1570

ruinate1590

profligate1643

wreck1749

society > authority > lack of subjection > rebelliousness > revolution > make revolutionary in character [verb (transitive)] > overthrow > cause or bring about subversion

wreck1749

1749 T. Smollett Regicide i. vi. 11 O recal Those flatt'ring Arts thy own Deceit employ'd To wreck my Peace!

1792 R. Burns in J. Johnson Scots Musical Museum IV. 378 Canst thou wreck his peace for ever.

1826 in Sheridaniana 334 Their want of tact and judgment has wrecked the party.

1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia II. vii. iv. 204 Do not wreck, upon trifles, a noble interest we have in common.

1883 C. Bowen in Law Times Rep. 49 251/2 We hear of abuse of different kinds of process..which amounts to wrecking credit.

1884 St. James's Gaz. 11 Jan. 6/1 His Administration was very nearly wrecked at the outset.

c. To frustrate or thwart; to prevent the passing of (a measure, etc.).

ΘΠ

the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > hindering completely or preventing > hinder completely or prevent [verb (transitive)] > thwart or foil

false?c1225

confoundc1315

blenk?a1400

matea1400

interrupt1464

blench1485

fruster?a1513

frustrate?a1513

infatuate1533

disappoint1545

prevent1555

foila1564

blank1566

thwart1581

confute1589

dispurpose1607

shorten1608

foola1616

vain1628

balk1635

throwa1650

scotch1654

bafflea1674

crossbar1680

transverse1770

tomahawk1773

throttle1825

wreck1855

stultify1865

derail1889

to pull the plug1923

rank1924

1855 J. L. Motley Rise Dutch Republic v. v Every fresh attempt at an amicable compromise was wrecked upon the obstinate bigotry of the leading civic authorities.

1901 Scotsman 28 Feb. 7/2 The measure will, it is pretty certain, be wrecked before it gets out of committee.

a. To bring (a person) to ruin or disaster; to subvert, ruin. Also reflexive.

ΘΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > destroy or ruin a person

spillc950

amarOE

smitelOE

aspillc1175

mischievec1325

to bid (something) misadventurec1330

mara1375

fordoc1380

undo1390

wrack1564

to make roast meat of (also for)1565

wrake1567

wreck1590

speed1594

feeze1609

to do a person's business1667

cook1708

to settle a person's hash1795

diddle1806

to fix1836

raddle1951

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. ix. sig. Ll^v All his mind is set on mucky pelfe, To hoord vp heapes of euill gotten masse, For which he others wrongs and wreckes himselfe.

1595 [see sense 3a].

1644 Raleigh's Remains 48 If he resolve..to wreck him, and to have his life.

1733 A. Pope Ess. Man (rev. ed.) i. 246 Let ruling Angels from their Spheres be hurl'd, Being on Being wreck'd, and World on World.

1787 ‘P. Pindar’ Lyric Odes to Royal Academicians (ed. 5) iii. 8 Despising Pride, whose wish it is to wreck 'em.

b. To shatter (a person's health, constitution, or nerves) by sickness, hardship, or the like; to destroy the quality or tone of. Usually in passive.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > cause to be ill [verb (transitive)] > make weak

fellOE

wastec1230

faintc1386

endull1395

resolvea1398

afaintc1400

defeat?c1400

dissolvec1400

weakc1400

craze1476

feeblish1477

debilite1483

overfeeble1495

plucka1529

to bring low1530

debilitate1541

acraze1549

decaya1554

infirma1555

weaken1569

effeeble1571

enervate1572

enfeeble1576

slay1578

to pull downa1586

prosternate1593

shake1594

to lay along1598

unsinew1598

languefy1607

enerve1613

pulla1616

dispirit1647

imbecilitate1647

unstring1700

to run down1733

sap1755

reduce1767

prostrate1780

shatter1785

undermine1812

imbecile1829

disinvigorate1844

devitalize1849

wreck1850

atrophy1865

crumple1892

1850 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1857) 3rd Ser. 125 The drunkard..discovers that he is unexpectedly degraded, his health wrecked.

1897 R. Kipling Captains Courageous 213 I wonder your nervous system isn't completely wrecked.

5. intransitive.

a. To suffer or undergo shipwreck; = shipwreck v. 2. Also figurative and in figurative context.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > shipwreck > suffer shipwreck [verb (intransitive)]

wrack1470

make1526

to make wreck1577

split1602

shipwreck1607

wreck1671

1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd ii. 228 Honour, glory, and popular praise; Rocks whereon greatest men have oftest wreck'd .

1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1044 What Pilot so expert but needs must wreck Embarqu'd with such a Stears-mate at the Helm?

1729 G. Berkeley Let. in Wks. (1871) IV. 161 My letters were in one of the vessels that wreck'd.

1860 C. Clive Why Paul Ferroll iv With all her early impressions wrecking around her, she did not know to what to cling.

1864 J. R. Lowell Fireside Trav. 172 The montagna bruna on which Ulysses wrecked.

1884 Ld. Tennyson Becket ii. ii. 104 Holy Church May rock, but will not wreck, nor our Archbishop Stagger on the slope decks for any rough sea.

b. To break down in health.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > be in ill health [verb (intransitive)] > fall ill

sicklec1000

sicka1150

sickenc1175

evil1303

mislike?1440

fall1526

to take a conceit1543

to fall down?1571

to lay upa1616

to run of (or on) a garget1615

craze1658

invalid1829

wreck1876

collapse1879

to go sick1879

to sicken for1883

1876 R. Bridges Growth of Love xiv What is this wreck of all he hath in fief, When he that hath is wrecking?

a. To cause damage by washing up.

ΘΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > damage > [verb (intransitive)]

woundc897

spilea1325

grieve1398

to bring (also go, put, run) to wrack (and ruin)1412

mangle1533

to do, make, etc. (great, much) spoil1575

wreck1634

trash1970

1634 Rotherham (Yorks.) Feoffees Accounts (MS.) P[ai]d to Tho. Sandall..for paveing at the bridge where the water had wreckt up.

b. To silt up, as with tide-driven sand, etc.

1786 in Trans. Soc. Arts (1789) 7 56 By a gradual, continual loss of out-fall amongst the sands, and by the sluice on the marsh and other parts wrecking up.

7. To seize or collect wreck or wreckage; to search for wreck. Also transferred.

ΘΠ

the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > make a search [verb (intransitive)] > search for things cast up by sea

wreck1843

beachcomb1878

the mind > possession > taking > seizing > seize [verb (intransitive)] > seize wreck

wreck1843

1843 Times 28 Mar. 7/1 The news of the wreck spread rapidly.., and in the evening a large mob assembled with a view of ‘wrecking’.

1897 Westm. Gaz. 2 Oct. 3/1 [Your job,] perhaps, is to go ‘wrecking’ for firewood. Down upon the rocks the friendly tide casts many a spar and log.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

† wreckv.²

Brit.

/rɛk/, U.S.

/rɛk/

Forms: Also 1500s–1600s wrecke, 1500s–1600s, 1800s reck, 1600s recke.

Etymology: Late variant of wreak v.; the exact reason for the shortening of the vowel is not clear, but compare dialect breck for break v.

Obsolete.

1. transitive. = wreak v. 5, 5b Chiefly reflexive.

ΘΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > revenge > execute (vengeance) [verb (transitive)] > avenge (a person)

wreakc950

rightOE

awreakc1275

vengec1325

avenge1377

revengea1470

wreck1570

society > authority > punishment > retributive punishment > inflict (retributive punishment) [verb (transitive)] > for an offence or on an offender > on behalf of a person

wreakc888

awreakc1275

vengec1325

avenge1377

revengec1425

wreck1570

1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Ei^v/1 To Wreck, vindicare.

1583 G. Babington Very Fruitfull Expos. Commaundem. viii. 373 Any larger commission granted to vs to wrecke our selues vpon our brethren.

1612 T. Taylor Αρχὴν Ἁπάντων: Comm. Epist. Paul to Titus i. 10 The minde and intention of the Apostle here..was not..to wrecke himselfe vpon them.

1622 P. Hannay Nightingale 57 The world shall know I was not slow To wrecke a wronged maid.

1670 J. Milton Hist. Brit. vi. 247 They wreck'd themselves on the Countries round about, wasting..all Essex, Kent, and Sussex.

a. = wreak v. 3.

ΘΠ

the mind > emotion > anger > [verb (transitive)] > wreak or give vent to anger

wreakOE

to let outa1250

wrechec1420

wrake1596

wreck1658

vent1697

1658 R. Allestree Pract. Christian Graces; or, Whole Duty of Man xv. §31. 327 It is a kind desire of his amendment (and not a willingness to wreck his own rage) which makes the Master thus to rebuke him.

1672 A. Marvell Rehearsal Transpros'd i. 11 Being ready at once to asswage his Concupiscence, and wreck his Malice.

1681 Char. Ill-Court-Favourite 5 These Insufferable Grandees, who reck their Private Spleens.

b. With prepositions, as on, upon, against (a person, etc.); = wreak v. 3b. Also with out.

ΘΠ

the mind > emotion > anger > [verb (transitive)] > wreak or give vent to anger > on or against someone

wreakc1175

wreck1577

1577 J. Grange Garden in Golden Aphroditis sig. Qij^v She sought on me to wrecke hir spight.

a1592 R. Greene Mamillia (1593) ii. sig. B2 With what greater plague..can..the vniust gods..wreck their wrath and exreme rigour vppon any man.

1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 25 That malice..which he could not there so easily wrecke on their Creator.

1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης xxvi. 210 To wreck his spleen, or ease his mind upon the Parlament.

1702 N. Rowe Tamerlane iv. i Give him Pow'r to wreck his Hatred Upon his greatest Foe?

1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 439. ¶3 [They] often wreak their particular Spite or Malice against the Person whom they are set to watch.

1777 R. Watson Hist. Reign Philip II I. vii. 191 The king..was determined to wreck his resentment on all concerned.

1793 R. Gray Poems 25 Some in the fray wreckt out his spleen On some sly pate or sawney.

3. = wreak v. 6, 7.

ΘΠ

society > authority > punishment > retributive punishment > inflict (retributive punishment) [verb (transitive)] > for an offence or on an offender

wreakc825

awreak1048

wrackc1275

wrakec1275

venge1303

bewreakc1325

avenge1377

hevena1400

sella1400

revengec1425

prosecute1543

pursue1570

wrecka1593

the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > revenge > execute (vengeance) [verb (transitive)] > avenge (an injury or injured person)

wreakc825

awreak1048

righta1275

wrackc1275

wrakec1275

venge1303

bewreakc1325

avenge1377

hevena1400

sella1400

revengec1425

countervenge1523

wrecka1593

redeem1598

vindicate1623

to pay off1749

a1593 C. Marlowe Edward II (1594) iv. iv For the open wronges and iniuries Edward hath done to vs,..We come in armes to wrecke it with the swords.

1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. iv. sig. P4 He Talus sent To wrecke on them their follies hardyment.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 11 Satan..came down..To wreck on innocent frail man his loss Of that first Battel.

4. = wreak v. 8.

ΘΠ

society > authority > punishment > retributive punishment > inflict (retributive punishment) [verb (transitive)]

wreakc825

payc1330

wreck1764

the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > revenge > execute (vengeance) [verb (transitive)]

vengea1382

wreak1490

wrakea1753

wreck1764

1764 O. Goldsmith Hist. Eng. in Lett. II. xxv. 210 There was no object on whom to wreck their vengeance.

a1790 R. Henry Hist. Great Brit. (1793) VI. 419 They not only wrecked their vengeance on the living, but on the ashes of dead heretics.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

n.¹a1425

n.²1562

n.³1591

v.¹c1420

v.²1570

单词	wreck
释义	wreckn.¹ Brit. /rɛk/, U.S. /rɛk/ Forms: [Old English–Middle English wrec (Old English werec, waerece, warec), Middle English wrech, wrek, wreck-, wreck,] Middle English–1500s wrek, Middle English–1600s wrekke, wrecke, 1500s– wreck1600s wreake. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman wrec, wrech, wrek (also werec , waerec , warec , whence French varech , varec varec n.), < Old Norse wrec , wrek (Norwegian and Icelandic rek , noun), < the stem of wrekan to drive: see wreak v., and compare wrack n.² The Anglo-Norman word is also the source of medieval Latin wreccum , warectum . The Old Norse variant wreke (Icelandic reki* ) is represented in English by the obsolete wreke n. Another French form appears in vraic n. I. Something that is wrecked or destroyed, and related uses. 1. Law. That which is cast ashore by the sea in tidal waters; esp. goods or cargo as thrown on land by the sea from a wrecked, stranded, or foundered vessel. Occasionally wreck of the sea (medieval Latin. wreccum maris, Anglo-Norman wrec or wreck de mer), †wreck of the king (medieval Latin. wrech regis). Cf. shipwreck n. 1, shipbreche n. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > personal or movable property > flotsam or jetsam shipwreck?a1100 wreke1420 wrecka1425 wrack1428 jetsam1491 waveson1526 wrake1544 sea-wracks1548 water1552 wracksa1586 flotsam1607 wrack-goods1671 floatage1672 wreck-goods1693 jettison1708 wreck-wood1821 wreckages1864 1600 E. Coke Les Reports v. 106 b Ietsam est quant le nief est in perill d'être merge et pur disburden le niefe les biens sont iects in le mere..et nul de ceux byens que sont appelles Ietsam Flotsam ou Lagan sont appeles wreck cy longe come ils remain in ou sur la mere, mais si ascun de eux sont mise al terre per le mere, donques ils seront dit wreck. 1077 King William I in Chron. Abb. Ramsey (Rolls) 201 Bramcestre..cum omni maris ejectu quod nos wrec [v.r. waerec] nominamus. 1175–6 Pipe Roll Hen. II (1904) 83 Quia accepit wrech regis. 1200 K. John Charter to Dunwich in Rotuli Chart. (1837) 51/2 De ewagio de wrec et lagan et de omnibus aliis consuetudinibus. a1268 H. de Bracton De Legibus Angliæ i. xii. (Rolls) I. 60 Item ubi non apparet dominus rei, sicut est de wrecco maris. 1292 Britton I. 216 Par fraunchises de aver wrek de mer trové en soen soil. 1343 in A. Clarke & F. Holbrooke Rymer & Sanderson's Fœdera (1821) II. ii. 1225 Wreccum maris..tam de piscibus regalibus, quam de aliis rebus quibuscumque, ad terram ibidem projectis.] a1425 ( in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1882) I. 52 Wrek, weyf, stray, merchet, lecherwyt, blodewyt. a1425 ( in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1882) I. 57 Wrek et weyf, stray. 1455 Rolls of Parl. V. 311/2 Wrecke of the Sea, Weyves, Estrayes. 1477 W. Pecock in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 421 Mastras Clere hath sen[t] down hyre men and with-set alle þe stuff and wrekke. 1482 Rolls of Parl. VI. 205/1 The same Duc shall have..Wrekke of the See, Tresour founde. 1576 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent 229 If from thencefoorth any one thing (being within the vessell) arriued on liue, then the ship and goods should not be seised for wrecke. 1576 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent 229 If a ship were cast on shoare,..and were not repaired by suche as escaped on liue within a certaine time,..this was taken for Wreck. 1630 Aldeburgh Rec. in Notes & Queries May (1921) 427/2 Burying a man that came ashore when the Kings wreck came ashore. 1651 tr. J. Kitchin Courts Leet (1657) 24 The Kings Prerogative, chap. 11. the King shall have Wreck of the Sea throughout the whole Realm. 1666 in Quarter Sessions Rec. (N. Riding Rec. Soc.) (1888) VI. A warrant against 11 Britton men for riotously taking a whale and other wrecke. 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Wreck antiently not only comprehended Goods which came from a perishing Ship, but whatever else the Sea cast upon Land; whether it were precious Stones, Fishes, Sea-weed, or the like. 1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. 283 If any persons..take any goods so cast on shore, which are not legal wreck. 1768 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. III. 106 The court of the admiral [had]..no manner of cognizance..of any wreck of the sea: for that must be cast on land before it becomes a wreck. 1800 A. Addison Rep. Cases Pennsylvania 63 Wreck, in its legal signification, is confined to such goods as, after shipwreck at sea, are by the sea cast upon the land. 1822 Act 1 & 2 Geo. IV c. 75 §26 That no..person who may be entitled..to Wreck of the Sea..shall be entitled to appropriate such Wreck or Goods..until he [etc.]. 1866 Daily Tel. 3 Nov. The more scrupulous deliver up their spoil to the receiver of wreck. 1888 J. Williams in Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 687/1 As wreck in the last resort became crown property, it was never subject to forfeiture. 1888 J. Williams in Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 687/1 Wreck was frequently granted to subjects as a franchise. 2. a. = wrack n.² 3, sea-wrack n. 2a, varec n. 1. Latterly Scottish and northern dialect.Cf. tangle-wrack n. at tangle n.¹ Compounds 2, sea-wrack n. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > algae > seaweed > [noun] sea-frothc1440 wrekec1440 ooze?c1475 wreck1499 wrack1513 moss1543 reek1545 wrake1547 sea-wrack1551 seaweed1577 varec1676 wreck-weed1821 Algal alliance1846 wreck-ware1865 1499 Promptorium Parvulorum (Pynson) sig. sv^v/1 Wrek of the see, alga, norga. 1500 Ortus Vocabulaorum B iij Alga,..herba marina, i.e. illud quod mare projicit, wrekke or frothe of the see. a1661 W. Brereton Trav. (1844) 97 The grass, weeds and wreck, brought by the sea..and left upon the sands. 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Wreck,..a kind of Herb, growing in the Sea, upon Rocks, and which the Waves tearing off, cast upon Shore. In some Places it is used to manure the Ground. 1753 Extracts Trial J. Stewart in Scots Mag. July 335/2 He was then employed in gathering wreck. 1791 J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. I. 113 The shores [of Ayrshire] abound with..rich sea-weed or wreck for manure. 1806 R. Forsyth Beauties Scotl. III. 351 Sea-ware..driven upon the shore by the tides..is commonly called blown wreck. 1876 in Cleveland Gloss. Suppl. 1894 K. Hewat Little Sc. World vii. 112 The ‘Wreck Brethren’..annually..raised funds for their purposes and regulated the carting of the wreck. b. = wrack n.² 3b. Now dialect. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > refuse or rubbish > [noun] > by a river or pond wreckc1440 wrack1605 c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 533/2 Wrek, of a dyke, or a fenne, or stondynge watyr, ulva. 1742 in Quarter Sessions Rec. (N. Riding Rec. Soc.) (1890) VIII. The Treasurer to pay £1 for clearing away the wreck from How and Kirby Misperton Bridges. 1851 M. Reid Scalp Hunters II. 298 Our faces were concealed by the ‘wreck’ that covered the stones. 1877–86 in Lincoln and Chesh. glossaries. 1884 G. S. Streatfeild Lincolnshire & Danes 376 Wreck, weeds and other rubbish floating down streams or on ditch water. c. Scottish and dialect. = wrack n.² 3c. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > refuse or rubbish > [noun] > on agricultural land wrack1715 wreck1743 1743 Sel. Trans. Soc. Improvers Knowl. Agric. Scotl. 11 Cause pull up and gather carefully the Wreck, or Roots of Weeds and Grass, into Heaps. 1787 W. Marshall Provincialisms in Rural Econ. Norfolk II. 392 Wreck, dead undigested roots and stems of grasses and weeds in plowland. 1801 Farmer's Mag. Jan. 59 A field..where dung was applied amid mountains of wreck, or couch grass. 3. a. A vessel broken, ruined, or totally disabled by being driven on rocks, cast ashore, or stranded; a wrecked or helpless ship; the ruins or hulk of such. Occasionally also wreck of a ship. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > [noun] > wrecked vessel wrackc1386 wreck?a1500 carcass1600 racka1658 silver wreck1700 c1290 Fleta (1647) i. xliv. 61 Item dicitur wreckum navis vel batellus fractus, de quibus nihil vivum evaserit.] ?a1500 Chaucer's Man of Law's T. 415 in Wks. (1532) 24 b The constable of the castel downe is fare To seen this wrecke, & al the shyp he sought. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Vuaresque, a wrecke, or ship cast away. 1625 P. Heylyn Μικρόκοσμος (rev. ed.) 442 Charybdis is a gulfe..which violently attracting all vessels that come too nigh it, deuoureth them, and casteth vp their wrecks. 1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 80 He shall restore whatever Wrecks may happen on his Coasts. 1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 220 I could plainly see..the Wreck of a Ship cast away in the Night. 1743 J. Bulkeley & J. Cummins Voy. to South-seas 14 The Ship is a perfect Wreck. 1764 W. Falconer Shipwreck (new ed.) iii. 112 Three..from the wreck on oars and rafts descend. 1805 J. Turnbull Voy. World (1813) 391 The ship..struck upon a reef of rocks.., and shortly became a total wreck. 1812 J. Wilson Isle of Palms i. 32 Fast the miserable Ship Becomes a lifeless wreck. 1865 H. Kingsley Hillyars & Burtons lxxix The wreck of a little coasting craft still lay about two hundred yards to sea. figurative and in figurative context.1781 W. Cowper Retirem. 386 To the fair haven of my native home, The wreck of what I was, fatigu'd, I come.1796 E. Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 350 Such is the person you come to see, or rather the wreck of what was never a first-rate vessel.1883 S. C. Hall Retrospect Long Life I. 322 All of manhood in him..had given way and left him a stranded wreck.1885 Ld. Tennyson Wreck 5 My life itself is a wreck,..I am flung from the rushing tide of the world as a waif of shame. b. An unserviceable or crazy old vessel. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > [noun] > old or useless vessel hull1582 coffin1833 ballyhoo1836 old lady1841 rack-heap1850 wreck1896 crock1903 rust bucket1944 1896 Westm. Gaz. 5 Dec. 5/1 There are too many of these old wrecks [= barges] on the river. 4. a. Law. A piece or article of wreckage; a fragment of a wrecked vessel or its cargo. Frequently plural. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > personal or movable property > flotsam or jetsam > a piece of waif1377 waith1478 wreck1570 weft1579 1570 in W. Boys Coll. for Hist. Sandwich (1792) 775 Wrecks and fyndalls floating, and the half of all wrecks and fyndalls jottsome. 1577 R. Holinshed Chron. II. 489/2 [Richard I] pardoned al wreckes by sea.., releasing for euer al his right to the same. 1579 Rastell's Expos. Termes Lawes (new ed.) 187 b The Lorde shall haue that as a wreck of y^e sea. 1652 M. Nedham tr. J. Selden Of Dominion of Sea i. xxv. 167 The Question is, whether the Goods bee..called Spoils or Wrecks. 1729 G. Jacob New Law-dict. at Lagan [If] these Goods..are cast away upon the Land, they are then a Wreck. 1729 G. Jacob New Law-dict. (at cited word) It was usual to seise and forfeit Wrecks to the King, only when no Owner could be found. 1768 [see sense 1]. b. Without article. = wreckage n. 2. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > [noun] > wrecked vessel > pieces of shipwreck?a1100 lagan1531 wrake1544 wreck1744 wreckage1846 1744 Gentleman's Mag. 616/2 Several chests, broken masts, and other pieces of wreck floating in the sea. 1796 C. Smith Narr. Loss Transports 34 The Chissel-bank..was strewn..with pieces of wreck, and piles of plundered goods. 1815 Ann. Reg., Chron. 42 Six men reached the shore..upon planks, being much bruised by the surf and wreck. 1833 Redding Shipwrecks I. 194 All the crew believed the ship was crushed to pieces, but no wreck floated up. 1865 A. C. Swinburne Felise 80 [Such things] As the sea feeds on, wreck and stray and castaway. 5. A drifted or tossed-up mass; a large heap; a great quantity; an abundance. Now northern dialect. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > (a) great quantity or amount felec825 muchc1230 good wone1297 plentyc1300 bushelc1374 sight1390 mickle-whata1393 forcea1400 manynessa1400 multitudea1400 packc1400 a good dealc1430 greata1450 sackful1484 power1489 horseloadc1500 mile1508 lump1523 a deal?1532 peckc1535 heapa1547 mass1566 mass1569 gallon1575 armful1579 cart-load1587 mickle1599 bushelful1600–12 a load1609 wreck1612 parisha1616 herd1618 fair share1650 heapa1661 muchness1674 reams1681 hantle1693 mort1694 doll?1719 lift1755 acre1759 beaucoup1760 ton1770 boxload1795 boatload1807 lot1811 dollop1819 swag1819 faggald1824 screed1826 Niagara1828 wad1828 lashings1829 butt1831 slew1839 ocean1840 any amount (of)1848 rake1851 slather1857 horde1860 torrent1864 sheaf1865 oodlesa1867 dead load1869 scad1869 stack1870 jorum1872 a heap sight1874 firlot1883 oodlings1886 chunka1889 whips1888 God's quantity1895 streetful1901 bag1917 fid1920 fleetful1923 mob1927 bucketload1930 pisspot1944 shitload1954 megaton1957 mob-o-ton1975 gazillion1978 buttload1988 shit ton1991 the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > mass formed by collection of particles > an accumulation > heap or pile heapc725 cockeOE hill1297 tassc1330 glub1382 mow?1424 bulkc1440 pile1440 pie1526 bing1528 borwen1570 ruck1601 rick1608 wreck1612 congest1625 castle1636 coacervation1650 congestion1664 cop1666 cumble1694 bin1695 toss1695 thurrock1708 rucklea1725 burrow1784 mound1788 wad1805 stook1865 boorach1868 barrow1869 sorites1871 tump1892 fid1926 clamp- 1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion ii. 24 Where Chesill lifts Her ridged snake-like sands, in wrecks and smouldring drifts. 1683 G. Meriton York-shire Dialogue in Pure Nat. Dial. 15 There's sike a wreck, it [sc. corn] liggs all down o'th Land. 1846 W. E. Brockett J. T. Brockett's Gloss. North Country Words (ed. 3) Wreck, a great quantity..as a confused heap. 1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby I saw wrecks on 't. 6. a. That which remains of something that has suffered ruin, demolishment, waste, etc.; the dilapidated, disorganized, or disordered residue or remainder of anything. Also (a) with a and plural. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [noun] > demolition > a ruin or wreck > ruins tatter1402 ash1553 downfall1575 destruction1585 parietines1621 masure1623 detriments1632 wreck1713 wrecking1855 lagan1906 the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [noun] > remains > after destructive agency residue1560 wreck1713 the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [noun] > remains > after destructive agency > decayed remnant(s) relicsc1350 ruinc1425 ruins1544 decays1582 debris1708 wreck1713 shard1786 faulturea1821 detritus1834 (a) 1713 J. Addison Cato v. i But thou shalt flourish..Unhurt amidst..The Wrecks of Matter, and the Crush of Worlds. 1756 Mrs. Calderwood's Journey in Coltness Coll. (1842) 250 His friends..got him, out of the wrecks of his estate, betwixt L. 30 or L. 40 per annum. 1780 Westm. Mag. 371 He continued obstinate and mad, going..over the wrecks of the house. 1821 P. B. Shelley Epipsychidion 26 An envy of the isles, a pleasure-house..It scarce seems now a wreck of human art. 1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. lv. 355 The Republican party was formed..out of the wrecks of the Whig party. (b)1743 R. Blair Grave 4 Names once fam'd, now dubious or forgot, And buried 'midst the Wreck of Things which were.1751 T. Smollett Peregrine Pickle I. ix. 69 From the wreck of the hammock [she] made an occasional bed for herself on the floor.1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho III. iii. 52 Assisted with suggestions, which they had since executed with the wreck of their fortunes.1804 W. L. Bowles Spir. Discov. iii. 46 My destined voyage, by the shores Of Asia, and the wreck of cities old.1840 T. Arnold Hist. Rome II. xxxi. 255 There he was joined by the wreck of the consul's army.1854 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross (new ed.) lxxvi. 540 As Mamma surveyed the wreck of luncheon.figurative and in extended use.1792 R. Burns in J. Johnson Scots Musical Museum IV. 399 Thou strik'st the dull peasant, he sinks in the dark, Nor saves e'en the wreck of a name.1813 P. B. Shelley Queen Mab v. 64 He sheds A passing tear perchance upon the wreck Of earthly peace. b. The broken-down, debilitated, or emaciated form of a person. (Cf. sense 7b.) ΚΠ 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. I. 225 It was, indeed, the wreck of her once noble lad. 1836 E. Bulwer-Lytton Duchess de la Vallière v. iii These wrecks of man Worn to decay. 1893 F. C. Selous Trav. S.-E. Afr. 62 All the Portuguese here were mere wrecks of men—frail, yellow, and fever-stricken. 7. a. That which is in a state of ruin; anything that is broken down or has undergone wrecking, shattering, or dilapidation. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [noun] > demolition > a ruin or wreck fallinga1382 wracka1586 wrakea1627 land-wracka1657 wreck1814 rack-heap1850 wreckage1874 crack-up1926 1814 R. Southey Roderick xvi. 62 Amid heaps Of mountain wreck, on either side thrown high,..The tortuous channel wound. 1816 W. Scott Antiquary I. iii. 52 This wreck of ancient books and utensils. 1842 T. B. Macaulay Horatius lv Like a dam, the mighty wreck [sc. of a bridge] Lay right athwart the stream. 1855 C. Kingsley Westward Ho! xx Alas! a crack, a flap, a rattle,..and all forward was a mass of dangling wreck. 1889 M. E. Kennard Landing Prize (1891) i. 4 What was left of the wreck had to be given up to creditors. figurative.1849 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1866) 1st Ser. viii. 145 The life-hopes have become a wreck. b. A person of undermined, shattered, or ruined constitution; one who is debilitated by ill-health, hardship, etc. (Cf. sense 6b.) ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > sick person > [noun] > weak person dwininga1400 molla1425 impotenta1513 gristlea1556 weakling1576 puler1579 puling1579 shadow1588 shotten herring1598 doddle1681 sickrel1699 seven-months1724 wandought1726 wallydraigle1736 wreck1795 werewolf1808 windlestraw1818 weed1825 shammock1828 sickling1834 forcible feeble1844 dwindle1847 weedling1849 crock1876 feebling1887 asthenic1893 dodderer1907 pencil-neck1956 burnt-out case1959 weakie1959 the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > tribulation, trouble, or affliction > wretched person wretchc1000 caitiffc1325 crachouna1400 wretcheda1425 miserable1484 miser1542 afflicted1545 seggon1570 elf1573 devil1593 wreck1795 1795–6 W. Wordsworth Borderers i. 336 Osw. But how fare you? Her. Well as the wreck I am permits. 1828 E. Bulwer-Lytton Pelham I. xxxii. 285 ‘Yes,’ continued the venerable wreck, after a short pause. 1857 J. W. Carlyle Lett. (1883) II. 335 It is easy to see you have suffered! an entire wreck, like myself. 1899 E. W. Hornung Dead Men xii I was slowly dying of insomnia. I was a nervous wreck. 1901 W. R. H. Trowbridge Lett. Mother to Elizabeth xxxi. 154 I think I am in for influenza. I feel a perfect wreck. 8. [By misapprehension.] = wrack n.¹ 5b. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [noun] > demolition > a ruin or wreck > trace or vestige following destruction wreck1793 1793 W. Wordsworth Evening Walk 306 No wreck of all the pageantry remains. 1813 P. B. Shelley Queen Mab ix. 117 These ruins soon left not a wreck behind. 1835 I. Taylor Spiritual Despotism v. 185 Other systems have..been swept away, leaving hardly a wreck behind. II. The action or process of wrecking or destroying, and related uses. 9. a. The disabling or destruction of a vessel by any disaster or accident of navigation; loss of a ship by striking on a rock, stranding, or foundering; an instance of this; = shipwreck n. 2 to make wreck: cf. make v.¹ 49. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > shipwreck > [noun] shipbrechea1067 ship-breaking1398 ship-brechinga1400 shipwreckc1450 wreck1463 wrake1513 wrack1579 naufrage1589 wrecking1775 society > travel > travel by water > shipwreck > suffer shipwreck [verb (intransitive)] wrack1470 make1526 to make wreck1577 split1602 shipwreck1607 wreck1671 1463–4 Rolls of Parl. V. 507/1 Yf eny of the forseid Wares or Chaffares..come into this Reame or Wales by wey of wrek. 1477 W. Pecock in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 421 There is a grete chyppe go to wrekke be-for Wynterton. 1569 R. Grafton Chron. I. i. 9 This Arke..by diuine prouidence..was gouerned from running to wreck. 1577 R. Holinshed Chron. II. 490/1 That euery person makyng wrecke by sea, & comming aliue to lande, shoulde haue all his goodes free. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. x. sig. X4^v Learning his ship from those white rocks to saue,..Threatning vnheedy wrecke and rash decay. 1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Gg1/1 Jetson is a thing cast out of the shippe being in daunger of wrecke. 1672 J. Dryden Conquest Granada ii. iii. ii. 107 As Seamen, parting in a gen'ral wreck, When first the loosening planks begin to crack Each catches one. 1749 Gentleman's Mag. 396/1 The ill behaviour of his crew, and the bad condition of the ship occasioned its wreck. a1796 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 421 Her two eyes..Would keep a sinking ship frae wreck. 1809 R. Warner Tour Cornwall 158 A range of rocks, the terrible scene of many a disastrous wreck. 1844 C. Wilkes Narr. U.S. Exploring Exped. II. 91 In leaving the harbour we had a narrow escape from wreck. 1888 F. Hume Madame Midas i. Prol. 15 We are..shipwrecked sailors; and I will tell the story of the wreck. figurative and in figurative context.1564 W. Bullein Dialogue against Fever Pestilence f. 72^v The Shippe of Fooles..wanteth a good Pilot: the Storme the Rocke and the wreke at hande.1770 W. Cowper Let. 25 Sept. (1979) I. 235 The Storm of 63 made a Wreck of all the Friendships I had contracted. b. Stock Market. (See first quot.) ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [noun] > specific operations or arrangements > disreputable poison pill1653 rig1826 cornering1841 wash-sale1848 washing1849 market-rigging1851 corner1853 watering1868 wreck1876 manipulation1888 wash1891 market mongering1901 matched orders1903 grey market1933 bond washing1937 warehousing1971 bed-and-breakfasting1974 dawn raid1980 1876 ‘E. Pinto’ Ye outside Fools! 360 A Corner, Pool, Clique, Ring are all terms equivalent to a Rig or Wreck. 1876 ‘E. Pinto’ Ye outside Fools! 408 The seductive interest of Rigs and Wrecks. c. North American. A road or railway accident. ΘΚΠ society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > vehicular traffic > [noun] > collision or accident car accident1834 street accident1835 accident1836 smash-up1856 car crash1877 car wreck1877 motor accident1910 wreck1912 crash1917 rollover1955 prang1959 shunt1959 1912 J. Sandilands Western Canad. Dict. & Phrase-bk. Wreck, the word to apply to a railway accident; or, more correctly, train wreck. 1974 Evening Herald (Rock Hill, S. Carolina) 19 Apr. 11/4 In spite of the reduction in accidents, the sergeant said, ‘We still have too many wrecks.’ 1979 N. Mailer Executioner's Song (1980) i. xviii. 304 On the drive back to Springville, she was dreaming away and got in a wreck. Nobody was hurt but the car. d. The death of a large number of pelagic birds, usually as the result of a storm. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > [noun] > death of large number of wreck1936 1936 Brit. Birds 29 327 In January, 1915, there was a great oil ‘wreck’ of Scoters. 1971 New Scientist 8 Apr. 69/1 There have been similar wrecks in the past, and the report mentions 11 for guillemots and the auks in the last century. 10. a. The action of subverting or overthrowing an established order of things, etc.; the fact of being brought to disaster; downfall, overthrow, ruin. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [noun] > overthrow of a person, institution, belief, etc. fallOE confusionc1290 subversiona1325 overthrowingc1330 overturninga1398 downcasta1400 wrackc1400 downcastingc1425 eversionc1425 profligationc1475 demolitionc1550 overturec1555 wreck1577 overturnc1592 racking?1689 upsetting1827 subversal1843 demolishment1884 society > authority > lack of subjection > rebelliousness > revolution > [noun] > action of overthrowing subvertingc1384 inverting1573 wreck1577 1577 M. Hanmer tr. Evagrius Scholasticus v. viii, in Aunc. Eccl. Hist. 494 He came into Mesopotamia, not without plaine daunger and wrecke to the state. 1595 E. Spenser Amoretti xxv, in Amoretti & Epithalamion sig. B6 Then all the woes and wrecks which I abide, As meanes of blisse I gladly wil embrace. 1608 Great Frost (ad fin.) Being..thus round beset with the horrors of so present a wreck, he fell down on his knees. 1763 J. Brown Diss. Poetry & Music v. 78 The most celebrated bards of ancient Greece, whose songs have perished in the wreck of time. 1775 R. B. Sheridan Rivals iii. iii Proud of calamity, we will enjoy the wreck of wealth. 1838 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Ferdinand & Isabella I. Introd. p. lii The wreck of their ancient liberties. 1839 T. N. Talfourd Glencoe i. i You come To share the wreck of the Macdonalds. 1885 J. Payn Talk of Town I. 182 It was not that she feared to risk the wreck of her own happiness. figurative.1793 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) II. 715 All that has caused this wreck in my bosom, Is Jenny. b. The action of wrecking or breaking apart; the fact of being materially wrecked or ruined; destruction or demolition. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [noun] > demolition subversiona1382 razinga1400 racing?a1450 beating down1530 rasing1552 demolishing1560 plucking1560 demolitiona1572 downpulling1581 demolishment1602 slighting1640 wreck1711 wrecking1775 wreckage1837 train-wrecking1872 unbuilding1879 demo1945 1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 166. ¶2 Books, which..may last as long as the Sun and Moon, and perish only in the general Wreck of Nature. 1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth I. 25 The manner in which he relieves the earth from this universal wreck. 1839 R. I. Murchison Silurian Syst. i. xxix. 376 In accounting for these extraordinary accumulations of broken coal we may undoubtedly refer their origin to the wreck of the regular seams. 1864 J. R. Lowell Fireside Trav. 31 Dealing thunderous wreck to the two hostile vessels. 1886 J. Barrowman Gloss. Sc. Mining Terms 73 Wreck, a break-down, as in a shaft or on an incline. c. In the phrase to go to wreck (and ruin). ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (intransitive)] > be destroyed, ruined, or come to an end losec888 fallOE forlesea1225 perishc1275 spilla1300 to go to wreche13.. to go to the gatec1330 to go to lostc1374 miscarryc1387 quenchc1390 to bring unto, to fall into, to go, put, or work to wrakea1400 mischieve?a1400 tinea1400 to go to the devilc1405 bursta1450 untwindc1460 to make shipwreck1526 to go to (the) pot1531 to go to wreck (and ruin)a1547 wrake1570 wracka1586 to hop (also tip, pitch over, drop off, etc.) the perch1587 to lie in the dusta1591 mischief1598 to go (etc.) to rack (and ruin)1599 shipwreck1607 suffera1616 unravel1643 to fall off1684 tip (over) the perch1699 to do away with1769 to go to the dickens1833 collapse1838 to come (also go) a mucker1851 mucker1862 to go up1864 to go to squash1889 to go (to) stramash1910 to go for a burton1941 to meet one's Makera1978 a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Certain Bks. Aenæis (1557) ii. sig. Biv^v Our fained shields and wepons then they found, And..our discording voice they knew. We went to wreck, with nomber ouerlayd. 1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Mark v. f. 11–17 The flocke goeth to wrecke and vtterly perisheth. 1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. 676 All things els about him went to wreck. 1766 Defoe's Mil. Hist. Germany & Eng. 64 I saw our men go to wreck. 1789 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 45 A Towmont, Sirs, is gane to wreck! 1853 T. De Quincey Autobiogr. Sketches in Select. Grave & Gay I. 129 To wreck goes every notion or feeling that divides..the brave man from the brave. 1877 W. Black Green Pastures & Piccadilly I. i. 14 The whole estate is going to wreck and ruin. 1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island vi. xxviii. 231 Here you are in a bad way: ship lost,..your whole business gone to wreck. elliptical.1787 R. Burns Poems (new ed.) 337 A letter inform'd me that all was to wreck. Compounds C1. a. (a) General attributive. wreck buoy n. ΚΠ 1874 F. G. D. Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. v. 109 Wreck buoys are painted green. wreck case n. ΚΠ 1892 R. G. Marsden Sel. Pleas Admiralty p. lxiv In 1377 a wreck case was tried before justices. wreck chart n. ΚΠ 1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 2747 Large wreck chart of the British Isles for 1861. wreck flag n. ΚΠ 1897 Daily News 15 Sept. 8/4 The Thames Conservancy have hoisted their green ‘wreck flag’, warning all craft to steer clear of the debris. (b) Objective and instrumental. wreck-finder n. ΚΠ 1902 Daily Chron. 29 Oct. 7/1 (citing N.Y. Tribune ) The wreck of a coal barge was first located... Two boats, termed ‘wreck-finders’, then..by means of derricks or suction pumps raise the coal to the surface. wreck raiser n. ΚΠ ?1881 Census Eng. & Wales: Instr. Clerks classifying Occupations & Ages (?1885) 36 Wharfinger, Wharf Agent,..Wreck Raiser. wreck-seeker n. ΚΠ 1843 F. Marryat Narr. Trav. M. Violet II. xi. 237 The unconscientious wreck-seeker of a captain. (c) wreck-devoted adj. ΚΠ 1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci v. iv. 99 A wreck-devoted seaman thus might pray To the deaf sea. † wreck-fishing n. Obsolete ΚΠ 1674 W. Temple Let. in Wks. (1720) II. 310 This Invention of Wreck-fishing [by Sir Edmund Curtis], for the Recovery of His Majesty's Tin, cast away before Ostend. wreck-raising adj. ΚΠ 1898 Westm. Gaz. 14 July 5/2 The wreck-raising vessels that are to make an attempt to save some of Admiral Cervera's unfortunate squadron. wreck-strewn adj. ΚΠ 1821 P. B. Shelley Fugitives 21 The Earth is like Ocean, Wreck-strewn and in motion. wreck-threatening adj. ΚΠ 1757 J. Dyer Fleece iv. 152 Inaccessible Wreck-threat'ning Staten-lands o'erhanging shore. b. Attributive in names of persons having, or appointed to take, charge of wreck or wreckage. wreck commissioner n. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > associated shore-based personnel > [noun] > person in charge of wreckage lagander1526 wreck-master1832 wreck commissioner1876 1876 Act 39 & 40 Vict. c. 80 §29 It shall be the duty of a wreck commissioner..to hold any formal investigation into a loss. wreck-master n. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > associated shore-based personnel > [noun] > person in charge of wreckage lagander1526 wreck-master1832 wreck commissioner1876 1832 in Blackstone's Comm. Laws Eng. (new ed.) i. iv. 219/1 Any one having in his possession goods from a stranded vessel, is to deliver them..to the sheriff, coroner, or wreck-master. a1868 in Grant Rep. Wrecking Bahamas 77 The first-licensed wreck-master boarding a vessel wrecked, stranded, or in distress..shall..become the master of all wreckers employed on such vessel, and shall be styled the ‘wreck-master’. 1891 Cent. Dict. (at cited word) Receivers of wrecks (in Great Britain), wreck-masters (in New York and Texas), officers whose duty [etc.]. 1898 Engin. Mag. 16 70 Instructions for the handling of explosives..should be placed in the hands of the railroad staff, including wreckmasters. C2. Special combinations. wreck-fish n. the stone-bass. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > family Serranidae (sea-bass) > [noun] > member of genus Polyprion (stone-bass) hapuku1820 stone-bass1823 grouper1843 wreck-fish1880 1880–4 F. Day Fishes Great Brit. & Ireland I. 18 This fish..is called in Devonshire, Wreck fish, because it follows floating timbers. 1883 Great Internat. Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 270 Special Line, furnished with all accessories, used in fishing for Stone Bass or Wreck-fish. † wreck-goods n. Scottish Obsolete goods cast ashore from a wreck. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > personal or movable property > flotsam or jetsam shipwreck?a1100 wreke1420 wrecka1425 wrack1428 jetsam1491 waveson1526 wrake1544 sea-wracks1548 water1552 wracksa1586 flotsam1607 wrack-goods1671 floatage1672 wreck-goods1693 jettison1708 wreck-wood1821 wreckages1864 1693 J. Dalrymple Inst. Law Scotl. (ed. 2) Alphabet. Index K 2 Wreck-goods..become Escheat as Publick. 1765–8 J. Erskine Inst. Law Scotl. ii. i. §13 Wreck-goods..were not claimed as escheat, but secured for the owners. † wreck-make n. poetic Obsolete that which causes wrecks. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > shipwreck > [noun] > cause of shipwreck wreck-make1582 1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis iii. 60 And Caulons castels we doe spy, with Scylla the wreckmake. wreck-ware n. Scottish, = sense 2. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > algae > seaweed > [noun] sea-frothc1440 wrekec1440 ooze?c1475 wreck1499 wrack1513 moss1543 reek1545 wrake1547 sea-wrack1551 seaweed1577 varec1676 wreck-weed1821 Algal alliance1846 wreck-ware1865 1865 A. Way in Promptorium Parvulorum 533 (note) On the coasts of Scotland sea-weed is called ‘wreck-ware’. wreck-weed n. Scottish, = sense 2. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > algae > seaweed > [noun] sea-frothc1440 wrekec1440 ooze?c1475 wreck1499 wrack1513 moss1543 reek1545 wrake1547 sea-wrack1551 seaweed1577 varec1676 wreck-weed1821 Algal alliance1846 wreck-ware1865 1821 W. Scott Pirate I. x. 243 One whom the sea flung forth as wreck-weed. wreck-wood n. wood washed up or ashore from a wreck; also attributive. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > personal or movable property > flotsam or jetsam shipwreck?a1100 wreke1420 wrecka1425 wrack1428 jetsam1491 waveson1526 wrake1544 sea-wracks1548 water1552 wracksa1586 flotsam1607 wrack-goods1671 floatage1672 wreck-goods1693 jettison1708 wreck-wood1821 wreckages1864 1821 W. Scott Pirate I. v. 95 The wreck-wood that the callants brought in yesterday. 1843 Times 25 July 3/2 The mast is still standing, and very little wreck-wood has driven from her. 1895 ‘Q’ Wandering Heath 5 The rain drove..aslant like threads of gold silk in the shine of the wreckwood fire. wreck-works n. salvage-works for raising a wreck or wrecks. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > other nautical operations > [noun] > salvaging operations salvage1713 wrecking1804 wreck-works1903 1903 E. Childers Riddle of Sands xx The wreck-works were evidently what they purported to be. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online June 2022). † wreckn.² Etymology: variant of wrack n.³, after wreck n.¹ Scottish. Obsolete. ‘Pelf’; ‘dross’; = wrack n.³ 1b. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > worldly or secular property temporalty1377 temporalitiesc1475 world's wrack?a1513 temporala1525 wreck1562 temporaries1596 worldhood1841 1562 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) I. 8 Hauand regarde to the wrek of this warld or lustis of thair bodyis. a1568 Blyth in Bannatyne MS. (Hunterian Club) 321/11 Ane wreche sall haif no mair, Bot ane schort scheit at heid and feit, For all his wrek and wair. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online September 2020). † wreckn.³ Etymology: Alteration of wreak n.: compare wreck v.² Obsolete. rare. Vengeance; revenge. ΘΚΠ society > authority > punishment > retributive punishment > [noun] wrakec825 wrechec1175 yielda1200 wrakedomc1275 vengeancea1300 hevening1303 vengement1338 wreakc1340 rewardc1350 retributiona1425 revengeancec1480 wratha1500 revengementa1513 avengeance1535 avenge1568 ultion1575 venge1587 wreck1591 nemesis1597 revanche1615 vindict1639 vindication1647 the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > revenge > [noun] wrakec825 wrackc900 wrechec1175 yielda1200 wrakedomc1275 vengeancea1300 vengement1338 awreaking1340 rewardc1350 revengeancec1480 wratha1500 avengementa1513 revengementa1513 revengea1525 avengeance1535 avenge1568 requital1569 ultion1575 venge1587 wreck1591 revanche1615 vindict1639 payback1973 1591 Legh's Armory 96 b His irefull heart straight braided out wrothfull wordes of wrecke [1562 wreke] and reuenge. 1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. vi. sig. F2^v Ah cruell hand, and..hart, That workst such wrecke on her. View more context for this quotation This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online September 2020). wreckv.¹ Brit. /rɛk/, U.S. /rɛk/ Forms: Also Middle English–1500s wrek-, 1500s wreake. Etymology: < wreck n.¹ Compare medieval Latin wrecare (12th cent.). In various senses common only in passive use. †1. transitive. To cast on shore. Obsolete. ΘΠ the world > the earth > land > land mass > shore or bank > seashore or coast > cast on shore [verb (transitive)] wreckc1420 wruck?a1600 c1420 Sir Amadas (W.) 475 Folke fordryvon in the schores,..Brone stedes,..All maner of ryches,..Wrekkyd with the water lay. [= xliv. (Camden), He fond wrekun a-mung the stones Knyȝtes in meneuere.] a1440 Sir Eglam. 894 He say that lady whyte as flowre, Was wrekyd on the sonde. a1509 in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Var. Coll. (1907) IV. 87 in Parl. Papers 1906 (Cd. 3218) LXIV. 1 [Seizing them] as goodes wrekked, which neither can ne may soo bee taken as long as the veray owners thereof be certainly knowen. 1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. iv. sig. P A Coffer strong,..seeming to haue suffred mickle wrong..By being wreckt vppon the sands. View more context for this quotation 1729 G. Jacob New Law-dict. (at cited word) If Goods wreck'd are seised by Persons having no Authority. 1821 Act 1 & 2 Geo. IV c. 75 §26 That Part of the Coast where the same [goods] shall have been stranded, wrecked or found. 2. a. To cause the wreck of (a vessel); to wreck (a ship); = shipwreck v. 1b. Chiefly passive. Also figurative and in figurative context. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > shipwreck > cause to suffer shipwreck [verb (transitive)] > wreck a vessel break1382 score1504 wrack1562 wreck1576 throw1577 to cast away1600 shipwreck1624 pile1891 1576 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent 228 A shippe laden with the Kings owne goods was wrecked within the precinct of this libertie. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. xii. sig. Z7^v The ribs of vessels broke, And shiuered ships, which had beene wrecked late. 1599 T. Moffett Silkewormes 49 Huge whales in Seas that mighty carricks wreake. 1732 Gentleman's Mag. 976 A great Number of Ships were wrecked..by stormy Weather. 1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VI. 395 Brought into the European seas, in some India ship that might be wrecked upon her return. 1845 J. C. Mangan Anthologia Germanica II. 100 The shallop of my peace is wrecked on Beauty's shore. 1846 A. Marsh Father Darcy II. ii. 60 So bravely as we have struggled against the overwhelming waters! The vessel is finally wrecked! 1865 H. Kingsley Hillyars & Burtons lxxvii If the Wainoora has sailed,..she is wrecked somewhere on the coast. reflexive.1864 Ld. Tennyson Aylmer's Field in Enoch Arden, etc. 88 This frail bark of ours, when sorely tried, May wreck itself without the pilot's guilt. b. To make or cause (a person) to suffer or undergo shipwreck; to involve in wreck; also, to cause the loss of (goods or cargo) by shipwreck; = shipwreck v. 1. Chiefly passive. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > shipwreck > cause to suffer shipwreck [verb (transitive)] shipwreck1589 wreck1617 naufragiate1618 1617 F. Moryson Itinerary ii. 8 The..Spaniards, last yeere wrecked on the Coasts of Connaght.., had left..great store of treasure. 1796 C. Smith Narr. Loss Transports 14 A young Gentleman,..wrecked himself, and wandering along the unhospitable shore. 1836 F. Marryat Mr. Midshipman Easy II. iv. 112 We were wrecked in our boat last night. 1876 Ld. Tennyson Harold ii. i. 36 Thy villains with their lying lights have wreck'd us! 1903 S. E. White Forest vii A big roller rips along your gunwale [of a canoe]. You are wrecked. figurative.1821 P. B. Shelley Epipsychidion 13 The rocks on which high hearts are wreckt.1845 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 2) 323 Bound to earth, Wrecked in the deeps of Heaven, in Death's expiring birth!1880 W. H. D. Adams Wrecked Lives 1st Ser. p. vi If he would not wreck his life amid the rocks and quicksands of worldly lusts.absolute.1881 H. D. Rawnsley Sonn. Eng. Lakes 115 So may it be when storms my life shall strand On treacherous shoal,..May..waves that wrecked reach out a pitying hand To gulf my sorrow. c. transferred. (See quot. 1617.) Π 1617 F. Moryson Itinerary iii. 144 There be some quicksands, wherein footemen are in danger to be wrecked. 3. a. To cause or bring about the ruin or destruction of (a structure, etc.) as by violence or misuse; to reduce to a ruinous condition in this way; to shatter, ruin, destroy. ΘΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > break [verb (transitive)] > break down, demolish, or ruin spillc950 fellOE to cast downc1230 destroy1297 to turn up?c1335 to throw down1340 to ding downc1380 to break downa1382 subverta1382 underturn1382 to take downc1384 falla1400 to make (a building, etc.) plain (with the earth)a1400 voida1400 brittenc1400 to burst downc1440 to pull downc1450 pluck1481 tumble1487 wreck1510 defacea1513 confound1523 raze1523 arase1530 to beat downc1540 ruinate1548 demolish1560 plane1562 to shovel down1563 race?1567 ruin1585 rape1597 unwall1598 to bluster down16.. raise1603 level1614 debolish1615 unbuilda1616 to make smooth work of1616 slight1640 to knock down1776 squabash1822 collapse1883 to turn over1897 mash1924 rubble1945 to take apart1978 1510 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Star Chamber (1911) II. 70 [He] maketh Fysch garthes & weeres..by reason wherof the seid porte is so wrekked & shallowed, that [etc.]. 1595 E. Spenser Amoretti lvi, in Amoretti & Epithalamion sig. D5^v That tree..am I, Whom ye doe wreck, doe ruine, and destroy. 1821 P. B. Shelley Epipsychidion 21 Thou too, O Comet.., Who drew the heart of this frail Universe Towards thine own; till, wreckt in that convulsion,..Thine went astray. 1865 Pall Mall Gaz. 14 July 9/2 The mob..commenced ‘wrecking’ Conservative houses, stoning one sick old gentleman as he lay in his bed. 1878 R. Browning La Saisiaz 34 The everyway external stream..leaves it [sc. a rush]..wrecked at last. 1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VII. 123 The joint is found to be completely wrecked. in extended use.1878 R. Browning Poets Croisic xli How now? My Duke's crown wrecked? b. To cause or bring about the subversion or overthrow of (some condition or order of things); to shatter, ruin. ΘΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > overthrow or overturn to-warpc888 overwarpeOE fallOE cumber1303 overthrowc1375 overturna1382 subverta1382 overwalta1400 sinka1400 to wend downa1400 tuyrec1400 reverse1402 tirvec1420 pervert?a1425 to put downa1425 cumrayc1425 downthringc1430 overthwart?a1439 thringc1480 subvertise1484 succumb1490 renverse1521 precipitate?1528 everta1538 wrake1570 ruinate1590 profligate1643 wreck1749 society > authority > lack of subjection > rebelliousness > revolution > make revolutionary in character [verb (transitive)] > overthrow > cause or bring about subversion wreck1749 1749 T. Smollett Regicide i. vi. 11 O recal Those flatt'ring Arts thy own Deceit employ'd To wreck my Peace! 1792 R. Burns in J. Johnson Scots Musical Museum IV. 378 Canst thou wreck his peace for ever. 1826 in Sheridaniana 334 Their want of tact and judgment has wrecked the party. 1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia II. vii. iv. 204 Do not wreck, upon trifles, a noble interest we have in common. 1883 C. Bowen in Law Times Rep. 49 251/2 We hear of abuse of different kinds of process..which amounts to wrecking credit. 1884 St. James's Gaz. 11 Jan. 6/1 His Administration was very nearly wrecked at the outset. c. To frustrate or thwart; to prevent the passing of (a measure, etc.). ΘΠ the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > hindering completely or preventing > hinder completely or prevent [verb (transitive)] > thwart or foil false?c1225 confoundc1315 blenk?a1400 matea1400 interrupt1464 blench1485 fruster?a1513 frustrate?a1513 infatuate1533 disappoint1545 prevent1555 foila1564 blank1566 thwart1581 confute1589 dispurpose1607 shorten1608 foola1616 vain1628 balk1635 throwa1650 scotch1654 bafflea1674 crossbar1680 transverse1770 tomahawk1773 throttle1825 wreck1855 stultify1865 derail1889 to pull the plug1923 rank1924 1855 J. L. Motley Rise Dutch Republic v. v Every fresh attempt at an amicable compromise was wrecked upon the obstinate bigotry of the leading civic authorities. 1901 Scotsman 28 Feb. 7/2 The measure will, it is pretty certain, be wrecked before it gets out of committee. 4. a. To bring (a person) to ruin or disaster; to subvert, ruin. Also reflexive. ΘΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > destroy or ruin a person spillc950 amarOE smitelOE aspillc1175 mischievec1325 to bid (something) misadventurec1330 mara1375 fordoc1380 undo1390 wrack1564 to make roast meat of (also for)1565 wrake1567 wreck1590 speed1594 feeze1609 to do a person's business1667 cook1708 to settle a person's hash1795 diddle1806 to fix1836 raddle1951 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. ix. sig. Ll^v All his mind is set on mucky pelfe, To hoord vp heapes of euill gotten masse, For which he others wrongs and wreckes himselfe. 1595 [see sense 3a]. 1644 Raleigh's Remains 48 If he resolve..to wreck him, and to have his life. 1733 A. Pope Ess. Man (rev. ed.) i. 246 Let ruling Angels from their Spheres be hurl'd, Being on Being wreck'd, and World on World. 1787 ‘P. Pindar’ Lyric Odes to Royal Academicians (ed. 5) iii. 8 Despising Pride, whose wish it is to wreck 'em. b. To shatter (a person's health, constitution, or nerves) by sickness, hardship, or the like; to destroy the quality or tone of. Usually in passive. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > cause to be ill [verb (transitive)] > make weak fellOE wastec1230 faintc1386 endull1395 resolvea1398 afaintc1400 defeat?c1400 dissolvec1400 weakc1400 craze1476 feeblish1477 debilite1483 overfeeble1495 plucka1529 to bring low1530 debilitate1541 acraze1549 decaya1554 infirma1555 weaken1569 effeeble1571 enervate1572 enfeeble1576 slay1578 to pull downa1586 prosternate1593 shake1594 to lay along1598 unsinew1598 languefy1607 enerve1613 pulla1616 dispirit1647 imbecilitate1647 unstring1700 to run down1733 sap1755 reduce1767 prostrate1780 shatter1785 undermine1812 imbecile1829 disinvigorate1844 devitalize1849 wreck1850 atrophy1865 crumple1892 1850 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1857) 3rd Ser. 125 The drunkard..discovers that he is unexpectedly degraded, his health wrecked. 1897 R. Kipling Captains Courageous 213 I wonder your nervous system isn't completely wrecked. 5. intransitive. a. To suffer or undergo shipwreck; = shipwreck v. 2. Also figurative and in figurative context. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > shipwreck > suffer shipwreck [verb (intransitive)] wrack1470 make1526 to make wreck1577 split1602 shipwreck1607 wreck1671 1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd ii. 228 Honour, glory, and popular praise; Rocks whereon greatest men have oftest wreck'd . View more context for this quotation 1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1044 What Pilot so expert but needs must wreck Embarqu'd with such a Stears-mate at the Helm? View more context for this quotation 1729 G. Berkeley Let. in Wks. (1871) IV. 161 My letters were in one of the vessels that wreck'd. 1860 C. Clive Why Paul Ferroll iv With all her early impressions wrecking around her, she did not know to what to cling. 1864 J. R. Lowell Fireside Trav. 172 The montagna bruna on which Ulysses wrecked. 1884 Ld. Tennyson Becket ii. ii. 104 Holy Church May rock, but will not wreck, nor our Archbishop Stagger on the slope decks for any rough sea. b. To break down in health. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > be in ill health [verb (intransitive)] > fall ill sicklec1000 sicka1150 sickenc1175 evil1303 mislike?1440 fall1526 to take a conceit1543 to fall down?1571 to lay upa1616 to run of (or on) a garget1615 craze1658 invalid1829 wreck1876 collapse1879 to go sick1879 to sicken for1883 1876 R. Bridges Growth of Love xiv What is this wreck of all he hath in fief, When he that hath is wrecking? 6. a. To cause damage by washing up. ΘΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > damage > [verb (intransitive)] woundc897 spilea1325 grieve1398 to bring (also go, put, run) to wrack (and ruin)1412 mangle1533 to do, make, etc. (great, much) spoil1575 wreck1634 trash1970 1634 Rotherham (Yorks.) Feoffees Accounts (MS.) P[ai]d to Tho. Sandall..for paveing at the bridge where the water had wreckt up. b. To silt up, as with tide-driven sand, etc. Π 1786 in Trans. Soc. Arts (1789) 7 56 By a gradual, continual loss of out-fall amongst the sands, and by the sluice on the marsh and other parts wrecking up. 7. To seize or collect wreck or wreckage; to search for wreck. Also transferred. ΘΠ the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > make a search [verb (intransitive)] > search for things cast up by sea wreck1843 beachcomb1878 the mind > possession > taking > seizing > seize [verb (intransitive)] > seize wreck wreck1843 1843 Times 28 Mar. 7/1 The news of the wreck spread rapidly.., and in the evening a large mob assembled with a view of ‘wrecking’. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 2 Oct. 3/1 [Your job,] perhaps, is to go ‘wrecking’ for firewood. Down upon the rocks the friendly tide casts many a spar and log. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online December 2021). † wreckv.² Brit. /rɛk/, U.S. /rɛk/ Forms: Also 1500s–1600s wrecke, 1500s–1600s, 1800s reck, 1600s recke. Etymology: Late variant of wreak v.; the exact reason for the shortening of the vowel is not clear, but compare dialect breck for break v. Obsolete. 1. transitive. = wreak v. 5, 5b Chiefly reflexive. ΘΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > revenge > execute (vengeance) [verb (transitive)] > avenge (a person) wreakc950 rightOE awreakc1275 vengec1325 avenge1377 revengea1470 wreck1570 society > authority > punishment > retributive punishment > inflict (retributive punishment) [verb (transitive)] > for an offence or on an offender > on behalf of a person wreakc888 awreakc1275 vengec1325 avenge1377 revengec1425 wreck1570 1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Ei^v/1 To Wreck, vindicare. 1583 G. Babington Very Fruitfull Expos. Commaundem. viii. 373 Any larger commission granted to vs to wrecke our selues vpon our brethren. 1612 T. Taylor Αρχὴν Ἁπάντων: Comm. Epist. Paul to Titus i. 10 The minde and intention of the Apostle here..was not..to wrecke himselfe vpon them. 1622 P. Hannay Nightingale 57 The world shall know I was not slow To wrecke a wronged maid. 1670 J. Milton Hist. Brit. vi. 247 They wreck'd themselves on the Countries round about, wasting..all Essex, Kent, and Sussex. 2. a. = wreak v. 3. ΘΠ the mind > emotion > anger > [verb (transitive)] > wreak or give vent to anger wreakOE to let outa1250 wrechec1420 wrake1596 wreck1658 vent1697 1658 R. Allestree Pract. Christian Graces; or, Whole Duty of Man xv. §31. 327 It is a kind desire of his amendment (and not a willingness to wreck his own rage) which makes the Master thus to rebuke him. 1672 A. Marvell Rehearsal Transpros'd i. 11 Being ready at once to asswage his Concupiscence, and wreck his Malice. 1681 Char. Ill-Court-Favourite 5 These Insufferable Grandees, who reck their Private Spleens. b. With prepositions, as on, upon, against (a person, etc.); = wreak v. 3b. Also with out. ΘΠ the mind > emotion > anger > [verb (transitive)] > wreak or give vent to anger > on or against someone wreakc1175 wreck1577 1577 J. Grange Garden in Golden Aphroditis sig. Qij^v She sought on me to wrecke hir spight. a1592 R. Greene Mamillia (1593) ii. sig. B2 With what greater plague..can..the vniust gods..wreck their wrath and exreme rigour vppon any man. 1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 25 That malice..which he could not there so easily wrecke on their Creator. 1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης xxvi. 210 To wreck his spleen, or ease his mind upon the Parlament. 1702 N. Rowe Tamerlane iv. i Give him Pow'r to wreck his Hatred Upon his greatest Foe? 1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 439. ¶3 [They] often wreak their particular Spite or Malice against the Person whom they are set to watch. 1777 R. Watson Hist. Reign Philip II I. vii. 191 The king..was determined to wreck his resentment on all concerned. 1793 R. Gray Poems 25 Some in the fray wreckt out his spleen On some sly pate or sawney. 3. = wreak v. 6, 7. ΘΠ society > authority > punishment > retributive punishment > inflict (retributive punishment) [verb (transitive)] > for an offence or on an offender wreakc825 awreak1048 wrackc1275 wrakec1275 venge1303 bewreakc1325 avenge1377 hevena1400 sella1400 revengec1425 prosecute1543 pursue1570 wrecka1593 the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > revenge > execute (vengeance) [verb (transitive)] > avenge (an injury or injured person) wreakc825 awreak1048 righta1275 wrackc1275 wrakec1275 venge1303 bewreakc1325 avenge1377 hevena1400 sella1400 revengec1425 countervenge1523 wrecka1593 redeem1598 vindicate1623 to pay off1749 a1593 C. Marlowe Edward II (1594) iv. iv For the open wronges and iniuries Edward hath done to vs,..We come in armes to wrecke it with the swords. 1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. iv. sig. P4 He Talus sent To wrecke on them their follies hardyment. View more context for this quotation 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 11 Satan..came down..To wreck on innocent frail man his loss Of that first Battel. View more context for this quotation 4. = wreak v. 8. ΘΠ society > authority > punishment > retributive punishment > inflict (retributive punishment) [verb (transitive)] wreakc825 payc1330 wreck1764 the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > revenge > execute (vengeance) [verb (transitive)] vengea1382 wreak1490 wrakea1753 wreck1764 1764 O. Goldsmith Hist. Eng. in Lett. II. xxv. 210 There was no object on whom to wreck their vengeance. a1790 R. Henry Hist. Great Brit. (1793) VI. 419 They not only wrecked their vengeance on the living, but on the ashes of dead heretics. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < n.¹a1425n.²1562n.³1591v.¹c1420v.²1570
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wreckn.1

Compounds

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wreckv.1

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wreckn.¹

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† wreckv.²