wreckagen.
/ˈrɛkɪdʒ/, U.S. /ˈrɛkɪdʒ/ 1. The action or process of wrecking; the fact of being wrecked. Also figurative.
ΘΠ
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
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. v. ii. 281 Wreckage and dissolution are the appointed issue for both [sc. wisdom and folly].
1890 F. A. Gasquet & E. Bishop Edward VI & Bk. Common Prayer 272 A lively picture of the wreckage of ecclesiastical structures at that time [1548–9].
1899 J. W. Mackail Life W. Morris II. 291 There had been much wreckage of unverified beliefs and extravagant hopes.
2. attributive.1898 G. Meredith Odes French Hist. 23 His wreckage-spars, His harried ships.
a. Fragments or remains of a shattered or wrecked vessel; wreck.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > [noun] > wrecked vessel > pieces of
shipwreck?a1100
lagan1531
wrake1544
wreck1744
wreckage1846
1846 J. E. Worcester Universal Dict. Eng. Lang. (citing Times).
1867 Morning Star 4 Feb. A large quantity of timber, ship's spars, &c...The wreckage appeared to be that of a large ship.
1885 T. P. Battersby Elf Island 36 The deck was..covered with wreckage.
1899 A. Conan Doyle Duet (1909) 119/2 Some of the wreckage from those vanished vessels.
b. plural. Pieces or fragments of wreck. rare.
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
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [noun] > remaining fragment > fragments of wreckage
wracksa1586
wreckages1864
1864 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia IV. xvii. vii. 602 A bolt shot into the storm-tost Sea and its wreckages.
3.
a. Material of or from a wrecked or shattered structure; a ruined fabric, building, etc.
ΘΠ
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
1874 J. Geikie Great Ice Age xvi. 208 The ice-current..would leave upon their frozen shores the wreckage of the distant mountains.
1891 S. Baring-Gould In Troubadour-land viii. 112 They form the wreckage of a palace for princes.
1894 A. Conan Doyle Mem. Sherlock Holmes 103 The venerable wreckage of a feudal keep.
b. figurative. Persons whose lives have been wrecked, who have failed to maintain a position in society.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > fall from prosperous or thriving condition > one who > those who have
wreckage1883
1883 F. Peek (title) Social Wreckage; a Review of the Laws of England as they affect the Poor.
1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 26 Nov. 6/1 Twenty beds..are nightly filled by wreckage, more or less battered, from the stress of life.
1898 Daily News 18 Apr. 5/1 What a line of flotsam and jetsam it is!..that mass of human wreckage.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1837