wrecan
Old English
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *wrekaną (“to pursue, to drive out”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈwre.kɑn/
Verb
wrecan
- (transitive, intransitive) to punish (+ dative = a person) (+ accusative = a wrong)
- Sēo lǣrestre wræc hire leornerum þæt hīe yfelra worda brucon.
- The teacher punished her students for using bad words.
- (transitive, intransitive) to avenge or take revenge (+ accusative or with on + dative = "on someone")
- Iċ ġehēt mīnum fæder þæt ġif hine man ofslōge, þæt iċ his dēaþ wrǣċe.
- I promised my father that if he was killed, I would avenge his death.
- Ġif ġē ūs priciaþ, ne blēdaþ wē? Ġif ġē ūs ċiteliaþ, ne hliehhaþ wē? Ġif ġē ūs ġeǣtriaþ, ne sweltaþ wē? And ġif ġē ūs yfeliaþ, ne wrecaþ wē?
- If you prick us, don't we bleed? If you tickle us, don't we laugh? If you poison us, don't we die? And if you wrong us, don't we take revenge?
- to unleash or take out (one's anger) (with on + dative = on someone)
- Hē wræc his ierre on his bearnum.
- He took out his anger on his children.
- to drive, press
- (a) to drive out, expel
- (b) to drive words out, express, recite
- 9th or 10th century, The Seafarer
- Mæġ iċ be mē selfum / sōðġiedd wrecan.
- I can recite a true story about myself.
- (c) to drive in, impress, inlay
Conjugation
Conjugation of wrecan (strong class 5)
infinitive | wrecan | wrecenne |
---|---|---|
indicative mood | present tense | past tense |
first person singular | wrece | wræc |
second person singular | wricst | wrǣce |
third person singular | wricþ | wræc |
plural | wrecaþ | wrǣcon |
subjunctive | present tense | past tense |
singular | wrece | wrǣce |
plural | wrecen | wrǣcen |
imperative | ||
singular | wrec | |
plural | wrecaþ | |
participle | present | past |
wrecende | (ġe)wrecen |
Synonyms
- (to punish): wītnian
Antonyms
- ārian (“to spare”)
- forġiefan (“to forgive”)
- sparian (“to spare”)
Derived terms
- ǣrendwreca
- āwrecan
- bewrecan
- forwrecan
- ġewrecan
- goldwrecan
- oferwrecan
- onwrecan
- sċyldwreccende
- tōwrecan
- þeōdwrecan
- þurhwrecan
- wracian
- wrecend
Related terms
- wracu (“revenge”)
Descendants
- Middle English: wreken
- English: wreak
- Scots: wreke, wrek, wreik
References
- Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898), “wrecan”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.