wrest

wrest · verb, noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*wreiḱ-
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*wraistijaną
3. Old English · inherited fromwrǣstan“to twist forcibly, wrench”
4. Middle English · inherited fromwresten
5. English todaywrest

From Middle English wresten, wrasten, wræsten, from Old English wrǣstan (“to twist forcibly, wrench”), from Proto-Germanic *wraistijaną, (compare Proto-Germanic *wrīhaną (“to turn, wind; to cover, envelop”), *wrīþaną (“to weave, twist”), Old Norse reista (“to bend, twist”)), from a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *wreiḱ-, *wreyḱ- (“to bend, twist”), *wreyt- (“to bend”). See also writhe, wry. The noun is derived from the verb.

wrest · noun²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*wreiḱ-
2. English todaywrest

Possibly a variant of wrist: see the quotation. Wrist is also derived from *wrīþaną (“to weave, twist”), from a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *wreiḱ-, *wreyḱ- (“to bend, twist”), *wreyt- (“to bend”).

wrest · noun³

A misspelling of rest, probably influenced by wrest (etymology 1, verb and noun).

Words from the same roots