Etymology

wretch

W4R1E1T1C3H4

Today it means: An unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person. Full definition →

Middle English wrecche ← Old English wreċċa ← Proto-Germanic *wrakjô
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wretch · noun1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*wreg-“to track, follow”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*wrakjô“exile, fugitive, warrior”
  3. Old English · inherited fromwreċċa“exile, outcast”
  4. Middle English · inherited fromwrecche
  5. English todaywretch

From Middle English wrecche, from Old English wreċċa (“exile, outcast”), from Proto-Germanic *wrakjô (“exile, fugitive, warrior”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreg- (“to track, follow”). Doublet of garçon and garson.

wretch · verb2

From confusion with the noun.

Words from the same roots

Old Englishwreċċa all →

wretched

Proto-Germanic*wrakjô all →

garçon

Proto-Indo-European*wreg- all →

wreckwretchedwreakgarçon

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.