wrake

W4R1A1K5E1
/ɹeɪk/[ɹeɪ̯kʰ]

noun

Suffering which comes as a result of vengeance or retribution.

OriginMiddle English wrake ← Old English wracu ← Proto-Germanic *wrakō →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

wrake1

nounwrake (plural wrakes)

plural wrakes

  1. obsoleteSuffering which comes as a result of vengeance or retribution.
  2. obsoleteWrecked state or condition; destruction, ruin.

wrake2

nounwrake (plural wrakes)

plural wrakes

  1. obsoleteObsolete form of wrack.
verbwrake (third-person singular simple present wrakes, present participle wraking, simple past and past participle wraked)

present singular third person wrakes · participle present wraking · participle past wraked · past wraked

  1. obsoleteObsolete form of wrack.

Origin

wrake · noun

  1. Proto-Germanic*wrakō
  2. Old Englishwracu“revenge, persecution, misery, etc.”
  3. Middle Englishwrake“vengeance, persecution, injury”
  4. Englishwrake

From Middle English wrake (“vengeance, persecution, injury”), from Old English wracu (“revenge, persecution, misery, etc.”), from Proto-Germanic *wrakō, likely related to *wrēkō (“persecution, revenge, vengeance”). Cognate with Gothic 𐍅𐍂𐌰𐌺𐌰 (wraka, “persecution”), Middle Low German wrake and Middle Dutch wrake.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

wrake · noun, verb

Variant of wrack, possibly influenced by Etymology 1.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with wrake

maketakelakebreakcakewakemistakefakebrakesnakeshakesakejakeundertakeblakestakequakesteakdrakemosaicbakeawakesheikhopaque
All rhymes →

Anagrams

wreakwakerkewra
Cite this entry
APA

wrake. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wrake

MLA

“wrake.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wrake. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wrake,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wrake.

Source: wrake on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.