| Wreak | v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Wreaked p. pr. & vb. n. Wreaking. ] [ OE. wreken to revenge, punish, drive out, AS. wrecan; akin to OFries. wreka, OS. wrekan to punish, D. wreken to avenge, G. rächen, OHG. rehhan, Icel. reka to drive, to take vengeance, Goth. wrikan to persecute, Lith. vargas distress, vargti to suffer distress, L. urgere to drive, urge, Gr. e'i`rgein to shut, Skr. v&rsdot_;j to turn away. Cf. Urge, Wreck, Wretch. ] [ 1913 Webster ] 1. To revenge; to avenge. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ] He should wreake him on his foes. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ] Another's wrongs to wreak upon thyself. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ] Come wreak his loss, whom bootless ye complain. Fairfax. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. To inflict or execute, especially in vengeance or passion; to hurl or drive; as, to wreak vengeance on an enemy; to wreak havoc. [ 1913 Webster ] The word wrought is sometimes assumed to be the past tense of wreak, as the phrases
wreak havoc and
wrought havoc are both commonly used. In fact,
wrought havoc is not as common as
wreaked havoc. Whether wrought is considered as the past tense of wreak or of work,
wrought havoc has essentially the same meaning. Etymologically, however, wrought is only the past tense of work. [ PJC ] On me let Death wreak all his rage. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ] Now was the time to be avenged on his old enemy, to wreak a grudge of seventeen years. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ] But gather all thy powers,
And wreak them on the verse that thou dost weave. Bryant. [ 1913 Webster ] |
