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Added 9 October 2026

wrick

noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. More about wrick at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A painful muscle spasm especially in the neck or back (`rick' and `wrick' are British).

verb

Twist suddenly so as to sprain.
wrench one's ankle

Origin

From Middle English wricken, probably from Middle Dutch wricken (Modern Dutch wrikken (“to wriggle”)) or Middle Low German wricken (“to move jerkily; sprain”), from Proto-Germanic *wrigōną (“to wriggle”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyḱ- (“to turn, wrap, tie”), from *wer- (“to turn, bend”). See also Low German wriggen, German Low German wricken (“to row; scull; move back and forth”)). Compare also Danish vrikke (“to move; turn; wriggle”), Swedish vricka (“to sprain; twist; scull”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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