Wick
/wɪk/noun
A bundle of fibrous material that draws fuel to a flame, or a small tuft or tapering point.
Did you know?Wick comes from an old Germanic word for a pliant bundle or something that bends and serves, which is why it became the name for the thing that literally serves the flame.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*weik-
“to bend, turn, or yield”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*wīk- / *wīkaz
“something pliant or a bundle of fibers”
Old English
OE
wīc
“a wick or taper”
Middle English
Middle English
wik
“a wick for a candle or lamp”
Modern English
English
wick
“the cord or strip that draws fuel to a flame”