Wrack
/ræk/noun
To wreck, ruin, or severely damage something; also a noun meaning wreckage or destruction.
Did you know?In older English, wrack and wreck often overlapped so closely that both could point to the same scene of disaster: broken remains cast up after destruction.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*wrekaną
“to drive, pursue, push onward”
Old English
OE
wræcan
“to drive out, punish, avenge; also to banish”
Late Old English / Middle English
English
wrak / wrake
“ruin, destruction, wreck; also something cast ashore after a shipwreck”
14th Century
English
wrakken / wracke
“to destroy, bring to ruin; to suffer shipwreck or devastation”
Modern English
English
wrack
“to wreck, ruin, or cause severe damage”