The noun is derived from Middle English wek, weke, wicke (“fibrous cord drawing fuel to flame of a candle, etc.; material used to make this object”), from Old English wēoce (“wick”), from Proto-West Germanic *weukā (“flax bundle; wick”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *weg- (“to weave”). It has been suggested that noun etymology 1, noun sense 2 (“penis”) is derived from Hampton Wick, used as rhyming slang for prick. If so, that sense should be placed under etymology 2. The verb is derived from the noun. cognates * Dutch wiek (“wick; wing; blade, propeller”) * German Wieche (“wick; wisp”) * Swedish veke (“wick”) * West Frisian wjok, wjuk (“wing”)
1
A braid or bundle of fibre or other porous material (now generally twisted or woven cotton) in a candle, kerosene heater, oil lamp, etc., that draws up a liquid fuel (such as melted tallow or wax, or oil) at one end, to be ignited at the other end to produce a flame.
Trim the wick fairly short, so that the flame does not smoke.
Theſe cordes, they caule Cabuia and Henequen, which are al one thing ſauyng that Henequen is leſſe and of a fyner ſubſtaunce as it were line: And the other is groſſer lyke the wycke or twyſte of hempe, and is imperfecte in compariſon to the other.1555, Peter Martyr of Angleria [i.e., Peter Martyr d’Anghiera], “Of Venemous Apples wherwith They Poyson Theyr Arrowes”, in Rycharde Eden [i.e., Richard Eden], transl., The Decades of the Newe Worlde or West India, […], London: […] [Rycharde Jug for] Guilhelmi Powell, →OCLC, decade, folio 200, recto:
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But true it is that vvhen the oyle is ſpent, / The light goes out, and vveeke is throvvne away; […]1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 30, page 333:
But novv vvee vvill ſpeake of the Continuance of Flames, ſuch as are vſed for Candles, Lamps, or Tapers; conſiſting of Inflammable Matters, and of a VVieke that prouoketh Inflammation. […] Triall vvas likevviſe made of ſeuerall Wickes; as of Ordinary Cotton; Sovving Thred; Ruſh; Silke; Stravv; and VVood.1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “IV. Century. [Experiments in Consort, Touching the Continuance of Flame.]”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC, paragraph 369, page 99:
[W]e may take notice of the Smoak that iſſues out of the VVeik of a Candle nevvly blovvn out; for vvhilſt the ſooty Corpuſcles retain their Bigneſe and Texture, they are able to offend the Noſtrils very much by their Stink; […]a. 1692 (date written), Robert Boyle, “Title XL. Of the Air in Reference to the Generation, Life and Health of Animals.”, in The General History of the Air, […], London: […] Awnsham and John Churchill, […], published 1692, →OCLC, page 247:
And thus they spend / The little vvick of life's poor ſhallovv lamp, / In playing tricks vvith nature, giving lavvs / To diſtant vvorlds and trifling their ovvn.1785, William Cowper, “Book III. The Garden.”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], →OCLC, page 99:
2
Synonym of wicking (“the material of which wicks (etymology 1, noun sense 1) are made”).
There liues vvithin the very flame of loue / A kind of weeke or ſnufe that vvill abate it, […]c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vii], signature [L4], verso:
3
Broadly Any piece of porous material that conveys liquid by capillary action; specifically (medicine), a strip of gauze placed in a wound, etc., to absorb fluids.
His wick was stone stiff.[1969], Marcus van Heller [pseudonym; John Stevenson], Nest of Vixens, [New York, N.Y.]: Ophelia Press, →OCLC:
Thrusting his head out of a miniature waterfall, Di asked, 'You don't feel like a bit of a bunk-up this evening, Stubby, by any chance?' / 'A bit of what?' / 'Dipping your wick, man!' / This was unlike the staid, chapel-going Di I thought I knew. 'I'm careful where I dip my wick, mate. Got a bit of respect for it.'1971, Brian W[ilson] Aldiss, “Book 2: The Old Five-fingered Widow”, in A Soldier Erect, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, →OCLC, page 111:
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Her laugh wasn't cruel in tone, but it cut through Husk like a scalpel, withering his wick even further.2009, Ira Robbins, “Parthenogenesis”, in Kick It till It Breaks, [New York, N.Y.]: Trouser Press, →ISBN, page 130:
The noun is derived from Middle English wek, weke, wicke (“fibrous cord drawing fuel to flame of a candle, etc.; material used to make this object”), from Old English wēoce (“wick”), from Proto-West Germanic *weukā (“flax bundle; wick”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *weg- (“to weave”). It has been suggested that noun etymology 1, noun sense 2 (“penis”) is derived from Hampton Wick, used as rhyming slang for prick. If so, that sense should be placed under etymology 2. The verb is derived from the noun. cognates * Dutch wiek (“wick; wing; blade, propeller”) * German Wieche (“wick; wisp”) * Swedish veke (“wick”) * West Frisian wjok, wjuk (“wing”)
1
Of a material (especially a textile): to convey or draw off (liquid) by capillary action.
The fabric wicks perspiration away from the body.
2
Of a material: to convey or draw off liquid by capillary action.
3
Chiefly followed by through or up: of a liquid: to move by capillary action through a porous material.
Well! yo must know I were in th' Infirmary for a fever, and times were rare and bad; and there be good chaps there to a man, while he's wick, whate'er they may be about cutting him up at after.1848, [Elizabeth Gaskell], chapter VIII, in Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life. […] (Chapman and Hall’s Series of Original Works of Fiction, Biography, and General Literature), volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, page 127:
Thinks Abey, t' oud codger 'll nivver smoak t' trick, / I'll swop wi' him my poor deead horse for his wick, […]1845, “The Yorkshire Horse-dealer”, in James Henry Dixon, editor, Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads (Early English Poetry, Ballads, and Popular Literature of the Middle Ages. […]; XVII), London: Printed for the Percy Society, by T. Richards, […], →OCLC, page 215:
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T' wickest young chap at ivver Ah seen.1868, J[ohn] C[hristopher] Atkinson, “Wick, adj.”, in A Glossary of the Cleveland Dialect: Explanatory, Derivative, and Critical, London: John Russell Smith, […], →OCLC, page 573:
I thowt they was dead last back end but they're wick enif noo.1877, Edward Peacock, “Wick, adj.”, in A Glossary of Words Used in the Wapentakes of Manley and Corringham, Lincolnshire (Glossaries of Lincolnshire and Sussex Words; Series C (Original Glossaries, and Glossaries with Fresh Additions); VI), London: […] [F]or the English Dialect Society, by Trübner & Co, […], →OCLC, page 275, column 1:
"Are you afraid of going across the churchyard in the dark?" a young lady inquired of an old woman. "Lor' bless yer noä miss! It isn't dead uns I'm scar'd on, it's wick uns." […] I heard at the village of Yaddlethorpe, some five years after, a mother scolding her child. Among other threats, she said, "I'll skin ye wick." This threat with us usually takes the more modern form of "I'll skin ye alive."1905 August 26, Edward Peacock, “Replies. Yorkshire Dialect.”, in Notes and Queries: A Medium of Intercommunication for Literary Men, General Readers, etc., volume IV (10th Series), number 87, London: John C[ollins] Francis, […], and printed by John Edward Francis, […], →OCLC, page 170, column 2:
"That one [a tree]?" she said. "Is that one quite alive—quite?" / Dickon curved his wide smiling mouth. / "It's as wick as you or me," he said; and Mary remembered that Martha had told her that "wick" meant "alive" or "lively." / "I'm glad it's wick!" she cried out in her whisper. "I want them all to be wick. Let us go round the garden and count how many wick ones there are."1910 November – 1911 August, Frances Hodgson Burnett, “The Nest of the Missel Thrush”, in The Secret Garden, New York, N.Y.: Frederick A[bbott] Stokes Company, published 1911, →OCLC, page 130:
From Middle English wik, wike, wich, wicke (“dwelling, home; building or land, probably enclosed, in which work is done; area, region, territory; city, town; hamlet, village”), from Old English wīc (“dwelling place, abode, lodging; temporary dwelling place, camp; place where a thing remains; town, village”), and then probably: * from Latin vīcus (“row of houses; street; quarter, neighbourhood; hamlet, village; municipal section or ward; farm”), from Proto-Italic *weikos (“village”); and/or * from Proto-West Germanic *wīhs (“burgh, village; colony, settlement; dwelling”), from Proto-Germanic *wīhsą (“settlement; village”); both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyḱ- (“to enter in; to settle; settlement”). Doublet of vicus and -wich. cognates * Ancient Greek οἶκος (oîkos, “house”) (whence English eco-) * Dutch wijk (“quarter, district”) * Old Frisian wik * Old High German wîch, wih (“village”) (modern German Weichbild (“municipal area”)) * Old Saxon wic (“village”)
And by report, there vvere eight thouſand Gaules there ſlaine: the reſt abandoned the vvarre, and ſlipt every one into their ovvne vvickes and villages.1600, T[itus] Livius [i.e., Livy], “[Book XXXIIII]”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Romane Historie […], London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, page 866:
Note a fearme [farm] in the North parts is called a Tacke, in Lancaſhire a Fermeholt, in Eſſex a Wike.[1628, Edw[ard] Coke, “Of Fee Simple”, in The First Part of the Institutes of the Lawes of England. […], London: […] [Adam Islip] for the Societe of Stationers, →OCLC, , section I, folio 5, recto:
Wick Farm—almost every village has its outlying ‘wick’—stands alone in the fields.1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], “The Farmhouse—Traditions—Hunting Pictures—The Farmer’s Year—Sport—The Auction Festival—A Summer’s Day—Beauty of Wheat”, in Wild Life in a Southern County […], London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 126:
Etymology Probably borrowed from Scots wick (“(noun) shot in which a bowl or stone is aimed at another so that one or other is deflected at an angle towards the tee, cannon; (verb) to strike (a bowl or curling stone) in such a manner; to (attempt to) reach the tee in this manner”), The Scots noun is probably derived from Middle English wike, wyke (“corner of part of the body”); the verb from Old Norse víkja (“to move, bend, curve; to retreat”): see further at etymology 4.
1
Ball games, Curling, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, SportsEngland To strike (a stationary bowl or stone) with one's own bowl or stone just enough that the former changes direction; to cannon.
He vvas the king of a' the Core, / To guard, or dravv, or vvick a bore, […]1787, Robert Burns, “Tam Samson’s Elegy”, in Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect. […], 2nd edition, volume I, Edinburgh: […] T[homas] Cadell, […], and William Creech, […], published 1793, →OCLC, page 164:
2
Ball games, Curling, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, SportsEngland To strike a stationary bowl or stone with one's own bowl or stone just enough that the former changes direction; to cannon.
Etymology From Late Middle English wike, wyke (“corner of part of the body”), from Old Norse *vík (“angle, bend, corner”) (attested in munnvík (“corner of the mouth”)), from víkja (“to move, bend, curve; to retreat”) (related to Old Norse vikna (“to cave in, yield”)), probably from Proto-Germanic *wīkwaną (“to cease; to yield”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃weyg-, *weyg- (“to bend, turn; to wind”).
[H]ee vvould therefore haue you to make ſome expert Horſe farrier, to ſlit vp the vveekes of your Horſes mouth, equallie on both ſides of his cheekes, vvith a ſharpe rayſor, and then to ſeare it vvith a hot yron, and ſo heale it in ſuch ſorte, as the ſydes thereof may no more grovv together, but appeare like a natural mouth: to vvhome I make this anſvvere, that I imagine neither hee, nor any other Horſe-man hath heere in England ſeene a horſe of that ſhallovvneſſe of mouth, vvhich vvold not giue place for a reaſonable bytt to lie in; […]1607, Gervase Markham, “Of the Cutting of Colts Mouthes or Tongues, and of the Drawing of Teeth, to Helpe the Bit to Lie in His True Plac”, in Cauelarice, or The English Horseman: […], London: […] [Edward Allde and W[illiam] Jaggard] for Edward White, […], →OCLC, 1st book, page 82:
Croudy hung his head to one side, and chuckled, and crowed, and laid on the ground with his staff; and always now and then cast a sly look-out at the wick of his eye to Pery.1818, James Hogg, “The Hunt of Eildon. Ancient.”, in The Brownie of Bodsbeck; and Other Tales. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne & Co.] for William Blackwood, […]; London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 259:
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She considered him. A fiery droplet in the wick of her mouth considered him.1969, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 12, in Ada, or, Ardor: A Family Chronicle, Harmondsworth, Middlesex [London]: Penguin Books, published 1970, →ISBN, part 1, page 64:
Etymology Probably borrowed from Scots wick (“(noun) shot in which a bowl or stone is aimed at another so that one or other is deflected at an angle towards the tee, cannon; (verb) to strike (a bowl or curling stone) in such a manner; to (attempt to) reach the tee in this manner”), The Scots noun is probably derived from Middle English wike, wyke (“corner of part of the body”); the verb from Old Norse víkja (“to move, bend, curve; to retreat”): see further at etymology 4.
1
Ball games, Curling, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, SportsEngland A shot where the played bowl or stone touches a stationary bowl or stone just enough that the former changes direction; a cannon.
2
Ball games, Curling, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, SportsEngland Synonym of port (“a narrow opening between other players' bowls or stones wide enough for a delivered bowl or stone to pass through”).
Etymology Possibly from Middle English *wik (compare Old English wīc (“small bay, bight; creek, inlet”)), or from Old Norse vík (“bay; small creek, inlet”) (in place names; compare *vík (“angle, bend, corner”), attested in munnvík (“corner of the mouth”)), from Proto-Germanic *wīkō (“bay; fjord, inlet”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyg- (“to bend, turn; to wind”), *weyk- (“to bend, curve”).
The power thou dost covet / O'er tempest and wave, / Shall be thine, thou proud maiden, / By beach and by cave,— / By stack and by skerry, by noup, and by voe, / By air and by wick, and by helyer and gio, / And by every wild shore which the northern winds know, / And the northern tides lave.1822, [Walter Scott], chapter VI, in The Pirate. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 142:
wick
noun
Etymology Probably a clipping of wicker.
1
Ball games, Curling, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, SportsEngland A basket made of wickers (“flexible branches or twigs of a plant such as willow woven together”); a creel.
A captive fish still fills the anxious eyes / And willow-wicks lie ready for the prize; […]1821, John Clare, “[Poems.] Rustic Fishing.”, in The Village Minstrel, and Other Poems, volume II, London: […] [T. Miller] for Taylor and Hessey, […]; and E[dward] Drury, […], →OCLC, page 102: