wry
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
wry¹
- /ɹaɪ/
Sounds like rye · Rhymes with -aɪ
Where it comes from
From Middle English wrien, from Old English wrīġian (“to go, turn, twist, bend, strive, struggle, press forward, endeavor, venture”), from Proto-Germanic *wrigōną (“to wriggle”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyḱ- (“to turn, wrap, tie”), from *wer- (“to turn, bend”). Compare awry, wriggle.
adjective wrier · wryer · wriest · wryest
- Turned away, contorted (of the face or body). '"Why, you snivelling, wry-faced, puny villain," gasped old Lobbs.
- Dryly humorous; sardonic or ironic, usually in a way that suggests acknowledgement of a problem or difficult situation. "[T]he master says a wry word now and then; and so ye let your spirits go down, don't ye see, and all sorts o' fancies comes into your head."
- Twisted, bent, crooked.
- Deviating from the right direction; misdirected; out of place. Catherine hath made a wry stitch in her broidery, when she was thinking of something else than her work.
verb wries · wrying · wried
- To turn (away); to swerve or deviate. God pricketh them of his great goodness still. And the grief of this great pang pincheth them at the heart, and of wickedness they wry away.
- To divert; to cause to turn away.
- To twist or contort (the body, face, etc.).
noun
- Distortion.
wry²
- /ɹaɪ/
Sounds like rye · Rhymes with -aɪ
Where it comes from
From Middle English wryen, wrien, wreon, wrihen, from Old English wrēon (“to cover, clothe, envelop”), from Proto-West Germanic *wrīhan, from Proto-Germanic *wrīhaną (“to wrap, cover”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyḱ- (“to turn, wrap, tie”), from *wer- (“to turn, bend”).
verb wries · wrying · wried
- To cover; clothe; cover up; cloak; hide.
