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wick

noun
/ˈwɪk/

Etymology

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”)

  1. inherited from *weyḱ-✻ — “to enter in; to settle; settlement”
  2. inherited from *wīhsą✻ — “settlement; village”
  3. inherited from *wīhs✻ — “burgh, village; colony, settlement; dwelling”
  4. derived from *weikos✻ — “village”
  5. derived from vīcus — “row of houses; street; quarter, neighbourhood; hamlet, village; municipal section or ward; farm”
  6. inherited from wīc — “dwelling place, abode, lodging; temporary dwelling place, camp; place where a thing remains; town, village”
  7. inherited from wik

Definitions

  1. A braid or bundle of fibre or other porous material (now generally twisted or woven…

    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.
    • But true it is that vvhen the oyle is ſpent, / The light goes out, and vveeke is throvvne away; […]

  2. Often in dip one's wick

    Often in dip one's wick: the penis.

    • His wick was stone stiff.
    • Her laugh wasn't cruel in tone, but it cut through Husk like a scalpel, withering his wick even further.

  3. Of a material (especially a textile)

    Of a material (especially a textile): to convey or draw off (liquid) by capillary action.

    • The fabric wicks perspiration away from the body.
  4. ›+ 26 more definitions

    1. Of a material

      Of a material: to convey or draw off liquid by capillary action.

    2. Chiefly followed by through or up

      Chiefly followed by through or up: of a liquid: to move by capillary action through a porous material.

      • The moisture slowly wicked through the wood.

    3. A hamlet or village

      A hamlet or village; also, a town.

      • 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.

    4. A farm

      A farm; specifically, a dairy farm.

      • Note a fearme [farm] in the North parts is called a Tacke, in Lancaſhire a Fermeholt, in Eſſex a Wike.
      • Wick Farm—almost every village has its outlying ‘wick’—stands alone in the fields.

    5. An enclosed piece of land

      An enclosed piece of land; a close.

    6. Synonym of quick (“alive, living

      Synonym of quick (“alive, living; also, active, lively”).

      • 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.
      • Thinks Abey, t' oud codger 'll nivver smoak t' trick, / I'll swop wi' him my poor deead horse for his wick, […]
      • T' wickest young chap at ivver Ah seen.

    7. A maggot.

    8. The growing part of a plant nearest to the roots.

      • Fed close? Why, it’s eaten into t’ hard wick.

    9. The part of the root of a weed that remains viable in the ground after inadequate digging…

      The part of the root of a weed that remains viable in the ground after inadequate digging prior to cultivation.

    10. Life

      Life; also, liveliness.

    11. A angle or corner

      A angle or corner; specifically, a corner of the eye or mouth.

      • 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.
      • She considered him. A fiery droplet in the wick of her mouth considered him.

    12. A grove

      A grove; also, a hollow.

    13. A shot where the played bowl or stone touches a stationary bowl or stone just enough that…

      A shot where the played bowl or stone touches a stationary bowl or stone just enough that the former changes direction; a cannon.

    14. Synonym of port (“a narrow opening between other players' bowls or stones wide enough for…

      Synonym of port (“a narrow opening between other players' bowls or stones wide enough for a delivered bowl or stone to pass through”).

    15. To strike (a stationary bowl or stone) with one's own bowl or stone just enough that the…

      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, […]

    16. To strike a stationary bowl or stone with one's own bowl or stone just enough that the…

      To strike a stationary bowl or stone with one's own bowl or stone just enough that the former changes direction; to cannon.

    17. An inlet, such as a creek or small bay.

    18. A basket made of wickers (“flexible branches or twigs of a plant such as willow woven…

      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; […]

    19. Wickers collectively

      Wickers collectively; also, synonym of wickerwork (“wickers woven together”).

    20. A town in north-eastern Caithness, Highland council area, Scotland (OS grid ref ND3650).

    21. A river in Caithness, Highland council area that flows through the town into Wick Bay on…

      A river in Caithness, Highland council area that flows through the town into Wick Bay on the North Sea; in full, the Wick River.

    22. A number of places in England

      A number of places in England:

    23. A village and community in Vale of Glamorgan borough county borough, Wales (OS grid ref…

      A village and community in Vale of Glamorgan borough county borough, Wales (OS grid ref SS9272).

    24. An unincorporated community in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States.

    25. An unincorporated community in Tyler County, West Virginia, United States.

    26. A surname from Old English.

The neighborhood

Derived

all wax and no wick, Bushwick, candlewick, constablewick, dip one's wick, get on someone's wick, lampwick, multiwick, pickwick, wickable, wicked, wick effect, Wickfield, wickie, wickless, wicklike, wickmaker, wickmaking, inwick, wicking, Eton Wick, Hackney Wick, Hampton Wick, Hannington Wick, Haydon Wick, herdwick, wich, wych, wickemaster, Wick Hill, outwick

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for wick. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA