wrestle
verbEtymology
The verb is derived from Middle English wrestlen, wrastlen (“to engage in grappling combat or sport, struggle, wrestle; to twist and turn, squirm, wriggle, writhe; (figurative) to contend, grapple with, struggle”), from Old English wrǣstlian (“to wrestle”), a frequentative form of wrǣstan (“to twist, wrest”), from Proto-Germanic *wraistijaną (“to turn; to twist, wrest”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wreyt- (“to twist”). By surface analysis, wrest + -le (frequentative suffix). Probably related to wraxle (UK, dialectal, archaic). The noun is derived from the verb. cognates * Middle Dutch worstelen, wrastelen (“to wrestle”) (modern Dutch worstelen) * Middle Low German wrostelen (“to wrestle”) (German Low German frösseln, wrösseln) * Saterland Frisian wrosselje (“to contend, wrestle”) * West Frisian wrakselje (“to wrestle”)
- inherited from wrestlen,wrastlen — “to engage in grappling combat or sport, struggle, wrestle; to twist and turn, squirm, wriggle, writhe; (figurative) to contend, grapple with, struggle”
Definitions
To take part in (a wrestling bout or match).
- And novv Ptolemais being to vvreſtle her laſt fall, ſtripped her ſelf of all cumberſome clothes: vvomen, children, aged perſons, vveak folks […] vvere ſent avvay; […]
- Hark thee, friend, […] wilt thou wrestle a fall with me?
- Have we not wrestled a turn before now?
Sometimes followed by down
Sometimes followed by down: to contend with or move (someone) into or out of a position by grappling; also, to overcome (someone) by grappling.
- My driver at the second station was a stout girl of twenty, strong enough to wrestle any man, but shy, modest, and gentle.
To move or manipulate (something) using physical effort, usually with some difficulty or…
To move or manipulate (something) using physical effort, usually with some difficulty or opposition.
- I couldn't wrestle the trunk down the hall.
- And, wrestling both his arms into a gown, / He paused and took a survey up and down.
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To engage in (a contest or struggle).
To throw down (a calf or other livestock animal) for branding.
To grapple or otherwise contend with an opponent in order to throw or force them to the…
To grapple or otherwise contend with an opponent in order to throw or force them to the ground, chiefly as a sport or in unarmed combat.
- Wreſtell nat with me for I wyll throwe the [thee] on thy backe […]
- [Y]ee gaue their diligẽce [diligence] to lerne to fight, to wriſtle, to leape, to daunce, ⁊ to put at yͤ ſtone: […]
- She [a manatee] woolde oftentymes play and wreſtle vppon the banke with the kynges chamberlens: And eſpecially with a younge man whom the kynge fauoured well, beinge alſo accuſtomed to feede her.
Followed by with
Followed by with: to move or manipulate something using physical effort, usually with some difficulty or opposition.
- It fits Ioues ſonne / VVraſtle vvith Lyons, and to tugge vvith Beares, / Grapple vvith Dragons, and incounter VVhales.
- I've spent this whole morning rassling with that dumb horse, Sam …
To make one's way or move with some difficulty or effort.
- [S]o great a ſtorme of vvind and raine beat vpon vs that vvee not only loſt our vvay, but our ſelues, and at length vvraſtled to Geer, hauing firſt paſt through the Straits of Mozendram.
- [T]hy Lips, […] their tvvo-leav'd Door / So cloſe they ſhut, that […] not Breath it ſelfe, has povver to bore / Its vvay, but forced is to goe about, / And through the Noſes Sluces vvreſtle out.
- These fires are or were singularly destructive in villages—the flames running from thatch to thatch, and, as they express it, ‘wrastling’ across the intervening spaces.
Followed by against or with
Followed by against or with: to contend, to struggle; to exert effort, to strive.
- And thus go theſe Prelates about to vvreſtle for honour, that it may be reported abroad, that vve breed hereſies againſt ourſelves.
To contend verbally
To contend verbally; to argue, to debate, to dispute.
- [B]ecause […] they were loath to wrestle with the people, or force them from dangerous customs, they came from that supine negligence, in tolerating prayer for the dead, to establish a doctrinal point of purgatory; […]
To twist or wriggle
To twist or wriggle; to writhe.
- He saw the glebe land guiltless of a furrow; / He saw the wild oats wrestle on the hill; / He saw the gopher working in his burrow; / He saw the squirrel scampering at his will;— […]
A fight or struggle between people during which they grapple or otherwise contend with…
A fight or struggle between people during which they grapple or otherwise contend with each other in order to throw or force their opponent to the ground, chiefly as a sport or in unarmed combat.
- Beyond the tilt-yard spread the larger space, / For the strong wrestle and the breathless race; […]
A situation in which people compete with each other
A situation in which people compete with each other; a contest, a struggle.
The action of contending or struggling.
- War in Italy, universal spasm of wrestle there, being now the expectation of foolish mankind.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
A definitional loop anchored at wrestle. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.
A definitional loop anchored at wrestle. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.
5 hops · closes at wrestle
curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA