writhe English
Verb
To twist, to wring (something).
To contort (a part of the body).
*, II.17:
*:Cicero (as I remember) had gotten a custome to wryth his nose, which signifieth a naturall scoffer.
To twist or contort the body; to be distorted.
* {{quote-news, year=2011, date=October 1, author=Phil McNulty, work=BBC Sport
, title= Everton 0-2 Liverpool
, passage=The game was engulfed in controversy when Rodwell appeared to win the ball cleanly in a midfield challenge with Suarez. The tackle drew an angry response from Liverpool's players- Lucas in particular as Suarez writhed in agony - but it was an obvious injustice when the England Under-21 midfielder was shown the red card.}}
( Webster 1913)
Noun
( en noun)
(knot theory) The number of negative crossings subtracted from the number of positive crossings in a knot
Anagrams
* whiter
* wither
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wry English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) wrien, from (etyl) . Compare awry, wriggle.
Adjective
( en-adj)
Turned away, contorted (of the face or body).
* 1837 , , The Pickwick Papers , ch. 17:
- '"Why, you snivelling, wry -faced, puny villain," gasped old Lobbs.
* 1913 , , The Motion Picture Chums at Seaside Park , ch. 11:
- “Humph! Had to,” said Pep with a wry grimace.
Dryly humorous; sardonic or bitterly ironic.
* 1871 , , The Haunted Baronet , ch. 6:
- "[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.
* 1820 , , The Abbot , ch. 34:
- Catherine hath made a wry stitch in her broidery, when she was thinking of something else than her work.
* 1876 , , The Works and Life of Walter Savage Landor , vol. IV, Imaginary Conversations, Third Series: Dialogues of Literary Men, ch. 6—Milton and Andrew Marvel, p. 155 (Google preview) :
- . . . the wry rigour of our neighbours, who never take up an old idea without some extravagance in its application.
Derived terms
* wryly
* awry
Verb
(obsolete) To turn (away); to swerve or deviate.
* 1535 , , Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation , ch. 18:
- 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.
* , Cymbeline , act 5, sc. 1:
- You married ones,
- If each of you should take this course, how many
- Must murder wives much better than themselves
- For wrying but a little!
(obsolete) To divert; to cause to turn away.
To twist or contort (the body, face etc.).
Etymology 2
From (etyl) wryen, wrien, wreon, wrihen, from (etyl) .
Verb
(obsolete) To cover; clothe; cover up; cloak; hide.
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