wick

¹

[ wik ]

noun

1. a bundle or loose twist or braid of soft threads, or a woven strip or tube, as of cotton or asbestos, which in a candle, lamp, oil stove, cigarette lighter, or the like, serves to draw up the melted tallow or wax or the oil or other flammable liquid to be burned.

verb (used with object)

1. to draw off (liquid) by capillary action.

wick

²

[ wik ]

noun

, Curling.

1. a narrow opening in the field, bounded by other players' stones.

wick

³

[ wik ]

noun

1. British Dialect. a farm, especially a dairy farm.
2. Archaic. a village; hamlet.

Wick

⁴

[ wik ]

noun

1. a town in the Highland region, in N Scotland: herring fisheries.

wick

¹

/ wɪk /

noun

1. archaic.
   a village or hamlet

wick

²

/ wɪk /

noun

1. a cord or band of loosely twisted or woven fibres, as in a candle, cigarette lighter, etc, that supplies fuel to a flame by capillary action
2. get on someone's wick slang.
   get on someone's wick to cause irritation to a person

wick

³

/ wɪk /

adjective

1. lively or active
2. alive or crawling

   a dog wick with fleas

Wick

⁴

/ wɪk /

noun

1. a town in N Scotland, in Highland, at the head of Wick Bay (an inlet of the North Sea). Pop: 7333 (2001)

Derived Forms

• ˈwicking, noun

Other Words From

• wickless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wick¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English wek(e), wik(e), wicke, Old English wēoce; cognate with Middle Dutch wiecke, Middle Low German wêke, weike, Old High German wioh, wiohha “lint, wick,” German Wieke, Wike “lint”

Origin of wick²

Origin uncertain

Origin of wick³

First recorded before 900; Middle English wik(e), wek(e), Old English wīc “residence, dwelling, house, village” (compare Old Saxon wīc, Old High German wîch ), from Latin vīcus “village, estate”; cognate with Greek oîkos, woîkos “house”

Word History and Origins

Origin of wick¹

Old English wīc; related to -wich in place names, Latin vīcus, Greek oîkos

Origin of wick²

Old English weoce; related to Old High German wioh, Middle Dutch wēke (Dutch wiek )

Origin of wick³

dialect variant of quick alive

Example Sentences

Second, it’s crucial that the hardwood floor cleaner you’ve chosen wicks away moisture as it works.

From Popular-Science

Your body temperature will run warmer since you’re moving more, so choose layers that breathe and wick moisture away.

From Outside Online

It’s soft, feels nice against the skin, and wicks very well.

From Outside Online

They needed to be actively removing atmospheric carbon, Wick said.

From MIT Technology Review

At that meeting, Wick declared that Zero Foodprint’s work offsetting restaurant greenhouse gases “wasn’t thinking big enough.”

From MIT Technology Review

A rather wonderful tribute to Joan Rivers greeted commuters at Hackney Wick Overground station in London this morning.

From The Daily Beast

Commuters at Hackney Wick greeted by fond tribute to the late comedienne.

From The Daily Beast

Dabbing wax on the coil or using hash oil on the wick also works.

From The Daily Beast

Wick Allison speaks some truth to his fellow conservatives about fairness and how that translates to success at the ballot box.

From The Daily Beast

One is "poor, obscure, plain and little"; the other is a "wild, wick slip."

From The Daily Beast

The varnish will keep the melted tallow or wax from running away and it is used in the wick.

From Project Gutenberg

"Oh, I don't know," I replied carelessly, applying a match to the wick of my lamp and replacing the chimney.

From Project Gutenberg

I stay here lit-tle longer, and then I get wick-ker from Dafydd Dafis, and mend chairs, like my mother.

From Project Gutenberg

Madame Caravan immediately turned up the wick, a hollow sound ensued, and the light went out.

From Project Gutenberg

Mr. Wick, on his way to "Happy House" one very wet afternoon, in the beginning of November, gave way to pleasant dreams.

From Project Gutenberg