wring

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English

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WOTD – 16 June 2023

Pronunciation

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A man wringing out (etymology 1, sense 1.1) his wet T-shirt.
A wringer can be used to wring (etymology 1, sense 1.1.1) wet clothes to remove excess water from them before they are put into a dryer.

Etymology 1

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From Middle English wringen, wryngen[1] from Old English wringan (“to wring”),[2] from Proto-Germanic *wringaną (“to squeeze, twist, wring”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *wrenǵʰ-.

cognates

Verb

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wring (third-person singular simple present wrings, present participle wringing, simple past wrung or (archaic or dialectal) wrang or (rare) wringed, past participle wrung or (rare) wringed)

  1. (transitive)
    2. Often followed by out: to squeeze or twist (something moist) tightly so that liquid is forced out.
      Synonyms: wring out; see also Thesaurus:compress
      I didn’t have a towel so I just wrung my hair dry.
      2. To squeeze water from (an item of wet clothing) by passing through a wringer.
    3. (also figuratively) Often followed by from or out: to extract (a liquid) from something wet by squeezing, twisting, or otherwise putting pressure on it.
      Put the berries into a cheesecloth and wring the juice into a bowl.
    4. (also figuratively) To hold (someone or something) tightly and press or twist; to wrest.
      Synonyms: strangle, throttle
      to wring someone’s hand (that is, shake hands vigorously with someone)
      to wring the neck of a chicken
      1. To clasp and twist (hands) together due to distress, sorrow, etc.
        to wring one’s hands with worry
    5. To bend or strain (something) out of its position; to wrench, to wrest.
      to wring a mast
      • 1549 February 10 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1548), Nicolas Udall [i.e., Nicholas Udall], “To the Moste Puissaunt Prince, and Our Moste Redoubted Soueraigne Lord Edward the Sixthe, […]”, in Erasmus, translated by Nicolas Udall, The First Tome or Volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Newe Testamente, London: […] Edwarde Whitchurche, →OCLC, folio viii, verso:
        [B]y the couetous prieſtes of Baall through defaulte of good & godly Counſayllours, whome (doubte ye not but this wicked rable founde meanes to wring out of fauour, & to remoue awaye from the Kynges preſence) he was ſo coumpaced, weyghed, perſuaded, woonne, bewitched, peruerted & ſo farre ſeduced: yͭ (as the ſcripture recordeth), he did eiuil in the ſyght of the Lorde euen after the abominacyons of the heathen.
      • c. 1552 (date written), Nicholas Udall, [Ralph Roister Doister], [London]: [s.n.], published 1566?; republished as Edward Arber, editor, Roister Doister. […] (English Reprints), London: Muir & Paterson, […], 24 July 1869, →OCLC, Act I, scene iiii, page 29:
        Why, he wrong a club / Once in a fray out of the hande of Belzebub.
      • 1578–1580, Iohn Lyly [i.e., John Lyly], Euphues, London: […] [Thomas East] for Gabriell Cawood, […]:
        [N]ow you haue my opinion, you muſt not thinke to wring me from it, for I had rather be as all women are, obſtinate in mine owne conceipt, then apt to be wrought to others conſtructions.
      • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Leviticus 1:15, column 1:
        And the Prieſt ſhall bring it [a dove] vnto the altar, and wring off his head, and burne it on the altar: […]
      • 1662 November 19 (Gregorian calendar); first published 1717, Robert South, “The Seventh and Last Discourse Concerning Temptation. [1 John iii. 3.]”, in Twelve Sermons and Discourses on Several Subjects and Occasions. […], volume VI, London: […] Jonah Bowyer, […], →OCLC, page 421:
        Our Bodies are unhappily made the Weapons of Sin; and therefore if we would overcome that, we muſt by an auſtere Courſe of Duty firſt wring theſe Weapons out of its Hands.
      • 1817 December (indicated as 1818), Percy B[ysshe] Shelley, “Canto Tenth”, in Laon and Cythna; or, The Revolution of the Golden City: A Vision of the Nineteenth Century. […], London: […] [F]or Sherwood, Neely, & Jones, […]; and C[harles] and J[ames] Ollier, […]; by B[uchanan] M‘Millan, […], →OCLC, stanza XLI, page 232:
        He who but one yet living here can lead, / Or who the life from both their hearts can wring, / Shall be the kingdom's heir, a glorious meed!
      • 1877 September 14, Robert Browning, “La Saisiaz”, in La Saisiaz: The Two Poets of Croisic, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], published 1878, →OCLC, page 51:
        I shall boast it mine—the balsam, bless each kindly wrench that wrung / From life's tree its inmost virtue, tapped the root whence pleasure sprung, / Barked the bole, and broke the bough, and bruised the berry, left all grace / Ashes in death's stern alembic, loosed elixir in its place!
      • 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, “What I Heard in the Apple Barrel”, in Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC, part II (The Sea Cook), pages 91–92:
        I'll wring his calf's head off his body with these hands, Dick!
    6. To contort or screw up (the face or its features).
    7. To twist or wind (something) into coils; to coil.
    8. Of a thing (such as footwear): to pinch or press (a person or part of their body), causing pain.
    9. (archaic or British, dialectal, also figuratively) To cause (someone or something) physical harm, injury, or pain; specifically, by applying pressure or by twisting; to harm, to hurt, to injure.
      Synonyms: wound, wrench; see also Thesaurus:harm
    10. (figuratively)
      1. To cause (tears) to come out from a person or their eyes.
      2. To cause distress or pain to (a person or their heart, soul, etc.); to distress, to torment.
        Synonyms: rack, torture, vex; see also Thesaurus:hurt, Thesaurus:vex
      3. To obtain (something) from or out of a person or thing by extortion or other force.
        The police said they would wring the truth out of that criminal.
      4. To use effort to draw (a response, words, etc.) from or out of someone; to generate (something) as a response.
        Synonyms: elicit, provoke
      5. (obsolete) To afflict or oppress (someone) to enforce compliance; to extort.
      6. (obsolete) To cause (someone) to do something or to think a certain way.
        • 1528, Thomas More, “A Dialogue Concernynge Heresyes & Matters of Religion […]. Chapter III.”, in Wyllyam Rastell [i.e., William Rastell], editor, The Workes of Sir Thomas More Knyght, […], London: […] Iohn Cawod, Iohn Waly, and Richarde Tottell, published 30 April 1557, →OCLC, book III, page 210, column 1:
          For men be ſo parciall alway to theim ſelfe, that our hart euer thinketh the iudgement wrong, that wringeth vs to the worſe.
      7. (obsolete) To change (something) into another thing.
        • 1844 January–December, Leigh Hunt, “Christmas and Italy; or, A Modest Essay, Showing the Extreme Fitness of This Book for the Season”, in A Jar of Honey from Mount Hybla, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], published 1848, →OCLC, page xvii:
          As the wines which flow from the first treading of the grape are sweeter and better than those forced out by the press, which gives them the roughness of the husk and the stone, so are those doctrines best and sweetest which flow from a gentle crush of the Scriptures, and are not wrung into controversies and common-places.
          Attributed by the author to Francis Bacon.
      8. (obsolete) To give (teachings, words, etc.) an incorrect meaning; to twist, to wrest.
        Synonyms: distort, pervert
        • 1572, John Whitgift, “Whether Idolatrous Sacrificers and Mass-mongers may afterward be Ministers of the Gospel. Chap. ii. The First Division.”, in John Ayre, editor, The Works of John Whitgift, D.D., […] The First Portion, Containing the Defence of the Answer to the Admonition, against the Reply of Thomas Cartwright: Tractates I–VI, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] University Press [for the Parker Society], published 1851, →OCLC, tract III (Of the Election of Ministers), page 318:
          Lord, how dare these men thus wring the scriptures?
        • 1642 (indicated as 1641), John Milton, “To the Argument of B[ishop] Andrews and the Primat”, in The Reason of Church-governement Urg’d against Prelaty […], London: […] E[dward] G[riffin] for Iohn Rothwell, […], →OCLC, 1st book, page 8:
          Or elſe they vvould ſtraine us out a certaine figurative Prelat, by vvringing the collective allegory of thoſe ſeven Angels into ſeven ſingle Rochets.
      9. (obsolete, reflexive) To put (oneself) in a position by cunning or subtle means; to insinuate.
    11. (materials science) To slide (two ultraflat surfaces) together such that their faces bond.
      • 1919 April 9, William E. Hoke, Precision Gauge, US Patent 1,472,837 (PDF version), page 1, column 2:
        For a given set of blocks with lengths in multiples of thousandths the lengths may be so selected as to make it possible, by combining different blocks in wringing contact end to end, to form a series having any desired length, measured in inches and thousandths; […]
        An adjective use.
      • 1997, Bulletin of the National Research Laboratory of Metrology, Tokyo: National Research Laboratory of Metrology, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 278, column 2:
        The number of optical wringing procedures performed for each gauge block was five, and the number of measurements for each wringing procedure was eleven.
        An adjective use.
      • 2001, Jennifer E. Decker, Nicholas Brown, Recent Developments in Traceable Dimensional Measurements: 20–21 June 2001, Munich, Germany, Bellingham, Wash.: Society of Photo-optical Instrumentation Engineers, →ISBN, page 25:
        The pack experiment method to evaluate phase correction is valuable in that the differences associated with wringing two different materials and/or surface finishes between the gauge blocks and the platen may be accounted for in the averaging over the pack gauge blocks.
      • 2010, Jonghan Jin, Seung-Woo Kim, “Precision Dimensional Metrology Based on a Femtosecond Pulse Laser”, in Mikhail Grishin, editor, Advances in Solid State Lasers: Development and Applications, Rijeka, Croatia: InTech, →ISBN, page 186:
        The uncertainty of wringing effect is 6.9 nm, which can be determined by wringing the same gauge block on the base plate repeatedly.
  2. (intransitive)
    1. To be engaged in clasping and twisting (especially the hands), or exerting pressure.
    2. To twist the body in or as if in pain; to writhe.
      • 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 60:
        No, no, tis all mens office to ſpeake patience / To thoſe that vvring vnder the loade of ſorrovv […]
      • 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vi], page 386, column 2:
        Bel[arius]. He vvrings at ſome diſtreſſe. / Gui[derius]. VVould I could free't.
      • 1556, John Heywood, “The Spider Takyng Comfort, Entreth in Quarell with the Fliewring”, in The Spider and the Flie. […], London: […] Tho[mas] Powell, →OCLC; republished as A[dolphus] W[illiam] Ward, editor, The Spider and the Flie. […] (Publications of the Spenser Society, New Series; 6), Manchester: […] [Charles E. Simms] for the Spenser Society, 1894, →OCLC, page 40:
        Oh lord how his feat feete and handes he wrang, / Beſeeching his great god, that day to guide him, / And from his mortall ennemie to deuide him: […]
      • 1630, Ios. Exon. [i.e., Joseph Hall of Exeter], “Upon a Worme”, in R[obert] H[all], editor, Occasionall Meditations, London: […] [Benjamin Alsop and T. Fawcet?] for Nath[aniel] Butter, →OCLC, page 170:
        [H]ovv is it [a worm] vexed vvith the ſcorching beames [of the sun], and vvrings vp and dovvne, in an helpleſſe perplexity; not finding vvhere to ſhrovvd it ſelfe; hovv obnoxious is it to the ſoules of the ayre, to the feet of men, and beaſts?
      • 1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “Phenomena”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book III (The Modern Worker), pages 140–141:
        In hydra-wrestle, giant ‘Millocracy’ so called, a real giant, though as yet a blind one and but half-awake, wrestles and wrings in choking nightmare, ‘like to be strangled in the partridge-nets of Phantasm-Aristocracy,’ as we said, which fancies itself still to be a giant.
    3. (figuratively)
      1. To contend, to struggle; also, to strive, to toil.
        • 1556, John Heywood, “The Introduction to the Matter, Showing howe the Flie Chaunced to Fall into the Spiders Copweb”, in The Spider and the Flie. […], London: […] Tho[mas] Powell, →OCLC; republished as A[dolphus] W[illiam] Ward, editor, The Spider and the Flie. […] (Publications of the Spenser Society, New Series; 6), Manchester: […] [Charles E. Simms] for the Spenser Society, 1894, →OCLC, page 27:
          Thus chaunce hath (by exchaunge) the flie ſo trapt, / That ſodainly he loſt his libertee: / The more he wrange, the faſter was he wrapt [in the spider's web] / And all to thencreaſe of his ieoberdee, […]
      2. To experience distress, pain, punishment, etc.
        Synonyms: hurt, suffer; see also Thesaurus:suffer
    4. (mining) Of a lode: to be depleted of ore; to peter or peter out.
    5. (obsolete) To make a way out with difficulty.
Conjugation
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Conjugation of wring
infinitive (to) wring
present tense past tense
1st-person singular wring wringed
2nd-person singular wring, wringest† wringed, wringedst†
3rd-person singular wrings, wringeth† wringed
plural wring
subjunctive wring wringed
imperative wring —
participles wringing wringed

†Archaic or obsolete.

Derived terms
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Translations
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to twist the body in or as if in pain — see writhe
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
See also
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Etymology 2

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Partly:

See further at etymology 1.

Noun

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wring (plural wrings)

  1. (also figuratively) A powerful squeezing or twisting action.
    I grasped his hand and gave it a grateful wring.
  2. (dated) Followed by down: the product of wringing, such as cider or wine.
  3. (obsolete) A sharp physical pain, especially in the abdomen; also, mental pain or distress.
    • 1606, Charles Steuens [i.e., Charles Estienne], John Liebault [i.e., Jean Liébault], “Of the Carter, or Horsekeeper”, in Richard Surflet, transl., Maison Rustique, or The Countrey Farme: […], London: […] Arnold Hatfield for Iohn Norton and Iohn Bill, →OCLC, book I, page 195:
      Hens dung ſvvallovved [by a horse] by hap, bringeth frets and vvrings in the bellie: […]
    • 1609, Ammianus Marcellinus, “[The XXIII. Booke.] Chapter II. Being Departed out of Antioch, He was Troubled and Haunted with Strange Signes and Dreames: But afterwards Comforted againe by Sundrie Presages, and the Arrivall of a Most Puissant Armadoe, He Proceedeth in His Intended Voyage.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Roman Historie, […], London: […] Adam Jslip, →OCLC, pages 220–221:
      [T]here vvas brought unto him an horſe named Babylonius, vvhich happening to be ſore vexed vvith a ſuddaine gripe or vvring in his belly, fell dovvne, and vvhiles hee vvas not able to endure the paine, vvallovveth along, and happeneth to beſprent his capariſon and ornaments richly garniſhed vvith gold and precious ſtones. At vvhich ſtrange ſight he tooke great joy, and cryed out, vvith the applauſe of thoſe next about him, That Babylon vvas fallen, and lay along on the ground diſpoyled of all her ornaments.
    • 1637, Robert Monro, “The First Observation”, in Monro his Expedition with the Worthy Scots Regiment (Called Mac-Keyes Regiment) Levied in August 1626. […]‎[3], London: […] William Iones […], →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-04, page 3:
      When we have good dayes we slight them, when they are gone, we sinke under the wring of sorrow, for their losse; and want teacheth vs the worth of things more truely: and it is a true saying, Blessings appeare not, till they bee vanished.
Translations
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Etymology 3

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From Middle English wring, wringe, wrynge (“a press, especially for olives or wine”) [and other forms],[5] from Old English wringe, from wringan (verb):[6] see further at etymology 1.

Noun

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wring (plural wrings)

  1. (archaic) A device for compressing or pressing, especially for making cheese, cider from apples, or wine from grapes.
    Synonym: press
    • 1664, John Newburgh, “[Pomona, or An Appendix Concerning Fruit-trees, in Relation to Cider, […].] Observations Concerning the Making and Preserving of Cider.”, in J[ohn] E[velyn], Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-trees and the Propagation of Timber in His Majesties Dominions. […], London: […] Jo[hn] Martyn, and Ja[mes] Allestry, printers to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC, page 43:
      If you boil Cider eſpecial care muſt be had to put it into the furnace immediately from the vvring; othervviſe, if it be let ſtand in Vats, or veſſels, tvvo or three days after the preſſure, the beſt and moſt ſpiritous part vvill aſcend and fly avvay in the vapours vvhen fire is put under it; […] A Friend of mine having made proviſion of Apples for Cider, vvhereof ſo great a part vvere found rotten vvhen the time of grinding them came, that they did as 'tvvere vvaſh the room vvith their juice, through vvhich they vvere carried to the vvring, had Cider from them not only paſſable, but exceeding good; […]
    • 1753, Hugh Stafford, “Sect[ion] VI. Of Proper Vessels for Receiving the Cyder for Its Fermentation; the Vigilance, Exact Care, and Attention Required in the First Fermentation of Cyder for Making It Sweet, and as Long as It Continues in a Fermenting State.”, in A Treatise on Cyder-making, Founded on Long Practice and Experience; with a Catalogue of Cyder-apples of Character, in Herefordshire and Devonshire. […], London: […] E[dward] Cave, […], →OCLC, page 48:
      In order to avoid a great deal of trouble, and to perform the work more effectually, by diveſting the nevv made Cyder of vvhat pummice and other impurities remain; after ſtraining it through a hair ſieve, on its coming from the VVring, or Preſs, it is neceſſary to be provided vvith a large open vat, keeve, or clive, vvhich vvill contain a vvhole pounding, or making of Cyder; or as much as can be preſſed in one day: […]
    • 1826, “a Practical Man” [pseudonym], “Part IV. Of Cider, Perry, Mead, and Vinegar.”, in The Vintner’s, Brewer’s, Spirit Merchant’s, and Licensed Victualler’s Guide; […], London: W. Whetton, […], →OCLC, page 216:
      Take any quantity of cider that is old, strong, harsh, or of an inferior quality, and add to it the same quantity of cider from the wring, or press; rouse it up well, and fix it in a warm place, or in the sun, which is certainly the best for its progress; […]
    • 1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter XVII, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume I, London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC, phase the third (The Rally), page 226:
      Tess […] gradually fell asleep again, the words of her informant coming to her along with the smell of cheeses in the adjoining cheese-loft, and the measured dripping of the whey from the wrings downstairs.
    • 1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter XXIII, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume II, London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC, phase the third (The Rally), page 32:
      They tossed and turned on their little beds, and the cheese-wring dripped monotonously downstairs.
Derived terms
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Translations
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References

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  1. ^ “wringen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ “wring, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2022; “wring, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  3. ^ “wring(e, n.(2)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  4. ^ “wring, n.2”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2021.
  5. ^ “wring(e, n.(1)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  6. ^ “wring, n.1”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2021.

Further reading

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Dutch

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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wring

  1. inflection of wringen:
    1. first-person singular present indicative
    2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
    3. imperative

Middle English

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Verb

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wring

  1. Alternative form of wryngen

Scots

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Verb

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wring (third-person singular simple present wrings, present participle wringin, simple past wrang, past participle wrong)

  1. to wring
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