Link Centre Dictionary

wick

UK/ˈwɪk/ US/ˈwɘk/ uncommon obsolete slang uk

noun

1.

any piece of cord that conveys liquid by capillary action

  • “the physician put a wick in the wound to drain it”
2.

a loosely woven cord (in a candle or oil lamp) that draws fuel by capillary action up into the flame

Synonyms

Origin

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”)

Phrases

  • all wax and no wick
  • dip one's wick
  • dip the wick
  • Eton Wick
  • get on someone's wick
  • Hackney Wick
  • Hampton Wick
  • Hannington Wick
  • Haydon Wick
  • wick effect
  • Wick Hill

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.