Where does “wrest” come from?
Wrest comes from English arrest, from Old French arester, from Proto-Indo-European wrey- and steh₂-, with Latin ad- prefixed to a root meaning to stand or stop.
wrest (English): To pull or twist violently; To obtain by pulling...
Definitions
- To pull or twist violently; To obtain by pulling...
Ancestry of “wrest”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | wresten | — |
| 2 | Old English | wrǣstan | to twist forcibly, wrench |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | wraistijaną | to wrest, to twist, to turn |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | wreyt- | to twist |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |