Wrack

See also: wrack

German

Etymology

From Middle Low German wrak, probably from Old Saxon *wrak, derived from wrekan, from Proto-West Germanic *wrekan, from Proto-Germanic *wrekaną, whence also German rächen and English wreak. Cognate with Dutch wrak, English wrack, wreck, Norwegian Bokmål vrak, Norwegian Nynorsk vrak, Swedish vrak (from Low German).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vʁak/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ak

Noun

Wrack n (strong, genitive Wracks or Wrackes, plural Wracks or (rare) Wracke)

1. wreck (damaged remains of a ship, airplane, etc.)

   Das Wrack des Schiffs wurde mit Spezialkränen geborgen.

   The wreck of the ship was recovered with specialized cranes.

2. wreck (physically and/or mentally unstable person)

   Während meiner Grippe war ich ein Wrack.

   During my flu, I was a wreck.

   Nach zwanzig Jahren Saufen war er ein Wrack.

   After twenty years of hard drinking, he was a wreck.

Usage notes

• The normal plural is Wracks. The form Wracke is rare.

Declension

Declension of Wrack [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Wrack	die	Wracks, Wracke2
genitive	eines	des	Wracks, Wrackes	der	Wracks, Wracke2
dative	einem	dem	Wrack, Wracke1	den	Wracks, Wracken2
accusative	ein	das	Wrack	die	Wracks, Wracke2

¹Now rare, see notes.
²Rare.

Derived terms

• abwracken
• Autowrack
• Flugzeugwrack
• Schiffswrack

Further reading

• “Wrack” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Wrack” in Duden online
• “Wrack” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon