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wrath

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: wraþ and wrað

English

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WOTD – 20 December 2023

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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The noun is derived from Middle English wraththe, wreththe (“anger, fury, rage; animosity, hostility; deadly sin of wrath; distress, vexation; punishment; retribution (?)”) [and other forms],[1] from Old English wrǣþþu (“ire, wrath”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *wraiþiþu (“anger, fury, wrath”), from *wraiþ (“angry, furious, wroth; hostile, violent; bent, twisted”) (from Proto-Germanic *wraiþaz (“angry, furious, wroth; hostile, violent; bent, twisted”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyt- (“to twist”)) + *-iþu (suffix forming abstract nouns).[2] Effectively analysable as wroth +‎ -th.

The verb is derived from Middle English wratthen (“to be or become angry, to rage; to quarrel; to cause wrath, offend; to become troubled or vexed; to cause grief or harm, grieve, vex”) [and other forms],[3] from wraththe, wreththe (noun) (see above)[4] + -en (suffix forming the infinitive of verbs).[5]

cognates

Noun

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wrath (usually uncountable, plural wraths)

  1. (uncountable, formal) Great anger; (countable) an instance of this.
    Synonyms: fury, ire; see also Thesaurus:anger
    Homer relates an episode in the Trojan War that reveals the tragic consequences of the wrath of Achilles.
  2. (uncountable) Punishment, retribution, or vengeance resulting from anger; (countable) an instance of this.
    the wrath of God
  3. (uncountable, obsolete) Great ardour or passion.
Usage notes
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  • The pronunciation with the vowel /æ/ is regarded as incorrect by many British English speakers.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Verb

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wrath (third-person singular simple present wraths, present participle wrathing, simple past and past participle wrathed) (chiefly Early Modern, obsolete)

  1. (transitive)
    1. To anger (someone); to enrage.
      • [1506?], Jacobus van Gruitroede, translated by [Margaret Beaufort], The Mirroure of Golde for the Synfull Soule‎[1], London: […] Richarde Pynson, →OCLC, folio 12, verso:
        [R]emembre howe by thy cursed synnes thou haste offended and wrathed thy lorde god.
      • 1510 September 24 (Gregorian calendar), [Andrew Chertsey], transl., Ihesus. The Floure of the Commaundements of God […]‎[2], London: […] Wynkyn de Worde, →OCLC, folio 60, recto:
        Of ire yͤ whiche is agayne god. […] A man wratheth hym ayenst god for many thynges, pryncypally for the flagellacions, aduersytees, fortunes, sykenesses, & mortalytees, losses, punycyons, famyne, warre & yll tyme.
      • 1520, Saynt Peter of Lucẽbourth [i.e., Pierre de Luxembourg], anonymous translator, The Boke Entytuled the Next Way to Heuen […]‎[3], London: […] Wynkyn de Worde, →OCLC, folio [4], recto:
        And than the byſſhop ſayd vnto the clerke⸝ thou haſt wrathed me⸝ but yf thou wylte be ſory thou ſhalte haue my loue as thou haddeſt before⸝ & I ſhall gyue the [i.e., thee] the benefyce yͭ I haue promyſed to gyue the⸝ ſholde not he be anone ſory of that I byleue that yes.
    2. To become angry with (someone).
  2. (intransitive) To become angry.
    • 1822, [Walter Scott], chapter X, in Peveril of the Peak. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 267:
      "Nay, wrath thee not, Will," said Ganlesse; "and speak no words in haste, lest you may have cause to repent at leisure. […]"
    • 1860, E[dward] B[ouverie] Pusey, “Nahum”, in The Minor Prophets with a Commentary Explanatory and Practical and Introductions to the Several Books (The Holy Bible with a Commentary […]), Oxford, Oxfordshire: J. H. & J. Parker, […], →OCLC, page 374, column 2:
      God is a righteous judge, strong and patient, and God wratheth every day.
Conjugation
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Conjugation of wrath
infinitive (to) wrath
present tense past tense
1st-person singular wrath wrathed
2nd-person singular wrath, wrathest† wrathed, wrathedst†
3rd-person singular wraths, wratheth† wrathed
plural wrath
subjunctive wrath wrathed
imperative wrath —
participles wrathing wrathed

†Archaic or obsolete.

Etymology 2

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A variant of wroth, probably influenced by wrath (noun) (see etymology 1).[6]

Adjective

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wrath (comparative more wrath, superlative most wrath)

  1. (archaic) Synonym of wroth (“full of anger; wrathful”)
Translations
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References

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  1. ^ “wratthe, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ “wrath, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2023; “wrath, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  3. ^ “wratthen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  4. ^ “wrath, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2023.
  5. ^ “-en, suf.(3)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  6. ^ “wrath, adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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