wraw

Middle English

FWOTD – 15 September 2019

Alternative forms

• wrow, wrah, wraȝ, wroȝ, wragh, wrogh, wrau

Etymology

From Old English *wrāh, from Proto-Germanic *wraihaz (“crooked”). Compare Swedish dialect vrå (“wilful, disobedient”), from Proto-Germanic *wranhō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wrau̯(x)/, /wrɔu̯(x)/

Adjective

wraw (plural and weak singular wrawe)

1. easily angered; in a foul mood
2. angry; vexed; wrathful
   • a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Manciple's Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, lines 43–44:

     […] And that is whan men pleyen with a ſtraw / And with this ſpeche the Cook wax wrooth and wraw […]

     And that's when men play with a straw." / And after that speech the Cook became furious and angry, […]

Derived terms

• wrawen
• wrawnesse

References

• “wrau, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-06-01.
• “wraw”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.