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wick

Pronunciation: /ˈwɪk/

The English word “wick” has 20 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A braid or bundle of fibre or other porous material (now generally twisted or woven cotton) in a candle, kerosene heater, oil lamp, etc., that draws up a liquid fuel (such as melted tallow or wax, or oil) at one end, to be ignited at the other end to produce a flame.
  2. Synonym of wicking (“the material of which wicks (etymology 1, noun sense 1) are made”).
  3. Any piece of porous material that conveys liquid by capillary action; specifically (medicine), a strip of gauze placed in a wound, etc., to absorb fluids.
  4. Often in dip one's wick: the penis.
  5. A hamlet or village; also, a town.
  6. A farm; specifically, a dairy farm.
  7. An enclosed piece of land; a close.
  8. A maggot.
  9. The growing part of a plant nearest to the roots.
  10. The part of the root of a weed that remains viable in the ground after inadequate digging prior to cultivation.
  11. Life; also, liveliness.
  12. A angle or corner; specifically, a corner of the eye or mouth.
  13. A grove; also, a hollow.
  14. A shot where the played bowl or stone touches a stationary bowl or stone just enough that the former changes direction; a cannon.
  15. Synonym of port (“a narrow opening between other players' bowls or stones wide enough for a delivered bowl or stone to pass through”).

verb

  1. Of a material (especially a textile): to convey or draw off (liquid) by capillary action.
  2. Of a material: to convey or draw off liquid by capillary action.
  3. Chiefly followed by through or up: of a liquid: to move by capillary action through a porous material.
  4. To strike (a stationary bowl or stone) with one's own bowl or stone just enough that the former changes direction; to cannon.

adjective

  1. Synonym of quick (“alive, living; also, active, lively”).

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English wek, weke, wicke (“fibrous cord drawing fuel to flame of a candle, etc.; material used to make this object”), from Old English wēoce (“wick”), from Proto-West Germanic *weukā (“flax bundle; wick”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *weg- (“to weave”). It has been suggested that noun etymology 1, noun sense 2 (“penis”) is derived from Hampton Wick, used as…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.