Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A cord or strand of loosely woven, twisted, or braided fibers, as on a candle or oil lamp, that draws up fuel to the flame by capillary action.
  • noun A piece of material that conveys liquid by capillary action.
  • transitive & intransitive verb To convey or be conveyed by capillary action.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In horticulture, a pea-vine, of a set being bred for earliness, which continues to grow above instead of promptly maturing the lower pods.
  • noun A number of threads of cotton or some spongy substance loosely twisted together or braided, which by capillary action draws up the oil in lamps or the melted tallow or wax in candles in small successive portions to be burned; also, a piece of woven fabric used for the same purpose.
  • noun A creek, inlet, or bay. Scott, Pirate, xix.
  • noun A salt-spring; a brine-pit.
  • noun A small dairy-house.
  • To strike (a stone) in an oblique direction: a term in curling
  • noun A corner; especially, one of the corners of the mouth.
  • Bad; wicked; false: with reference to persons.
  • Bad; wretched; vile: with reference to things.
  • Unfavorable; inauspicious; baneful.
  • Quick; alive.
  • noun A town; village: a common element in placenames, as in Ber wick (AS. Berwīc), War wick(AS. Werewīc), Gree nwich (AS. Grēnewīc, Grēnawīc), Sand wich (AS. Sandwīc).
  • noun A district: occurring in composition, as in baili wick, constable wick, sheriff wick, shire wick.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A street; a village; a castle; a dwelling; a place of work, or exercise of authority; -- now obsolete except in composition.
  • noun (Curling) A narrow port or passage in the rink or course, flanked by the stones of previous players.
  • noun A bundle of fibers, or a loosely twisted or braided cord, tape, or tube, usually made of soft spun cotton threads, which by capillary attraction draws up a steady supply of the oil in lamps, the melted tallow or wax in candles, or other material used for illumination, in small successive portions, to be burned.
  • intransitive verb (Curling) To strike a stone in an oblique direction.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun UK, dialect A farm, especially a dairy farm.
  • noun archaic A village; hamlet; castle; dwelling; street; creek; bay; harbour; a place of work, jurisdiction, or exercise of authority.
  • noun now dialectal A corner of the mouth or eye.
  • noun A bundle, twist, braid, or woven strip of cord, fabric, fiber, or other porous material in a candle, oil lamp, kerosene heater, or the like, that draws up liquid fuel, such as melted tallow, wax, or the oil, delivering it to the base of the flame for conversion to gases and burning; any other length of material burned for illumination in small successive portions.
  • noun Any piece of porous material that conveys liquid by capillary action; e.g. a strip of gauze placed in a wound to serve as a drain.
  • noun curling A narrow opening in the field, flanked by other players' stones.
  • noun curling A shot where the played stone touches a stationary stone just enough that the played stone changes direction.
  • noun slang Penis.
  • verb transitive To convey or draw off (liquid) by capillary action.
  • verb intransitive, of a liquid To traverse (i.e. be conveyed by capillary action) through a wick or other porous material, as water through a sponge. Usually followed by through.
  • verb curling To strike (a stone) obliquely; to strike (a stationary stone) just enough that the played stone changes direction.
  • adjective UK, dialect Alive; lively; full of life; active; bustling; nimble; quick.
  • noun UK, dialect Liveliness; life.
  • noun UK, dialect The growing part of a plant nearest to the roots.
  • noun UK, dialect A maggot.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a loosely woven cord (in a candle or oil lamp) that draws fuel by capillary action up into the flame
  • noun any piece of cord that conveys liquid by capillary action

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English wike, from Old English wēoce.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From earlier Middle English wik, wich ("village, hamlet, town"); from Old English wīc ("dwelling place, abode"); Germanic borrowing from Latin vīcus ("village, estate") (see vicinity). Came to mean “dairy farm” around 13th-14th century (e.g. Gatwick “Goat-farm”). Compare cognates: Old High German wîch, wih ("village"), German Weichbild ("municipal area"), Dutch wijk ("quarter, district"), Ancient Greek οἶκος (oikos, "house"), Old Frisian wik, Old Saxon wic ("village").

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old Norse vik.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle English weke, wicke; Old English wēoce.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old English cwic ("alive"); similar to an archaic meaning of quick ("endowed with life; having a high degree of vigor, energy, or activity"), and quicken ("come to life").

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Examples

  • Then he lifts up his head and utters that long April call, _Wick, wick, wick, wick_.

    Bird Stories from Burroughs Sketches of Bird Life Taken from the Works of John Burroughs John Burroughs 1879

  • She could not do anything ungracefully, but that did not prevent her improving upon nature a bit, when she reached forth and deftly snuffed the red wick from the midst of the yellow flame.

    THE SCORN OF WOMEN 2010

  • She could not do anything ungracefully, but that did not prevent her improving upon nature a bit, when she reached forth and deftly snuffed the red wick from the midst of the yellow flame.

    Jack London Play:The Scorn of Women 2010

  • Candles are made from a mixture of wax and paraffin, melted into liquid, and into this mixture a wick is dipped into the waxy bath, cooled and dipped over and over until the desired thickness is reached.

    The artesanias of Michoacan - an introduction 2008

  • Candles are made from a mixture of wax and paraffin, melted into liquid, and into this mixture a wick is dipped into the waxy bath, cooled and dipped over and over until the desired thickness is reached.

    The artesanias of Michoacan - an introduction 2008

  • Candles are made from a mixture of wax and paraffin, melted into liquid, and into this mixture a wick is dipped into the waxy bath, cooled and dipped over and over until the desired thickness is reached.

    The artesanias of Michoacan - an introduction 2008

  • I do not understand the best types of wicks to use for soy candles and massage candles, and why that particular wick is recommended.

    Massage Candles - The Fine Print - Day Two Anne-Marie 2008

  • As a retail bizz with the only candle store in town, I'm here to say the make-up and size of your wick is EVERYTHING when it comes to making a great burning candle.

    Wick Size Anne-Marie 2008

  • It is a medium-grade solvent, and is also used in wick-type lighters like the world-famous Zippo Pseudoephedrine (pseudoephedrine hydrochloride) the chemical name of Sudafed, which is an OTC nasal decongestant.

    Boing Boing: July 31, 2005 - August 6, 2005 Archives 2005

  • She could not do anything ungracefully, but that did not prevent her improving upon nature a bit, when she reached forth and deftly snuffed the red wick from the midst of the yellow flame.

    The Scorn of Women 1901

Comments

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  • as in baili-wick

    January 10, 2009

  • A wood as in an elder wick

    July 11, 2009

  • short for wicked

    April 28, 2010