Wrigging

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Twisting or writhing the body from side to side with quick, wavy movements, as a dialect form of wriggling
2. The act of squirming or jerking about in a restless, twisting manner, often used in some regional English speech
3. Moving with a sinuous, wriggling motion, a dialect variant meaning to squirm or wiggle the body

Etymology: "Wrigging" is the present participle and gerund of "wrig", a verb meaning to squirm or wriggle restlessly. The verb descends from Middle English "wriggen", and its relatives run across the Low Countries and northern Germany: Low German "wriggeln", Dutch "wriggelen" and "wrikken", all meaning to wriggle or move back and forth. That cluster of forms points to a shared Germanic root, and the sense has stayed remarkably steady across the centuries. The older English form has a broader range. Old English "wrigian" meant to turn, wend, or move onward, so the idea of bending and shifting in motion was present from the start. The wriggling sense narrowed from that wider movement, leaving the word with its sharp image of a body that cannot keep still.