Wringed

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Expressing the action of twisting or squeezing something forcibly to remove liquid or as a gesture of pain or distress
2. Indicating that something has been tightly twisted or compressed to extract moisture or show emotion
3. Denoting the act of applying pressure by turning or twisting an object to get rid of excess water or to signal discomfort

Etymology: "Wringed" is the simple past and past participle of "wring," so its history is that of the verb itself. "Wring" descends from Old English "wringan," which carried the same sense of twisting and squeezing, and that in turn traces back to a Proto-Germanic verb meaning to squeeze, twist or wring. The older root may be the Proto-Indo-European "wrenǵʰ-," though that link is uncertain. The verb's cousins show how far the idea of violent twisting once reached. German "ringen" means to wrestle or struggle, and Dutch "wringen" can mean to writhe, so the same motion of straining and turning links a wrung cloth with a wrestler's grip. Scots keeps the form "wring" itself, and the Ancient Greek "rhímpha," meaning swiftly or nimbly, is a distant relative. The English past forms developed in Middle English, when "wringen" and "wryngen" were the main variants. A Middle English noun "wring" also meant a press for olives or wine, a reminder that squeezing liquid out of things was once the verb's everyday work.

Synonyms: twisted, squeezed