Wronger

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. To cause injury or harm to someone; to act in a manner that is unjust or morally wrong; to commit an act that violates a person's rights or entitlements
2. To inflict pain or distress upon an individual; to behave in a way that contradicts ethical standards; to engage in actions that adversely affect another's well-being
3. To treat someone unjustly or unfairly; to engage in behavior that is contrary to accepted moral principles; to wrongfully encroach upon someone’s rights or dignity

Etymology: The word "wronger" is simply "wrong" with the agentive suffix "-er" attached, and the verb "wrong" has its own history worth noting. Both etymological lines trace the stem back to a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to twist" or "to wring," which is also the ancestor of the English verb "wring." The idea was of something twisted out of shape, and from that physical sense the Old Norse and Old English form "wrang" came to mean crooked, awry, or not straight. From there the notion of a twisted course developed into the moral sense of doing harm or departing from what is right. The Middle English "wrong" carried this sense of injustice and error forward, and the modern verb, "to wrong someone," inflicts that injury on a person directly. "Wronger" is formed in English by adding "-er" to the verb, producing a word for one who wrongs another. The suffix descends from Old English "-ere," itself the same suffix used for many agent nouns in the language, so the formation is entirely native and transparent.