▪ I. † wrench, n.1 Obs.
Forms: α. 1–2 wrenc; 2–6 wrench, 3–6 wrenche. β. 6 wrinch(e.
[OE. wrenc, corresponding in form to OHG. renki twist, sprain (G. ränke bend, hollow), and in sense to MHG. and G. rank bending, turning, trick, artifice. Cf. wrenk n. and wrench v.]
1. A crooked, cunning, or wily action or device; a trick, wile, or artifice. Freq. coupled with wile.
| α c 888 ælfred Boeth. iv. §1 Nauht ne dereᵹað monnum mane aþas, ne þæt lease lot þe beoð mid þam wrencum bewriᵹen. a 1050 Liber Scintill. xxxvii. (1889) 136 On swa hwylcum wrence worda æniᵹ sweriᵹe. a 1122 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1003, Ða sceolde..ælfric lædan þa fyrde ac he teah forð þa his ealdan wrenceas. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 67 He fondede god solf mid his wrenche. a 1225 Ancr. R. 270 Auh þis heie sacrament..ouer alle oðer þinges unwrihð his wrenches, & brekeð his strencðes. a 1250 Prov. ælfred 163 Monymon weneþ þat he wene ne þarf, longes lyues, ac him lyeþ þe wrench. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 7711 He dredde hym of sum wykked wrenche. 1387 Trevisa Higden I. 347 At þe laste Turgesius deide by gileful wyles and wrenches. 14.. Sir Beues (E.) 2753 + 32 Þe dragoun cowde soo many a wrenche. a 1450 Medit. Life & Passion of Christ 1650 Þere ne shal..No wrenches ne no fendes wyle Make þat swetnesse away to gon. 1519 W. Horman Vulg. 23 b, All those thynges were wroughte by wrenches of wyked spyrittis. 1579 Hake Newes out of Powles (1872) To Rdr. A iiij b, The wrenches and wyles..that the lewde sorte of this people..doe vse to gette money with. |
| β 1530 Palsgr. 290/2 Wrinches or wyles, chariuaris. 1534 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) A a vij, If we take not hede to prepare against his wrinches, it wyll ouerthrow vs. 1547 Bk. Marchauntes e ij, God knoweth what wily wrinches..they do commit fro day to day. |
2. Without article: Trickery, deceit, guile; fraud.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2924 Of is luþer wrenche..Four hondred & four score mid treson he slou þere. c 1300 Beket (Percy Soc.) 44 He was stronge adrad ȝut of wommanes wrenche. 13.. Seuyn Sages (W.) 438 She schette the dore, and set him on benche. Wil ye nou i-here of wommannes wrenche? 1566 Sternhold & H. Ps. xxvi. 10 Their right hand with wrenche and wile for bribes doth plucke and pull. |
▪ II. wrench, n.2 (
rɛn(t)ʃ)
Also 5
wrynche, 6–7,
dial. 9
wrinch (9
dial. wringe,
ringe); 6
wren(t)che, 9
Sc. wrunch,
runch.
[App. not a continuation of the prec. word, but directly based upon the verb.] † 1. on wrench, crosswise.
Obs. rare—1.
| ? c 1460 MS. Porkington 10 fol. 58 (Halliwell), The vij. wyffe sat one the bynche, And sche caste her legge one wrynche. |
2. a. An act of wrenching, or the fact of being wrenched; a twisting or pulling aside, awry, or out of shape; a violent twist or turn.
| 1530 Palsgr. 290/2 Wrenche, torche. 1618 Bp. Hall Contempl., O.T. xii. i, Gods iudgements are the racke of godlesse men: If one straine make them not confesse, let them bee stretched but one wrench higher, and they cannot be silent. 1755 Johnson, Wrench,..a violent pull or twist. 1771 Lonnergan Fencer's Guide 87 A Wrench is thus formed. Ibid. 88 Retire a little upon the second wrench. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xi, The little stone having been raised with one wrench of a spade. 1855 Mrs. Gaskell North & S. xxii, They all could hear..the creak of wood slowly yielding; the wrench of iron; the mighty fall of the ponderous gates. 1861 Reade Cloister & H. lii, [She] gave a contemptuous wrench of her shoulder. 1893 M. Pemberton Iron Pirate iv, [The yacht] jibbed round of a sudden, with an appalling wrench at the horse. |
| fig. and in fig. context. 1533 More Apol. xxii. 128 The same reason wold..serue with one lytell wrenche ferther, to take in lyke wyse a waye from euery other man. 1607 Shakes. Timon ii. ii. 218 A Noble Nature May catch a wrench. 1854 Baroness Bunsen in Hare Life (1879) II. 167 Quite conscious that it is a strong wrench that drags him out of so large a part of the habits of life. a 1865 Mrs. Gaskell Wives & Dau. (1866) I. 247 Then, with a wrench, changing the subject,..he broke out [etc.]. 1878 Browning La Saisiaz 51, I shall..bless each kindly wrench that wrung From life's tree its inmost virtue. |
b. A sudden or sharp twist or jerk causing pain or injury to a limb, person, etc.; a sprain, strain. Also in
fig. context.
| 1530 Palsgr. 290/2 Wrenche out of joynt, deboytement, dejoincture. 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. (Arb.) 49 If he haue a wrentche, or haue taken colde in his arme. 1578 H. Wotton Courtlie Controv. 28 If..a wrenche breake a bone without perishing the fleshe or skinne whiche couereth it. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. ii. 69 Every small Wrinch, or stepping awrie, is enough to put an ill-set Bone out of joynt. 1665 Earl of Orrery St. Lett. (1742) 100, I have got such a wrench in my ancle. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. ix. 226 They haled him into the ship, without..any other injury than a wrench in his arm. 1802 Paley Nat. Theol. viii. §1 The contortions and wrenches to which the limbs of animals are continually subject. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xix. 134 They compelled the arms to take a position which, if the footing gave way, would necessitate a wrench. 1879 Meredith Egoist iv, She quietly gave a wrench to the neck of the young hope in her breast. |
c. An instance of this in horses; also with
the, as the specific name of an ailment.
| 1578 H. Wotton Courtlie Controv. 301 Claribel supposing it hadde bin some wrench, commaunded his man to bathe the horse leg. 1580 Blundevil Horsemanship 59 The Curbe..commeth..by some straine or wrinch wherebie the tender sinewes are grieued. 1627 J. Taylor (Water P.) Navy Land Ships C 6 b, The shedding of the haire, the Horse-hipped, the Wrench, the Neckecricke. 1639 T. de la Grey Expert Farrier 306 A horse that hath gotten a wrench in his shoulder. 1695 Lond. Gaz. No. 3105/4 A dark brown gelding,..goes wadling behind, as if he had a Wrench in his Back. 1727 Bailey (vol. II), Entorses, Wrenches of the Pasterns in Horses. |
d. fig. A parting or separation causing painful or violent emotion; pain or anguish resulting from leave-taking.
In frequent use from
c 1875.
| 1849 Robertson Serm. Ser. i. xii. (1855) 202 The misery of the wrench from all that is dear and bright. 1874 Green Short Hist. viii. §4 It was not without a wrench that they tore themselves from their English homes. 1889 ‘J. S. Winter’ Mrs. Bob x, Now that it had come to parting with the last of them [sc. daughters] it was an undeniable wrench. |
e. Mathematical Physics. (See first
quot.)
| 1876 Ball Theory of Screws 4 We now introduce the word wrench, to denote a force and a couple in a plane perpendicular to the force. Ibid. 5 These wrenches could be replaced by one wrench which is called the resultant wrench. |
† 3. a. A sharp turn, bend, or deflection; an abrupt turning movement.
Obs. rare.
| 1549 Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. Rom. Argt. ad fin., The reader wandering vppe and downe, as it wer in wrenches, or..in a mismase diuersly tournyng and wyndyng. 1596 Sir J. Davies Orchestra liii, I loue Meanders path,..Such winding sleights, such turnes and tricks he hath, Such Creekes, such wrenches, and such daliaunce. |
| fig. 1654 I. Ambrose Ultima 203 Austin after some turns and wrenches concludeth thus. |
b. Coursing. A turning or bringing round of the hare or rabbit at less than a right angle.
| 1615 Markham Country Content. i. viii. 105 That Dogge which giueth the first turne, if after the turnes be giuen and neither coat, slip, nor wrench extraordinary, then he [etc.]. 1686 [see wrench v. 2]. 1688 Holme Armoury ii. ix. 189/1 A Wrench, is not a turn, but as it were, a half turn. 1840 D. P. Blaine Encycl. Rural Sports 598/1 A cote is when..one [dog] outruns the other, and gives the hare a turn or wrench. 1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Rural Sports 212/1 Working Power is evinced by the Wrench and the Turn. 1887 Field 19 Feb. 235/3 The brindled [greyhound] eventually finishing the course with a couple of wrenches and a kill. |
4. Change from the original purport or signification; a strained or wrested meaning; a forced or false interpretation. (
Cf. wrest n. 3.)
| 1603 J. Davies (Heref.) Microcosmos Wks. (Grosart) I. 55/2 If there be wrench in this Paralell, It is in that [etc.]. 1701 Strype Life Aylmer 265 Whence..the Popish Bishops might see their Wrenches and Cavillations..to be maintained thereby. 1864 Lowell Black Preacher 11 But since I might chance give his meaning a wrench,..I'll put what he told me..In a rhymed prose. |
5. a. One or other form of mechanical screw.
| 1552 Acts Hen. VIII (ed. Berthelet) 40 The Bier [= buyer]..shall not..straine..the same clothes..by teintour or wrinche [1514 wynche]. 1598 Florio, Storta,..a wrench or wrest that ioyners vse. 1600 Hakluyt Voy. III. 810 Hee was faine to cause them to bee tormented with their thumbes in a wrinch. 1618 Dalton Country Justice 34 Any teynters, wrinches or other engines whatsoeuer, wherby any deceipt may be vsed in..the stretching of any wollen Cloth. [1702 Guide for Constables 31 Tenters,..headwrinches, or other engines for stretching of cloth.] 1825 Jamieson, Wrunch, a winch or windlass. Lanarks[hire]. |
† b. fig. A means of compulsion or constraint.
Obs. rare.
| 1622 Bacon Hen. VII, 90 He.. resolued to make this profit of this businesse..as a Wrench and meane for Peace. |
c. A tool or implement of various forms, consisting essentially of a metal bar with (
freq. adjustable) jaws adapted for catching or gripping a bolt-head, nut, etc., to turn it; a screw-key, screw-wrench, or spanner.
Also
bed-wrench,
monkey-wrench,
pipe-wrench,
screw-wrench,
tap-wrench,
tube-wrench: see those words.
| 1794 W. Felton Carriages (1801) I. 78 A spindle that is turned with a wrench upon the outside. Ibid. 223 Tool-budget..[for carrying] the few requisites for the coachman's use—such as a wrench, a hammer, a chissel. 1834 Marryat P. Simple xxi, We worked very hard until the hole was large enough, using the crow-bar..and a little wrench. 1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 6111, Patent wrench and mallet to save all taps from damage. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 199/2 The wrench or spanner..is used for fastening the headstock or poppet down on the bed. |
d. Surg. Applied to various makes of instruments having adjustable jaws,
spec. for gripping a deformed foot to be rectified by torsion.
| 1895 Arnold's Catal. Surg. Instruments 774 Wrenches for bending Thomas's Splints. 1896 Tubby Deformities 416 Some wrenches are formidable and powerful instruments. Ibid. 418 Holding the foot in the bite of the wrench too long. |
6. attrib. and
Comb., as
wrench finisher,
wrench forger;
wrench hammer,
wrench handle;
wrench fault Geol. = strike-slip fault s.v. strike n. 20.
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2822/1 Wrench-hammer, a hammer having a movable member to form a spanner. 1880 Blackmore Mary Anerley lv, Mr. Mordacks..holding him, as in a wrench-hammer, all the way, silencing his squeaks, with another turn of screw. 1881 Instr. Census Clerks (1885) 44 Wrench Finisher and Forger. 1884 Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl. 957/1 Wrench Handle, a double-arm wrench for use with dies for cutting threads, and other purposes. 1951 E. M. Anderson Dynamics of Faulting (ed. 2) i. 2 The term ‘Blatt’ will be translated as wrench fault. 1977 A. Hallam Planet Earth 61/1 Major wrench faults (e.g., the Great Glen Fault of Scotland) exhibit displacements of 100km..or more. |
▪ III. wrench, v. (
rɛn(t)ʃ)
Forms: α. 1
wrencan, 2–4
wrenchen, 4, 6
wrenche, 5–
wrench, 6
wrensh (7–8
rench, 8
arch. wranch). β. 4
wrynch, 5
wrynche, 6
wrinche, 6–7
wrinch.
[OE. wrencan to twist, turn (also fig. to practise wiles), = OHG. renchan (MHG. and G. renken) to twist; of obscure relationship. Cf. wrenk v.] I. † 1. intr. a. To perform or undergo a quick or forcible turning or twisting motion; to turn or writhe (
about or
aside). Also
fig. Obs.| α c 1050 Indicia Monast. (MS. Cott. Tib. A iii) fol. 97, Is þæs horderes tacen, þæt mon wrænce mid is hande, swilce he wille loc hunlucan. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 211 At pleȝe..þih and shonkes and fet oppieð, wombe gosshieð, and shuldres wrenchieð. a 1240 Wohunge in O.E. Hom. I. 281 Hu þu was naket bunden faste to þe piler, þat tu ne mihtes now⁓hwider wrenche fra þa duntes. c 1375 [see wrenk v. 1]. 1387 Trevisa Higden VII. 538 Anoon his knyȝtes come to Venus to have the ryng, but heo wrenchide [MS. α. wrynchede] and blenchide and strof longe tyme, but [etc.]. c 1500 New Notbr. Mayd 152 in Hazl. E.P.P. III. 7 To fulfyll His wanton wyll, Wrenchynge from me alway. c 1530 Tindale Num. xxii. 25 The asse..wrenshed vnto the walle and thrust Balams fote vnto the wall. 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. v. 258 This Torpedo..Doth not as other Fish, that wrench and wriggle When they be prickt. 1625 Bp. R. Montagu App. Cæsarem 319 Setting some rigorous Puritans aside, that like no Religion but one of their owne making,..there are few Calvinists..that will wrench at this. 1716 Gay Trivia iii. 123 Should thy shoe wrench aside, down, down you fall. |
| β c 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1538 Some gase wrynchand to and fra, And some gas hypand. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xviii. (1845) 84, I can not wrynche by no wyle nor croke, My heart is fast upon so sure a hoke. a 1632 T. Taylor God's Judgem. i. i. xxii. (1642) 84 A charet.., wherein were certain yron-works, which with wrinching about gave an horrible sound. a 1641 Bp. R. Montagu Acts & Mon. (1642) 497 Rather then goe to law, to sit down by losse; and without wrinching forgo what was his due. |
† b. Fencing. (See
quots. and
cf. whirl v. 3.)
| 1771 Lonnergan Fencer's Guide Index, Wrenching, is to disarm, by whirling off your adversary's blade, without setting any bounds to it, or whirling to any certain parade. Ibid. 88 When you parry with a Prime, wrench round into a Tierce. |
2. Coursing. Of a hare, etc.: To veer or come round at less than a right angle; to rick.
| 1576 Turberv. Venerie 244 A deare..will holde on the same waye, and neuer turneth and wrencheth as a Hare will do before the Greyhounds. 1686 R. Blome Gentl. Recreat. ii. 98/1 Sometimes the Hare doth not Turn, but Wrench; for she is not properly said to Turn, except she Turn as it were round, and two Wrenches stand for a Turn. 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl. s.v. Coursing, If the hare turns not quite about, she only wrencheth, in the sportsman's phrase. 1839 Laws of Coursing in Youatt Dog (1845) 261 If a dog draws the fleck from the hare, and causes her to wrench or rick only. |
II. 3. trans. To twist or turn (a thing) forcibly or with effort; to jerk or pull with a violent twist;
= wrest v. 1. Also with
advs., as
about,
round.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 210 Summe iuglurs beoð þet ne kunnen seruen of non oðer gleo, buten makien cheres, & wrenchen mis hore muð. Ibid. 222 Ich chulle wrenchen hire þiderward ase heo mest dredeð. 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. (Arb.) 146 Some will take theyr bowe and writhe and wrinche it. 1578 Lyte Dodoens 41 Small seedes, whiche be as they were wrenched or writhen about. 1590 Tarlton News Purgat. 22 Though shee coulde not treade right, yet wrincht her shooe inward. 1600 Surflet Countrie Farme iii. xi. 444 The wood of such great plants, doth pinch and wrinche the graft mightily. 1674 [see wreathe v. 6]. 1718 F. Hutchinson Witchcraft 146 One [cart carrying corn] wrench'd Amy Duny's House, upon which she came out in a Rage. 1819 Scott Leg. Montrose xiii, If you venture to call for assistance, I will wrench round your neck. 1825 ― Talism. xxviii, Each strange and disproportioned feature wrenched by horror into still more extravagant ugliness. 1839 Murchison Silur. Syst. i. xxxi. 422 The limestone of the principal branch is suddenly wrenched round. 1863 B. Taylor Poets Jrnl. iii. Watch of Night 7 Blow, winds..And wrench the trees forlorn That struggle where they stand. 1876 Swinburne Erechtheus 588 All her flower of body,..With the might of the wind's wrath wrenched and torn. |
b. To tighten with or as with a wrest or wrench;
† to tune (a harp, etc.) in this way. Also with
up.
| 1577 Grange Golden Aphrod. H iij b, Orpheus with thy Harpe in hande, Arion also.., Wrinche vp your strings. Ibid. M ij b, Playing..vppon their Harpes, wrinched and set to the highest note of Diatesseron. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2253/1 The eye [of the spanner] is caught over the stud on the collar, so as to wrench it fast. |
| fig. 1607 Shakes. Cor. i. viii. 11 For thy Reuenge Wrench vp thy power to th' highest. |
† 4. fig. a. To draw or turn (a person) aside; to force
out of the right way.
Obs.| a 1200 St. Marher. 4 Þæt tu ne maht nanes weies..wenden me ne wrenchen ut of þe weie. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 124 Nes þer nan þet mahte neauer eanes wrenchen hire..ut of þe weie. c 1230 Hali Meid. 47 Ihesu crist..leue swa hare heorte halden to him, þat hare flesches eggunge..ne weorri hare heorte wit, ne wrenche ham ut of þe wei þat ha beoð in gongen. |
† b. To draw
out or expel (temptations); to withdraw or shelter (oneself); to divert or deflect towards another. (
Cf. wrenk v. 2.)
Obs.| a 1225 Ancr. R. 244 Swuche þouhtes ofte, i vlesliche soulen, wrencheð ut sonre vlesliche tentaciuns þeone summe of þe uorme. Ibid. 294 Þet tu ne meiht þis scheld holden o þine heorte, ne wrenchen þe þerunder frommard þe deofles eare⁓wen. Ibid. 304 Ȝif þu seist þet þin unstrencðe ne muhte nout elles, þu wrenchest þine sunne o God. |
† c. To misrepresent or slander (a person).
| c 1300 Pol. Songs (Camden) 157 Ȝef y am wreint in heore write, Thenne am y bac-bite. |
5. To injure or pain (a person, the limbs, etc.) by undue straining or stretching; to rick, sprain, strain.
| α 1530 Palsgr. 785/1, I wrenche my foote, or any lymme, I put it out of joynt. 1578 Lyte Dodoens 235 A playster..upon places that be out of ioynt or wrenched. 1611 Florio, Storcersi le membra, to straine or wrench ones limmes out of ioint. 1638 W. Lisle Heliodorus viii. 141 Bagoas..with a fall Had wrench'd his leg. 1729 Swift Direct. Serv. Rules, You wrenched your foot against a stone, and were forced to stay. 1835 T. Mitchell Acharn. of Aristoph. 1064 note, To wrench the ankle. 1854 Thackeray Newcomes xxii, He..came down on the pavement and wrenched his leg. |
| fig. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iii. xix. 204 Would it not have wrench'd and sprain'd his soul? |
| β 1578 H. Wotton Courtlie Controv. 259 By wrinching their foote in drawing on their hose. 1583 tr. Maison Neuve's Gerileon 54 b, His fistes..so were wrinched that he felt them not. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 78 If an Ox be wrinched and strayned in his sinewes. 1684 J. S. Profit & Pleas. United 204 Leg out of Joynt or Wrinched. |
b. To affect with severe pain, suffering, or anguish; to distress or pain greatly; to rack.
| 1798 Coleridge Anc. Mar. vii. xv, Forthwith this frame of mine was wrenched With a woful agony. a 1814 Wordsw. Excurs. vii. 872 Through the space Of twelve ensuing days his frame was wrenched. 1821 Shelley Hellas 456 A spirit not my own wrenched me within. |
| transf. 1805 Wordsw. Prelude v. 31 Should the whole frame of earth by inward throes Be wrenched. |
6. To pull or draw with a wrench or twist; to twist or wrest out; to force, turn, etc., by a twisting movement:
a. With preps., as
from,
into,
out of,
to.
| 1582 Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 72 Swiftlye they determind..too wrinche thee nauye too southward. 1604 Shakes. Oth. v. ii. 288 Wrench his Sword from him. 1697 Dryden æneis xii. 534 Turnus..Wrenched from his feeble hold the shining sword. 1730 Thomson Winter (ed. 3) 360 When Justice..Wrench'd from their hand Oppression's iron rod. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. vi. 201 Seizing his pistol, [he] wrenched it out of his hand. 1820 Shelley Prometh. Unb. i. 39 To wrench the rivets from my quivering wounds. 1882 B. D. W. Ramsay Recoll. Mil. Serv. I. i. 25 We wrenched out of the wall an iron hook. |
| fig. and in fig. context. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. iv. 14 How often dost thou..Wrench awe from fooles? 1605 ― Lear i. iv. 290 O most small fault,..Which like an Engine, wrencht my frame of Nature From the fixt place. 1790 Burns ‘What needs this din’ 20 Bruce..Wrench'd his dear country from the jaws of ruin. 1820 Hazlitt Lect. Dram. Lit. 13 Nor could he [sc. Shakspere] have been wrenched from his place in the edifice..without equal injury to himself and it. 1851 Hawthorne Ho. Sev. Gables xvi, To wrench it [sc. a fixed opinion] out of their minds. 1879 M{supc}Carthy Own Times xlii. III. 283 His gift was that which wrenches success out of the very jaws of failure. |
| refl. 1834 Sir F. B. Head Bubbles fr. Brunnen 129 As if the corpse..had wrenched himself once again into daylight. |
b. With
advs., as
away,
off,
out,
outward,
up;
asunder,
open.
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 364 Staying the midst of your toole vpon the horses neather iaw, wrinch the tooth outward. 1608 Shakes. Per. iii. ii. 53 Sec. Gent. 'Tis like a coffin... Cerimon. Wrench it open straight. 1639 G. Plattes Discov. Infin. Treas. xii. 84 In a quarter of an houre the whole bush is wrenched up by the rootes. 1726 Swift Gulliver i. i, I had the fortune to..wrench out the pegs. 1796 Boys Agric. Kent (ed. 2) 120 A hop-dog, to wrench up the poles. 1819 Shelley Peter Bell 3rd i. x, As he was speaking came a spasm, And wrenched his gnashing teeth asunder. 1825 J. Neal Bro. Jonathan I. 251 He went up to the door, wrenched off the fastenings. 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola xxiv, Like a harp of which all the strings had been wrenched away except one. 1884 Manch. Exam. 11 Oct. 5/1 They wrench off cupboard doors to spare themselves the trouble of closing them. |
| fig. 1821 Hazlitt Winterslow x. (1850) 174 The revolutionary wheel which has of late wrenched men's understandings almost asunder. 1848 Mrs. Gaskell Mary Barton x, Wrenching up her natural feelings of home. 1868 Tennyson Lucretius 218 It seems some unseen monster lays His..filthy hands upon my will, Wrenching it backward into his. |
| refl. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. i. i, What he had in tow..sometimes seemed to try to wrench itself away. |
| absol. (for refl.) 1912 P. A. Talbot In Shadow of Bush xxv. 277 At sight of us she wrenched free. |
c. Without
const. Also
fig.| 1655 Vaughan Silex Scint. ii. Starre v, Desire that never will be quench'd, Nor can be writh'd, nor wrench'd. 1697 Dryden æneis x. 1273 To wrench the Darts which in his Buckler light. 1713 [Croxall] Orig. Canto Spenser xx. (1714) 17 Those honest Hounds..Striving..to wranch the Chain, Which did her tender Limbs to th' rock upty. 1879 R. Bridges Shorter Poems (1912) 248 The lazy cows wrench many a scented flower. |
d. To seize or take forcibly;
= wrest v. 4.
| 1605 Shakes. Macb. iii. i. 63 They..put a barren Scepter in my Gripe, Thence to be wrencht with an vnlineall Hand. 1796 Southey Joan of Arc v. 474 If the iron rod Should one day from Oppression's hand be wrench'd By everlasting Justice! 1810 Scott Lady of L. v. vi, Wrenching from ruin'd Lowland swain His herds and harvest. 1832 H. Martineau Ireland vi. 92 Those from whose hands he had wrenched the means of subsistence. 1851 Gallenga Italy 13 To wrench from the reluctant hands of diplomacy exceptional modifications of those fatal treaties. 1868 E. Edwards Ralegh I. ix. 143 Spoils had been wrenched from Spain such as hitherto were almost unexampled. |
e. To deprive (a person)
of something by wrenching or wresting.
| 1786 Burns To Mountain Daisy viii, Till wrench'd of ev'ry stay but Heav'n, He, ruin'd, sink! |
7. To twist, alter, or change from the right or true form, application, or import; to wrest, pervert, distort.
Cf. wrest v. 5.
| 1549 Latimer 1st Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 29 Wrenching thys text of scrypture..after their owne phantasie. Ibid., Thei wrench these wordes a wrye. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie ii. iv. (Arb.) 89 Let his ryme and concordes be true,..and not darke or wrenched by wrong writing. 1593 Harvey Pierce's Super. 100 Should impertinent secrecies be reuealed;..euery proposition wrinched to the harshest sense? 1641 Milton Reform. ii. Wks. 1851 III. 51 These devout Prelates..for these many years have not ceas't in their Pulpits wrinching, and spraining the text. c 1655 ― Sonn., ‘Cyriack, whose Grandsire’ 4 [He] in his volumes taught our Lawes, Which others at their Barr so often wrench. 1863 Cowden Clarke Shaks. Char. viii. 211 They proceeded to wrench that power to the restraining of all dissentients. 1877 Winchell Reconcil. Sci. & Relig. xii. 325 It is infinitely better to learn how God really did proceed, than to..wrench our Bible to make it fit a misconception of facts. |
† b. To derive (a word) by alteration
from another.
Obs.| 1623 Camden Rem. (ed. 3) 70 Lewis, wrenched from Lodowick, which Tilius interpreteth, Refuge of the people. |
8. Coursing. To divert, turn, or bring round (a hare, etc.) at less than a right angle; to rick.
| 1622 Drayton Poly-olb. xxiii. 345 When each man..notes Which Dog first turnes the Hare, which first the other coats, They wrench her once or twice, ere she a turne will take. 1839 Laws of Coursing in Youatt Dog (1845) 262 When a dog wrenches or ricks a hare twice following, without losing the lead, it is equal to a turn. 1840 Sportsman II. 216 Wrenched by the one or the other of her pursuers, she seemed every moment almost in the jaws of one of them. 1865 Field 4 Mar. 151/3 Rebe wrenched her hare half a dozen lengths in advance of Master Sweeney. |
| absol. 1876 Coursing Calendar 10 Gardenia shot in front, and..turned; she then wrenched and killed. 1886 Field 20 Feb. 227/2 Mr. Dent's dog went up for the kill after wrenching once. |
† 9. To drive, impel, or thrust (a weapon) with a twisting movement.
Obs. rare.
| 1594 Kyd Cornelia iv. i. 23 Scipio hath wrencht a sword into hys brest. Ibid. v. 322 He wrencht it to the pommel through his sides. |
† b. refl. To force (oneself)
in among others.
Sc. Obs.—1| 1729 Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 454 [Such] persons..in a time of party and division, get in where they ought not to be, and when they have wrenched themselves in, talk [etc.]. |
10. absol. To pull or tug (
at something) with a turn or twist. Also
fig. and
transf.| 1697 Dryden æneis xii. 1132 Th' incumbent Heroe wrench'd and pull'd and strain'd; But still the stubborn Earth the Steel detain'd. 1858 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. ix. ix. ¶3 France has been wrenching and screwing at this Lorraine, wriggling it off bit by bit. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. ii. xv, He..again grasped the stone..and wrenched at it. 1891 Kipling Life's Handicap 245 The water snarled and wrenched and worried at the timber. |
b. To come
out by or as by wrenching.
| 1903 E. Childers Riddle of Sands viii, The lower screw⁓plate on the stern post had wrenched out. |
▪ IV. wrench obs. or
dial. erron. f. rinse v.