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Wresting

 - 3 dictionary results

wrest

[rest]
–verb (used with object)
1. to twist or turn; pull, jerk, or force by a violent twist.
2. to take away by force: to wrest a knife from a child.
3. to get by effort: to wrest a living from the soil.
4. to twist or turn from the proper course, application, use, meaning, or the like; wrench.
–noun
5. a wresting; twist or wrench.
6. a key or small wrench for tuning stringed musical instruments, as the harp or piano, by turning the pins to which the strings are fastened.

Origin:
bef. 1000; (v.) ME wresten, OE wrǣstan; c. ON reista; akin to wrist; (n.) ME: a wresting, deriv. of the v.


wrester, noun


1, 3. wring. 3. See extract.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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wrest   (rěst)   
tr.v.   wrest·ed, wrest·ing, wrests
  1. To obtain by or as if by pulling with violent twisting movements: wrested the book out of his hands; wrested the islands from the settlers.

  2. To usurp forcefully: wrested power from the monarchy.

  3. To extract by or as if by force, twisting, or persistent effort; wring: wrest the meaning from an obscure poem.

    1. To distort or twist the nature or meaning of: wrested the words out of context.

    2. To divert to an improper use; misapply.

n.  
  1. The act of wresting.

  2. Music A small tuning key for the wrest pins of a stringed instrument.


[Middle English wresten, from Old English wrǣstan, to twist; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.]
wrest'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

wrest 
O.E. wræstan "to twist, wrench," from P.Gmc. *wraistijanan (cf. O.N. reista "to bend, twist"), derivative of *wrig-, *wreik- "to turn" (see wry). Meaning "to pull, detach" (something) is recorded from 1297. Meaning "to take by force" (in ref. to power, authority, etc.) is attested from 1426.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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