wry

== English == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɹaɪ/ Rhymes: -aɪ Homophone: rye === Etymology 1 === From Middle English wrien, from Old English wrīġian (“to go, turn, twist, bend, strive, struggle, press forward, endeavor, venture”), from Proto-Germanic *wrigōną (“to wriggle”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyḱ- (“to turn, wrap, tie”), from *wer- (“to turn, bend”). Compare awry, wriggle. ==== Adjective ==== wry (comparative wrier or wryer, superlative wriest or wryest) Turned away, contorted (of the face or body). Dryly humorous; sardonic or ironic, usually in a way that suggests acknowledgement of a problem or difficult situation. Synonym: droll Twisted, bent, crooked. Deviating from the right direction; misdirected; out of place. 1876, Walter Savage Landor, The Works and Life of Walter Savage Landor, volume IV, Imaginary Conversations, Third Series: Dialogues of Literary Men, ch. 6—Milton and Andrew Marvel, page 155 (Google preview): ===== Derived terms ===== awry wry-billed plover wryly go awry ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== wry (third-person singular simple present wries, present participle wrying, simple past and past participle wried) (obsolete, intransitive) To turn (away); to swerve or deviate. (obsolete, transitive) To divert; to cause to turn away. (transitive) To twist or contort (the body, face, etc.). ===== Translations ===== ==== Noun ==== wry (regional) Distortion. === Etymology 2 === From Middle English wryen, wrien, wreon, wrihen, from Old English wrēon (“to cover, clothe, envelop”), from Proto-West Germanic *wrīhan, from Proto-Germanic *wrīhaną (“to wrap, cover”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyḱ- (“to turn, wrap, tie”), from *wer- (“to turn, bend”). ==== Verb ==== wry (third-person singular simple present wries, present participle wrying, simple past and past participle wried) (transitive, obsolete) To cover; clothe; cover up; cloak; hide.