wretch
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L269614 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ɹɛt͡ʃ/
noun
Etymology: From Middle English wrecche, from Old English wreċċa (“exile, outcast”), from Proto-Germanic *wrakjô (“exile, fugitive, warrior”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreg- (“to track, follow”). Doublet of garçon.
- An unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person.
“The poor wretch, who lay motionless a long time, just began to recover his senses as a stage-coach came by.”
“The four unhappy wretches labouring under sentence of banishment were freed from their fetters, to rejoin their former society; and three days given as holidays to every convict in the colony.”
- An unpleasant, annoying, worthless, or despicable person.
“Swear to me but, thou bold wretch! said she, swear to me, that Pamela Andrews is really and truly thy lawful wife, without sham, without deceit, without double-meaning; and I know what I have to say!”
“I asked that selfish wretch, Winterblossom, to walk down with me to view her distress, and the heartless beast told me he was afraid of infection!”
- An exile.
verb
Etymology: From confusion with the noun.
- Misspelling of retch.