wright English · revision 6881

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=?a695|origins=gmw-pro *wurhtijō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɹaɪt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English wrihte, [[inh|ang|wyrhta|t=worker, maker]], a metathesized variant of earlier wyrhta,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|ang|wyrċan|t=to work]] (see [[work]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[gmw-pro|*wurhtijō]].^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) It is a common West Germanic word: Old Saxon [[m|osx|wurhtio]], Old Frisian wrichta and Old High German [[m|goh|wurhto]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A craftsman, especially one who makes things: perhaps before 695 in the OED.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old English it was also used of God as maker (888) and of a doer or worker in general (971).^(OED 1989) In Middle English it meant a carpenter, a builder or architect.^(Etymonline) Between about 1470 and 1655 the carpenter sense was chiefly Scottish.^(OED 1989) It survives mainly in compounds such as [[wheelwright]], [[shipwright]], [[cartwright]] and [[playwright]].^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) In Scotland and northern England it still meant a carpenter or joiner in the 19th century,^(Wright 1898) and it became a common surname.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * ?a695 – a craftsman.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 888 – the Creator (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1205 – a carpenter.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(now chiefly in compounds)'' A person who makes or repairs something: ''shipwright'', ''wheelwright''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(chiefly Scottish)'' A carpenter or [[joiner]].^(SOED 2002)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[arkwright]]

+ * [[boatwright]]

+ * [[cartwright]]

+ * [[millwright]]

+ * [[playwright]]

+ * [[shipwright]]

+ * [[wainwright]]

+ * [[wheelwright]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[work]]

+ * [[wrought]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}