wraxle

English

Etymology

From Middle English wraxlen (“to engage in grappling combat or sport, wrestle; (figurative) to contend with, grapple, struggle”),^[1] from Old English wrāxlian (“to contend, wrestle”).^[2]^[3]^[4] Probably related to wrestle.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɹæksl̩/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɹæks(ə)l/
Rhymes: -æksəl
Hyphenation: wrax‧le

Verb

wraxle (third-person singular simple present wraxles, present participle wraxling, simple past and past participle wraxled) (intransitive, obsolete except southwest England)

To wrestle.
(figurative) To contend, to strive.

References

^ “wraxlen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
^ Joseph Bosworth (1882), “wraxlian”, in T[homas] Northcote Toller, editor, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 1272, column 1.
^ “wraxle, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2025.
^ “wraxle, v.”, in Collins English Dictionary, 2011–present.

[1] “wraxlen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

[2] Joseph Bosworth (1882), “wraxlian”, in T[homas] Northcote Toller, editor, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 1272, column 1.

[3] “wraxle, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2025.

[4] “wraxle, v.”, in Collins English Dictionary, 2011–present.

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