Online Etymology Dictionary

wounder (n.): late 15c., agent noun from wound (v.).
woven (adj.): late 15c., from past participle of weave (v.) on analogy of stolen.
wow (interj.): 1510s, Scottish interjection, a natural expression of amazement. "This old interjection had a new popularity in the early 1900s and again during the 1960s and later" [DAS].
wow (v.): "overwhelm with delight or amazement," 1924, American English slang, from wow (interj.). Related: Wowed; wowing. Used as a noun meaning "unqualified success" since 1920.
WPA: 1936, initialism from Works Progress Administration, U.S. agency established 1935.
wr-: common Germanic consonantal combination, especially to start words implying twisting or distortion. Retained in Dutch and Flemish; reduced to -r- in Old High German and Old Norse; represented by vr- in Danish and Swedish; still spelled -wr- in English, but except in dialects the -w- ceased to be pronounced c.1450-1700.
wrack (n.): late 14c., "wrecked ship," probably from Middle Dutch wrak "wreck," cognate with Old English wræc "misery, punishment," and wrecan "to punish, drive out" (see wreak). The meaning "damage, disaster, destruction" (in wrack and ruin) is from c.1400, from the Old English word. Sense of "seaweed, etc., cast up on shore" is recorded from 1510s.
wrack (v.): "to ruin or wreck" (originally of ships), 1560s, from earlier intransitive sense "to be shipwrecked" (late 15c.), from wrack (n.). Often confused in this sense since 16c. with rack (1) in the verb sense of "to torture on the rack;" to wrack one's brains is thus erroneous. Related: Wracked; wracking.
wraith (n.): 1510s, "ghost," Scottish, of uncertain origin. Weekley suggests Old Norse vorðr "guardian" in the sense of "guardian angel." Klein points to Gaelic and Irish arrach "specter, apparition."
wrangle (v.): late 14c., from Low German wrangeln "to dispute, to wrestle," related to Middle Low German wringen, from Proto-Germanic *wrang-, from PIE *wrengh-, nasalized variant of *wergh- "to turn" (see wring). Related: Wrangled; wrangling. The noun is recorded from 1540s.
wrangler (n.): "person in charge of horses or cattle, herder," 1888, agent noun from wrangle (v.); as a proprietary name for a brand of jeans, copyrighted 1947, claiming use from 1929.
wrap (v.): early 14c., wrappen, of uncertain etymology, perhaps via Scandinavian (cf. Danish dialectal vravle "to wind"), ultimately from PIE *werp- "to turn, wind" (cf. Greek rhaptein "to sew"), from root *wer- (3) "to turn, bend" (see versus). Related: Wrapped; wrapping.
wrap (n.): late 15c., "fine cloth used as a cover or wrapping for bread," from wrap (v.). As a type of women's garment, recorded from 1827. Meaning "end of a filming session" is attested from 1974. Figurative phrase under wraps "in concealment" is recorded from 1939.
wrapper (n.): mid-15c., agent noun from wrap (v.).
wrasse (n.): 1670s, from Cornish wrach, related to Welsh gurach.
wrath (n.): Old English wræððu "anger," from wrað "angry" (see wroth) + -þu, from Proto-Germanic -itho (as in strength, width etc.).
wrathful (adj.): c.1300, from wrath + -ful. Related: Wrathfully.
wreak (v.): Old English wrecan "avenge," originally "to drive, drive out, punish" (class V strong verb; past tense wræc, past participle wrecen), from Proto-Germanic *wrekanan (cf. Old Saxon wrekan, Old Norse reka, Old Frisian wreka, Middle Dutch wreken "to drive, push, compel, pursue, throw," Old High German rehhan, German rächen "to avenge," Gothic wrikan "to persecute"), from PIE root *werg- "to work, to do" (cf. Lithuanian vergas "distress," vergas "slave;" Old Church Slavonic vragu "enemy;" Latin urgere; see urge (v.)). Meaning "inflict or take vengeance," with on, is recorded from late 15c.; that of "inflict or cause (damage or destruction)" is attested from 1817.
wreath (n.): Old English wriða "fillet, bandage, band" (literally "that which is wound around"), from Proto-Germanic *writhon (cf. Old Norse riða, Danish vride, Old High German ridan "to turn, twist," Old Saxon, Old Frisian wreth "angry," Dutch wreed "rough, harsh, cruel," Old High German reid "twisted," Old Norse reiða "angry"), from PIE *wreit- "to turn, bend" (cf. Old English wriða "band," wriðan "to twist, torture," wraþ "angry"), from root *wer- (3) "to turn, bend" (see versus). Meaning "ring or garland of flowers" is first recorded 1560s.
wreathe (v.): 1520s, a back-formation from wrethen, Middle English past participle of writhe. Related: Wreathed; wreathing.
wreck (n.): early 13c., "goods cast ashore after a shipwreck, flotsam," from Anglo-French wrec, from Old Norse *wrek (cf. Norwegian, Icelandic rek) "wreck, flotsam," related to reka "to drive, push" (see wreak). The meaning "a shipwreck" is first recorded mid-15c.; that of "a wrecked ship" is from c.1500. General sense of "remains of anything that has been ruined" is recorded from 1713; applied by 1795 to dissipated persons.
wreck (v.): "to destroy, ruin," c.1500, from wreck (n.). Related: Wrecked; wrecking. Earlier (12c.) it meant "drive out or away, remove;" also "take vengeance."
wreckage (n.): 1837, from wreck + -age.
wrecker (n.): 1804, in reference to those who salvage cargos from wrecked ships, from wreck (n.). In Britain often with a overtones of "one who causes a shipwreck in order to plunder it" (1820); but in 19c. Bahamas and the Florida Keys it could be a legal occupation. Applied to those who wreck and plunder institutions from 1882. Meaning "demolition worker" attested by 1958. As a type of ship employed in salvage operations, from 1789. As a railway vehicle with a crane or hoist, from 1904.
wren (n.): Old English wrenna, metathesis variation of earlier werna, a West Germanic word of uncertain origin. Cf. Icelandic rindill, Old High German wrendo, wrendilo "wren." The bird's name in other languages usually denotes "royalty" (cf. Latin regulus), in reference to its golden crest.
wrench (v.): Old English wrencan "to twist," from Proto-Germanic *wrankijanan (cf. Old High German renken, German renken "to twist, wrench," Old English wringan "to wring"), from PIE *wreng- "to turn" (cf. Sanskrit vrnakti "turns, twists," Lithuanian rengtis "to grow crooked, to writhe"), nasalized variant of *werg- "to turn" (cf. Latin vergere "to turn, tend toward"), from root *wer- (3) "to turn, bend" (see versus). Related: Wrenched, wrenching.
wrench (n.): Old English wrenc "a twisting, artifice, trick;" see wrench (v.). The meaning "tool with jaws for turning" is first recorded 1794.
wrest (v.): Old English wræstan "to twist, wrench," from Proto-Germanic *wraistijanan (cf. Old Norse reista "to bend, twist"), derivative of *wrig-, *wreik- "to turn" (see wry). Meaning "to pull, detach" (something) is recorded from c.1300. Meaning "to take by force" (in reference to power, authority, etc.) is attested from early 15c. Related: Wrested; wresting.
wrestle (v.): Old English *wræstlian, frequentative of wræstan "to wrest" (see wrest). Cf. North Frisian wrassele, Middle Low German worstelen. Figurative sense is recorded from early 13c. Related: Wrestled; wrestling.
wrestling (n.): Old English wræstlung, "sport of grappling and throwing," verbal noun from wrestle (v.). From c.1300 as "action of wrestling, a wrestling match." Figurative use from c.1200.
wretch (n.): Old English wrecca "wretch, stranger, exile," from Proto-Germanic *wrakjan (cf. Old Saxon wrekkio, Old High German reckeo "a banished person, exile," German recke "renowned warrior, hero"), related to Old English wreccan "to drive out, punish" (see wreak). Sense of "vile, despicable person" developed in Old English, reflecting the sorry state of the outcast, as presented in much of Anglo-Saxon verse (e.g. "The Wanderer"). Cf. German Elend "misery," from Old High German elilenti "sojourn in a foreign land, exile."
wretched (adj.): c.1200, wrecched, an irregular formation from wrecche "wretch" (see wretch). Cf. also wicked.
wriggle (v.): late 15c., from Middle Low German wrigglen "to wriggle," from Proto-Germanic *wrig-, *wreik- "to turn" (see wry). Related to Old English wrigian "to turn, incline, go forward."
wright (n.): Old English wryhta, wrihta "worker" (Northumbrian wyrchta, Kentish werhta), variant of earlier wyhrta, from wyrcan "to work" (see work). Now usually in combinations (wheelwright, playwright, etc.) or as a common surname. Common West Germanic; cf. Old Saxon wurhito, Old Frisian wrichta, Old High German wurhto.
wring (v.): Old English wringan "press, strain, wring, twist" (class III strong verb; past tense wrang, past participle wrungen), from Proto-Germanic *wrenganan (cf. Old English wringen "to wring, press out," Old Frisian wringa, Middle Dutch wringhen, Dutch wringen "to wring," Old High German ringan "to move to and fro, to twist," German ringen "to wrestle"), from PIE *wrengh- "to turn," nasalized variant of *wergh- "to turn," from root *wer- (3) "to turn, bend" (see versus).
wringer (n.): "device for squeezing water from clothes," 1799, agent noun from wring. Figurative phrase to put (something) through the wringer first recorded 1942, American English.
wrinkle (v.): c.1400 (implied in wrinkling), probably from stem of Old English gewrinclod "wrinkled, crooked, winding," past participle of gewrinclian "to wind, crease," from perfective prefix ge- + -wrinclian "to wind," from Proto-Germanic *wrankjan (see wrench (v.)). Related: Wrinkled.
wrinkle (n.): "fold or crease in the extenal body," late 14c.; in cloth or clothing from early 15c., probably from wrinkle (v.). Meaning "defect, problem" first recorded 1640s; that of "idea, device, notion" (especially a new one) is from 1817.
wrinkly (adj.): 1580s, from wrinkle + -y (2). As teen slang noun for "old person," from 1972 (a British reference from 1982 applies it to people in their 40s).
wrist (n.): Old English wrist, from Proto-Germanic *wristiz (cf. Old Norse rist "instep," Old Frisian wrist, Middle Dutch wrist, German Rist "back of the hand, instep"), from Proto-Germanic *wrig-, *wreik- "to turn" (see wry). The notion is "the turning joint."
writ (n.): Old English writ "something written, piece of writing," from the past participle stem of writan (see write). Used of legal documents or instruments since at least 1121.
write (v.): Old English writan "to score, outline, draw the figure of," later "to set down in writing" (class I strong verb; past tense wrat, past participle writen), from Proto-Germanic *writanan "tear, scratch" (cf. Old Frisian writa "to write," Old Saxon writan "to tear, scratch, write," Old Norse rita "write, scratch, outline," Old High German rizan "to write, scratch, tear," German reißen "to tear, pull, tug, sketch, draw, design"), outside connections doubtful. Words for "write" in most I.E languages originally mean "carve, scratch, cut" (cf. Latin scribere, Greek grapho, Sanskrit rikh-); a few originally meant "paint" (cf. Gothic meljan, Old Church Slavonic pisati, and most of the modern Slavic cognates).
For men use to write an evill turne in marble stone, but a good turne in the dust. [More, 1513]
To write (something) off (1680s) originally was from accounting; figurative sense is recorded from 1889. Write-in "unlisted candidate" is recorded from 1932.
writer (n.): Old English writere "one who can write, clerk; one who produces books or literary compositions," agent noun from writan (see write (v.)). Meaning "sign-painter" is from 1837. Writer's cramp attested by 1853; writer's block by 1950.
writhe (v.): Old English wriðan "to twist or bend," earlier "to bind or fetter," from Proto-Germanic *writhanan (cf. North Frisian wrial, Old High German ridan, Old Norse riða, Middle Swedish vriþa, Middle Danish vride), from PIE *wreit- "to turn, bend" (see wreath). Related: Writhed; writhing.
writing (n.): "system of human intercommunication by means of conventional visible marks," c.1300, "written characters; words, sentences," verbal noun from write (v.). From late 14c. as "action of composing in characters; craft of writing; one's own handwriting."
wrong (adj.): late Old English, "twisted, crooked, wry," from Old Norse rangr, earlier *wrangr "crooked, wry, wrong," from Proto-Germanic *wrangaz (cf. Danish vrang "crooked, wrong," Middle Dutch wranc, Dutch wrang "sour, bitter," literally "that which distorts the mouth"), from PIE *wrengh- "to turn" (see wring).

Sense of "not right, bad, immoral, unjust" developed by c.1300. Wrong thus is etymologically a negative of right (from Latin rectus, literally "straight"). Latin pravus was literally "crooked," but most commonly "wrong, bad;" and other words for "crooked" also have meant "wrong" in Italian and Slavic. Cf. also French tort "wrong, injustice," from Latin tortus "twisted." Wrong-headed first recorded 1732. To get up on the wrong side (of the bed) "be in a bad mood" is recorded from 1801.
wrong (n.): "that which is improper or unjust," c.1100, from wrong (adj.). Meaning "an unjust action" is recorded from c.1200.
wrong (v.): "to do wrong to," early 14c., from wrong (adj.). Related: Wronged; wronging.
wrongdoing (n.): late 15c., from wrong (n.) + doing.
wroth: Old English wrað "angry" (literally "tormented, twisted”), from Proto-Germanic *wraithaz (cf. Old Frisian wreth "evil," Old Saxon wred, Middle Dutch wret, Dutch wreed "cruel," Old High German reid, Old Norse reiðr "angry, offended"), from PIE *wreit- "to turn" (see wreath). Rare or obsolete from early 16c. to mid-19c., but somewhat revived since, especially in dignified writing, or this exchange:
Secretary: "The Dean is furious. He's waxing wroth."
Quincy Adams Wagstaf [Groucho]: "Is Roth out there too? Tell Roth to wax the Dean for a while."
["Horse Feathers," 1932]