"to associate with common women," 1590s, from wench (n.). Related: Wenched; wencher; wenching.

late 13c., wenche "girl, young woman," especially if unmarried, also "female infant," shortened from wenchel "child," also in Middle English "girl, maiden," from Old English wencel, probably related to wancol "unsteady, fickle, weak," from Proto-Germanic *wankila- (source also of Old Norse vakr "child, weak person," Old High German wanchal "fickle"), from PIE *weng- "to bend, curve" (see wink (v.)).

The wenche is nat dead, but slepith. [Wyclif, Matthew ix.24, c. 1380]

In Middle English occasionally with disparaging suggestion, and secondary sense of "concubine, strumpet" is attested by mid-14c. Also "serving-maid, bondwoman, young woman of a humble class" (late 14c.), a sense retained in the 19c. U.S. South in reference to slave women of any age. In Shakespeare's day a female flax-worker could be a flax-wench, flax-wife, or flax-woman.

"shaky, groggy, unstable," 1919, of unknown origin. German prefix wankel- has a similar sense. Perhaps from surviving dialectal words based on Old English wancol "shaky, tottering" (see wench (n.)).

"obtain something by trickery," 1888, originally British printer's slang for "fake by manipulation;" perhaps an alteration of waggle, or of wankle (now dialectal) "unsteady, fickle," from Old English wancol (see wench (n.)). Brought into wider use by World War I soldiers.

"disheveled, unkempt," 1778, from obsolete blouze "wench, beggar's trull" (1570s, of uncertain origin; perhaps originally a cant term) + -y (2).

Old English wyrman "make warm" and wearmian "become warm;" from the root of warm (adj.). Phrase warm the bench is sports jargon first recorded 1907. Related: Warmed; warming.

SCOTCH WARMING PAN. A wench. [Grose, "Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1785]

"rogue's girlfriend, beggar's mistress," 1520s, slang, of unknown origin (see dell (n.2)). Liberman says it is probably from Low German dokke "doll," "with the deterioration of meaning from 'sweetheart' and 'wench' to 'whore.'"

also floozy, "woman of disreputable character," 1902, perhaps a variation of flossy "fancy, frilly" (1890s slang), with the notion of "fluffiness." The c. 1700 "Dictionary of the Canting Crew" defines Florence as a slang word for "a Wench that is touz'd and ruffled."

"a gentile, a non-Jew" (plural goyim), 1835, from Hebrew goy "people, nation;" in Mishnaic and Modern Hebrew, also "gentile" (compare gentile). The fem. form of the Hebrew word entered French as gouge "a wench" (15c.).

"a low prostitute or concubine; a drab, strumpet, trollop" [OED], 1510s, from German trulle "trollop, wench, hussy," perhaps cognate with troll (n.), or perhaps from troll (v.), compare Middle High German trolle "awkward fellow," Swabian trull "a thick, fat woman."