wick

noun

1. (countable)A braid or bundle of fibre or other porous material (now generally twisted or woven cotton) in a candle, kerosene heater, oil lamp, etc., that draws up a liquid fuel (such as melted tallow or wax, or oil) at one end, to be ignited at the other end to produce a flame.

   “Trim the wick fairly short, so that the flame does not smoke.”

   “Theſe cordes, they caule Cabuia and Henequen, which are al one thing ſauyng that Henequen is leſſe and of a fyner ſubſtaunce as it were line: And the other is groſſer lyke the wycke or twyſte of hempe, and is imperfecte in compariſon to the other.”

   “But true it is that vvhen the oyle is ſpent, / The light goes out, and vveeke is throvvne away; […]”

   “But novv vvee vvill ſpeake of the Continuance of Flames, ſuch as are vſed for Candles, Lamps, or Tapers; conſiſting of Inflammable Matters, and of a VVieke that prouoketh Inflammation. […] Triall vvas likevviſe made of ſeuerall Wickes; as of Ordinary Cotton; Sovving Thred; Ruſh; Silke; Stravv; and VVood.”

   “[W]e may take notice of the Smoak that iſſues out of the VVeik of a Candle nevvly blovvn out; for vvhilſt the ſooty Corpuſcles retain their Bigneſe and Texture, they are able to offend the Noſtrils very much by their Stink; […]”

2. (uncountable)A braid or bundle of fibre or other porous material (now generally twisted or woven cotton) in a candle, kerosene heater, oil lamp, etc., that draws up a liquid fuel (such as melted tallow or wax, or oil) at one end, to be ignited at the other end to produce a flame.

   “There liues vvithin the very flame of loue / A kind of weeke or ſnufe that vvill abate it, […]”

3. (broadly, countable)A braid or bundle of fibre or other porous material (now generally twisted or woven cotton) in a candle, kerosene heater, oil lamp, etc., that draws up a liquid fuel (such as melted tallow or wax, or oil) at one end, to be ignited at the other end to produce a flame.
4. (countable, euphemistic, slang)Often in dip one's wick: the penis.

   “His wick was stone stiff.”

   “Thrusting his head out of a miniature waterfall, Di asked, 'You don't feel like a bit of a bunk-up this evening, Stubby, by any chance?' / 'A bit of what?' / 'Dipping your wick, man!' / This was unlike the staid, chapel-going Di I thought I knew. 'I'm careful where I dip my wick, mate. Got a bit of respect for it.'”

   “Her laugh wasn't cruel in tone, but it cut through Husk like a scalpel, withering his wick even further.”

5. (England)A hamlet or village; also, a town.

   “And by report, there vvere eight thouſand Gaules there ſlaine: the reſt abandoned the vvarre, and ſlipt every one into their ovvne vvickes and villages.”

6. (East-Anglia, England, Essex)A farm; specifically, a dairy farm.

   “Note a fearme [farm] in the North parts is called a Tacke, in Lancaſhire a Fermeholt, in Eſſex a Wike.”

   “Wick Farm—almost every village has its outlying ‘wick’—stands alone in the fields.”

7. (England, obsolete)An enclosed piece of land; a close.
8. (England, UK, Yorkshire, countable, dialectal)A maggot.
9. (England, UK, Yorkshire, countable, dialectal, uncountable)The growing part of a plant nearest to the roots.

   “Fed close? Why, it’s eaten into t’ hard wick.”

10. (England, UK, Yorkshire, countable, dialectal, in-plural, uncountable)The part of the root of a weed that remains viable in the ground after inadequate digging prior to cultivation.
11. (England, UK, Yorkshire, dialectal, obsolete, uncountable)Life; also, liveliness.
12. (England, dialectal)A angle or corner; specifically, a corner of the eye or mouth.

    “Croudy hung his head to one side, and chuckled, and crowed, and laid on the ground with his staff; and always now and then cast a sly look-out at the wick of his eye to Pery.”

    “She considered him. A fiery droplet in the wick of her mouth considered him.”

13. (England, abbreviation, alt-of, dialectal)A angle or corner; specifically, a corner of the eye or mouth.
14. (England, dialectal)A grove; also, a hollow.
15. (England)A shot where the played bowl or stone touches a stationary bowl or stone just enough that the former changes direction; a cannon.
16. (England)Synonym of port (“a narrow opening between other players' bowls or stones wide enough for a delivered bowl or stone to pass through”).
17. (England, Northern-England, Scotland)An inlet, such as a creek or small bay.

    “The power thou dost covet / O'er tempest and wave, / Shall be thine, thou proud maiden, / By beach and by cave,— / By stack and by skerry, by noup, and by voe, / By air and by wick, and by helyer and gio, / And by every wild shore which the northern winds know, / And the northern tides lave.”

18. (England, countable)A basket made of wickers (“flexible branches or twigs of a plant such as willow woven together”); a creel.

    “A captive fish still fills the anxious eyes / And willow-wicks lie ready for the prize; […]”

19. (England, uncountable)Wickers collectively; also, synonym of wickerwork (“wickers woven together”).

verb

1. (transitive)Of a material (especially a textile): to convey or draw off (liquid) by capillary action.

   “The fabric wicks perspiration away from the body.”

2. (intransitive)Of a material: to convey or draw off liquid by capillary action.
3. (intransitive)Chiefly followed by through or up: of a liquid: to move by capillary action through a porous material.

   “The moisture slowly wicked through the wood.”

4. (England, transitive)To strike (a stationary bowl or stone) with one's own bowl or stone just enough that the former changes direction; to cannon.

   “He vvas the king of a' the Core, / To guard, or dravv, or vvick a bore, […]”

5. (England, intransitive)To strike a stationary bowl or stone with one's own bowl or stone just enough that the former changes direction; to cannon.

adj

1. (England, Northern-England, Yorkshire)Synonym of quick (“alive, living; also, active, lively”).

   “Well! yo must know I were in th' Infirmary for a fever, and times were rare and bad; and there be good chaps there to a man, while he's wick, whate'er they may be about cutting him up at after.”

   “Thinks Abey, t' oud codger 'll nivver smoak t' trick, / I'll swop wi' him my poor deead horse for his wick, […]”

   “T' wickest young chap at ivver Ah seen.”

   “I thowt they was dead last back end but they're wick enif noo.”

   “"Are you afraid of going across the churchyard in the dark?" a young lady inquired of an old woman. "Lor' bless yer noä miss! It isn't dead uns I'm scar'd on, it's wick uns." […] I heard at the village of Yaddlethorpe, some five years after, a mother scolding her child. Among other threats, she said, "I'll skin ye wick." This threat with us usually takes the more modern form of "I'll skin ye alive."”

name

1. A town in north-eastern Caithness, Highland council area, Scotland (OS grid ref ND3650).
2. A river in Caithness, Highland council area that flows through the town into Wick Bay on the North Sea; in full, the Wick River.
3. (countable, uncountable)A number of places in England:
4. (countable, uncountable)A number of places in England:
5. (countable, uncountable)A number of places in England:
6. (countable, uncountable)A number of places in England:
7. (countable, uncountable)A number of places in England:
8. (countable, uncountable)A number of places in England:
9. (countable, uncountable)A number of places in England:
10. (countable, uncountable)A number of places in England:
11. (countable, uncountable)A number of places in England:
12. (countable, uncountable)A village and community in Vale of Glamorgan borough county borough, Wales (OS grid ref SS9272).
13. (countable, uncountable)An unincorporated community in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States.
14. (countable, uncountable)An unincorporated community in Tyler County, West Virginia, United States.
15. (countable)A surname from Old English.