From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Wrench \Wrench\ (r[e^]nch), n. [OE. wrench deceit, AS. wrenc
deceit, a twisting; akin to G. rank intrigue, crookedness,
renken to bend, twist, and E. wring. [root]144. See {Wring},
and cf. {Ranch}, v. t.]
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1. Trick; deceit; fraud; stratagem. [Obs.]
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His wily wrenches thou ne mayst not flee. --Chaucer.
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2. A violent twist, or a pull with twisting.
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He wringeth them such a wrench. --Skelton.
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The injurious effect upon biographic literature of
all such wrenches to the truth, is diffused
everywhere. --De Quincey.
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3. A sprain; an injury by twisting, as in a joint.
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4. Means; contrivance. [Obs.] --Bacon.
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5. An instrument, often a simple bar or lever with jaws or an
angular orifice either at the end or between the ends, for
exerting a twisting strain, as in turning bolts, nuts,
screw taps, etc.; a screw key. Many wrenches have
adjustable jaws for grasping nuts, etc., of different
sizes.
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6. (Mech.) The system made up of a force and a couple of
forces in a plane perpendicular to that force. Any number
of forces acting at any points upon a rigid body may be
compounded so as to be equivalent to a wrench.
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{Carriage wrench}, a wrench adapted for removing or
tightening the nuts that confine the wheels on the axles,
or for turning the other nuts or bolts of a carriage or
wagon.
{Monkey wrench}. See under {Monkey}.
{Wrench hammer}, a wrench with the end shaped so as to admit
of being used as a hammer.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Wrench \Wrench\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Wrenched}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Wrenching}.] [OE. wrenchen, AS. wrencan to deceive,
properly, to twist, from wrenc guile, deceit, a twisting.
????. See {Wrench}, n.]
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1. To pull with a twist; to wrest, twist, or force by
violence.
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Wrench his sword from him. --Shak.
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Forthwith this frame of mine was wrenched
With a woeful agony. --Coleridge.
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2. To strain; to sprain; hence, to distort; to pervert.
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You wrenched your foot against a stone. --Swift.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
wrench
n 1: a sharp strain on muscles or ligaments; "the wrench to his
knee occurred as he fell"; "he was sidelined with a
hamstring pull" [syn: {wrench}, {twist}, {pull}]
2: a jerky pulling movement [syn: {twist}, {wrench}]
3: a hand tool that is used to hold or twist a nut or bolt [syn:
{wrench}, {spanner}]
v 1: twist or pull violently or suddenly, especially so as to
remove (something) from that to which it is attached or
from where it originates; "wrench a window off its hinges";
"wrench oneself free from somebody's grip"; "a deep sigh
was wrenched from his chest" [syn: {wrench}, {twist}]
2: make a sudden twisting motion
3: twist and compress, as if in pain or anguish; "Wring one's
hand" [syn: {wring}, {wrench}]
4: twist suddenly so as to sprain; "wrench one's ankle"; "The
wrestler twisted his shoulder"; "the hikers sprained their
ankles when they fell"; "I turned my ankle and couldn't walk
for several days" [syn: {twist}, {sprain}, {wrench}, {turn},
{wrick}, {rick}]
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