Wrestle Keeps a W Nobody Pronounces
To wrestle is to grapple, in sport or with a problem. Its silent w is a fossil of Old English that survived the spelling.
To wrestle is to grapple with an opponent, or figuratively with a difficulty. The silent *w* is a genuine fossil: in Old English the *wr-* was pronounced, and the sound survived into the early modern period before quietly collapsing. The spelling never caught up, which is why write, wrong, wrist and wrestle all keep a letter nobody says.
- To grapple physically. *They wrestled to the ground.*
- To struggle with something difficult. *Wrestling with the decision.*
- The sport. *Olympic wrestling.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | wrestle | Wrestle it open. |
| Past | wrestled | He wrestled with it. |
| Noun | wrestling | Freestyle wrestling. |
| Person | wrestler | A former wrestler. |
| Related | grapple | Grapple with the issue. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Wrestling is one of the oldest Olympic sports.It was in the ancient games.
- She wrestled with the budget for weeks.Figurative.
- He wrestled the door open.Physical effort against resistance.
The silent wr- family
- write — once pronounced with the w
- wrong — same history
- wrist — from a root meaning to twist
- wring — to twist forcibly
- wrap, wreck, wren, wrath — the same silent letter
From Old English *wræstlian*, a frequentative of *wræstan*, to wrest or twist. Many *wr-* words share a sense of twisting.
Why is the w silent?
It was pronounced in Old and Middle English. The consonant cluster simplified in speech around the seventeenth century, but the spelling stayed.
Do wr- words share a meaning?
Many do. Wrist, wring, wrench, wreath and wrestle all involve twisting.