wrong

pronunciation

How to pronounce wrong in British English: UK [rɒŋ] word uk audio image

How to pronounce wrong in American English: US [rɔːŋ] word us audio image

Noun:

that which is contrary to the principles of justice or law
a legal injury is any damage resulting from a violation of a legal right
Verb:

treat unjustly; do wrong to
Adjective:

not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
contrary to conscience or morality or law
not appropriate for a purpose or occasion
not functioning properly
not according with the facts
based on or acting or judging in error
not in accord with established usage or procedure
not conforming with accepted standards of propriety or taste; undesirable
used of the side of cloth or clothing intended to face inward
badly timed
Adverb:

in an incorrect manner

Word Origin

wrong: wrong: [OE] Etymologically, wrong probably means ‘twisted’. It was borrowed into late Old English from Old Norse *vrangr ‘awry’ (rangr is the recorded form), which was descended from prehistoric Germanic *wrangg- (source also of English wrangle [14]). A variant of the same base, *wrengg-, produced English wring [OE].=> wrangle, wring

wrong (adj.): late Old English, "twisted, crooked, wry," from Old Norse rangr, earlier *wrangr "crooked, wry, wrong," from Proto-Germanic *wrang- (cognates: Danish vrang "crooked, wrong," Middle Dutch wranc, Dutch wrang "sour, bitter," literally "that which distorts the mouth"), from PIE *wrengh-, variant of *wergh- "to turn" (see wring). Sense of "not right, bad, immoral, unjust" developed by c. 1300. Wrong thus is etymologically a negative of right (adj.1), which is 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. Compare French tort "wrong, injustice," from Latin tortus "twisted." As an adverb from c. 1200. Wrong-headed first recorded 1732. To get up on the wrong side (of the bed) "be in a bad mood" is recorded from 1801, according to OED, from its supposed influence on one's temper; it appears in Halliwell's "Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words" in 1846, but doesn't seem to have been used much generally before late 1870s. To be on the wrong side of a given age, "older than," is from 1660s. Wrong side of the road (that reservbed for oncoming traffic) is by 1838. To be from (or on) the wrong side of the tracks "from the poor part of town" is from 1921, American English.

wrong (n.): "that which is improper or unjust," late Old English, 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.

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