writhe

Meanings

1. To twist, wring (something).
2. To contort (a part of the body).
3. To twist bodily; to contort one's self; to be distorted.
4. To extort.

1. A contortion.
2. The number of negative crossings subtracted from the number of positive crossings in a knot

Etymology

From Middle English writhen, from Old English wrīþan, from Proto-West Germanic *wrīþan, from Proto-Germanic *wrīþaną (“to weave, twist, turn”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyt- (“to twist, writhe”). Cognate with Middle Dutch writen (“to turn, twist”), dialectal German reiden (“to turn, twist, lace”), Danish vride (“to twist”), Swedish vrida (“to turn, twist, wind”), French rider (“to wrinkle, furrow, ruffle”, (< Germanic)). Compare also Lithuanian riēsti (“to unbend, wind, roll”).