Wicked!

Question

The Lincolnshire Lay Subsidy of 1334 includes one Everard le Wikked living in Stamford (Bredecroft).

Cool name, huh? My dictionaries suggest that "wicked" is Middle English perhaps from OE Inca, a wizard. But I wonder what nuances the word carried in the C14th. Anyone got an OED handy?
Phil C.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]The Lincolnshire Lay Subsidy of 1334 includes one Everard le Wikked living in Stamford (Bredecroft). Cool name, huh? My ... OE Inca, a wizard. But I wonder what nuances the word carried in the C14th. Anyone got an OED handy?[/nq]
"Inca" should be "Wicca". ****** spellchecker. (Or perhaps St Brendan came back and brought an Inca with him?)

Phil C.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]The Lincolnshire Lay Subsidy of 1334 includes one Everard le Wikked living in Stamford (Bredecroft). Cool name, huh? My ... OE Inca, a wizard. But I wonder what nuances the word carried in the C14th. Anyone got an OED handy?[/nq]
You mean an Olde English Dictionary?

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]The Lincolnshire Lay Subsidy of 1334 includes one Everard le Wikked living in Stamford (Bredecroft). Cool name, huh? My ... OE Inca, a wizard. But I wonder what nuances the word carried in the C14th. Anyone got an OED handy?[/nq]
Here's some of the OED entry - can't see anything about wizards, though. Everard may just have been a bad lot.

1. Bad in moral character, disposition, or conduct; inclined oraddicted to wilful wrong-doing; practising or disposed to practise evil; morally depraved. (A term of wide application, but always of strong reprobation, implying a high degree of evil quality.) a. of a person (or a community of persons).
the Wicked One, the Devil, Satan.
c1275 LAY. 14983 Hercne ou {ygh}eo tock an, {th}es wickede (earlier text swicfulle) wifman. 1340 Ayenb. 1 Ich bidde {th}e hit by my sseld auoreye {th}e wycked uend. 13.. Cursor M. 170 (Gött.) Iesu wan he longe hade fast Was temped wid {th}e wicked (v.r. wikket) gast. c1375 Sc. Leg. Saints x. (Mathou) 73 Mare reuerens Is gewine..To vekyt men fore dred..{Th}ane to gudmen for luf. c1380 WYCLIF Wks. (1880) 76 Of siche vikede men sei{th} *** bi his prophete (etc.). c1380 Sir Ferumb. 2187 In al he{th}enis ys no Sarsyn wikkeder {th}an is he. a1400-50 Wars Alex.2425 {Ygh}e at wickid ere within ay wickidly {ygh}e thinke. c1450 Mirk'sFestial 222 All wekyd spyrytys schall for ferd fle away from {th}e. 1456 SIR G. HAYE Law Arms (S.T.S.) 32 Wikkit tyrane Emperouris. 1508 DUNBAR Tua Mariit Wemen 214 My weckit kyn, that me away cast. 1533 GAU Richt Vay (S.T.S.) 60 Thow vikkit seruand I forgaiff ye al thy det. 1535 COVERDALE Gen. xiii. 13 Ye men of Sodome were wicked, and synned exceadingly agaynst the Lorde. 1562 WIN{ygh} ET Cert.

Tractatis Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 5 Wes not the sacramentis..prophanit be ignorantis and wikit persones? 1567 Satir. Poems Reform. iv. 109 O wickit wemen, vennomus of nature! 1582 N. T. (Rhem.) Matt. xiii. 19 There cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sowen in his hart. Ibid. 1 John ii. 13 You haue ouercome the wicked one. 1610 SHAKES. Temp. V. i. 130 You (most wicked Sir) whom to call brother Would euen infect my mouth. 1670 MILTON Hist.

Eng. III. Wks. 1851 V. 130 Looking on the poor Christian with..Contempt; but fawning on the wickedest rich men. 1696 WHISTON The. Earth III. iv. 207 This Deluge..was a signal Instance of the Divine Vengeance on a Wicked World. 1727 DE FOE Syst. Magic I. ii. 58 'Tis very strange Men should be so fond of being thought wickeder than they are.
1732 BERKELEY Alciphr. v. §7 Vice increases, and men grow daily more andmore wicked. 1818 SCOTT Hrt. Midl. xv, ?Then you are the wicked cause of my sister's ruin?? said Jeanie, with a natural touch of indignation.
1820 COLERIDGE in Lit. Rem. (1838) III. 399 Bunyan was never, in ourreceived sense of the word, wicked. He was chaste, sober, honest; but he was a bitter blackguard..and was fond of a row. 1873 LELAND Egypt. Sketch-Bk. 155 However wicked a man may be, he is sure to find a wickeder.

b. of action, speech, thought, or other personal attribute; also transf. of a thing connected in some way with such action, etc.

a1300 Cursor M. 1227 {Th}ai him warryd wit wickud dedis. Ibid. 12991 Na langer Mai i nu {th}i wicked wordes ber. 13.. Northern Passion (A) 506 (Satan) wyl the dryfe in wekyd {th}oughte. 1362 LANGL. P. Pl. A. v. 217 {Th}enne was he a-schomed,..And gon..gret deol to make For his wikkede lyf {th}at he I-liued hedde. c1375 Sc. Leg. Saints i. (Petrus) 474 Throw his wekit sorcery. Ibid. viii. (Philepus) 66 Wikit heresy. c1380 WYCLIF Wks. (1880) 37 Wickid lawis & wrong execucions of hem. c1400 Rom. Rose
7424 They to Wicked Tonge comen That at his gate was syttyng. 1535COVERDALE Ezek. viii. 9 What wicked abhominacions that they do. 1539 Bible (Great) 2 Chron. vii. 14 Yf they..do humble them selues..and turne from their wycked wayes. 1567 Satir. Poems Reform. iii. 176 Doggis could hir wickit bainis gnaw. 1602 SHAKES. Ham. III. iii. 59 Offences gilded hand may shoue by Iustice, And oft 'tis seene, the wicked prize it selfe Buyes out the Law. 1667 MILTON P.L. v. 890 Yet not for thy advise or threats I fly These wicked Tents devoted. 1727 DE FOE Syst. Magic I. ii.
48 All the wicked things, which have..given a black Character to thevery Name of a Magician; for under the shelter of Religion, the worst and most Diabolical things were practis'd. 1848 THACKERAY Van. Fair viii, ?Yes, hang it? (said Sir Pitt, only, he used, dear, a much wickeder word). 1878 H. STEVENS Bibles Caxton Exhib. 114 In 1855 Mr. Henry Stevens exhibited..a..copy of this long-lost..Bible (of 1631), and..nick-named it ?The Wicked Bible,? from the fact that the negative had been left out of the Seventh Commandment by a typographical error.
1905 R. BAGOT Passport iii. 23 The mysterious old professor..who wrotewicked books.
c. Designating a stock evil character in a fairy-tale, as Wicked Fairy, Stepmother, Uncle, etc. Freq. transf.
1897 KIPLING Stalky (1899) 39 He owned a soft, slow smile which wellsuited the part of the Wicked Uncle. 1906 Sleeping Beauty (?Tales for Little People? ed.) 8/2 ?That looks like the wicked fairy, I'm sure,? said his majesty to himself. 1946 A. HUXLEY Let. 26 May (1969) 544 That blessing and curse of cleverness, with which the Fairy Godmother, who is also the Wicked Fairy, endowed me. 1978 M. BABSON Tightrope for Three xv. 78 He could not see Lillian in the classic ?wicked stepmother? situation. 1982 ?J. MELVILLE? Painted Castle i. 21 If you left Tad out of consideration, uncomfortable things were apt to happen. He had a touch of the Wicked Fairy about him.
2. Bad, in various senses (not always clearly distinguishable).Frequent in ME. use; later chiefly dial., or in colloq. use as a conscious metaphor (now often jocular) from sense 1, and implying ?very or excessively bad?, ?horrid?, ?beastly?. a. In reference to character or action: Cruel, severe, fierce. Of animals: Savage, vicious.
13.. Cursor M. 5571 (Gött.) Quat he was wicked and wode Again {th}atfolk sua mild of mode! 1375 Creation 980 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878)
136 Who so were..venympd wi{th} eny wikked beste. ?a1400 Morte Arth.
3232 Woluez, and whilde swynne, and wykkyde bestez. 1513 DOUGLAS ÆneisI. x. 23 Quhat wise thi brothir Eneas..Is blawin and warpit euery coist abowt, Of wickit Juno throw the cruell invy (L. odiis Iunonis acerbæ).
1607 TOPSELL Four-f. Beasts 308 As they (sc. horses) are wilde andfierce, so are they wicked and harmefull. 1725 RAMSAY Gentle Sheph. I. ii, If canker'd Madge, our aunt, Come up the burn, she'll gie 's a wicked rant. 1819 W. TENNANT Papistry Storm'd (1827) 7 Sae wud and wicket was their wraith (= wrath) Gainst Papish trash and idol-graith.
1829 HOGG Sheph. Cal. i. 8 It's hard to gar a wicked cout leave offflinging. 1895 MILLAIS Breath from Veldt (1899) 228 The Cape buffalo..has ample power to carry out his evil intentions when he means to be wicked.
b. Actually or potentially harmful, destructive, disastrous, or pernicious; baleful; when applied to air, odour, taste, etc. passing into: Offensive, foul.
1340 Ayenb. 124 Aye {th}e wykkede hetes..aye {th}e wyckede cheles..aye{th}e wyckede raynes. 1375 BARBOUR Bruce v. 12 To vyn the heling of thar hevede, That vikkit vyntir had thame revede. 1379 Glouc. Cath. MS. 19 No. I. I. iii. lf. 6b, Wicked ayr or grevaunce, or cold takyng. c1386 CHAUCER Monk's T. 626 Thurgh his body wikked wormes crepte. c1391 {emem} Astrol. II. §4 A fortunat assendent clepen they whan {th}at no wykkid planete, as saturne or Mars,..is in {th}e hows of the assendent.

1398 TREVISA Barth. De P.R. IV. xi. (1495) fvb/2 Flyes shunne & voyde the wycked & horryble sauour therof. c1400 MANDEVILLE XV. (xi). (1919) 83 The perilous watres & wykkede mareys. c1400 Song Roland 857 The wekid wedur lastid full long. c1400 Rom. Rose 6511 If that wikkid deth hym haue I wole go with hym to his graue. c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 5638 A wicked strok he him hit. c1440 Alphabet of Tales 59 When {th}e wykkid fyre was in howsis nere-hand hur.

c1460 Play Sacram. 267 in Non-Cycle Myst. Plays
65 Alle wykkyd metys yt wylle degest. c1480 HENRYSON Test. Cress. 412Fell is thy Fortoun, wickit is thy weird. 1578 LYTE Dodoens II. ***.
270 Fenell.. is good agaynst..the bitings of..wicked & venimous beastes.
1590 SPENSER F.Q. III. xi. 24 Faire Amoret must dwell in wicked chaines.
1600 BRETON Pasquil's Foole's Cappe Wks. (Grosart) I. 26/1 Who loues tofeede vpon a Sallet dish, Among his Herbes some wicked weede may haue.
1610 SHAKES. Temp. I. ii. 321 As wicked dewe, as ere my mother brush'dWith Rauens feather from vnwholesome Fen, Drop on you both. a1627 MIDDLETON, etc. Widow IV. i, What's good, Sir, for a wicked tooth? 1639 J. TAYLOR (Water P.) Part Summers Trav. 41 It is too well known what a wicked number of followers he hath had. 1697 DRYDEN Virg. Georg. I. 103 Lest wicked Weeds the Corn shou'd over-run. 1725 MANDEVILLE Fab. Bees (ed. 4) I. 268 There comes a wicked Cold through that Door,..pray shut it. 1894 G. A. SMITH Hist. Geog. Holy Land 69 Tents may be carried away by wicked gusts. 1894 Times 27 Oct. 7/2 The ?Milo? was not a particularly ?wicked? engine with regard to giving off sparks. 1895 MILLAIS Breath from Veldt (1899) 133 It was a wicked country for fever.
1903 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 25 Apr. 967 A proprietary..form of chloride ofethyl and inferior to it on account of its wicked smell.

{dag}c. Of wounds, disease: Severe; malignant.
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 221 {Th}o he was in dispeir of hir lijf, I was sent after & foond hir in wickide staat. Ibid. 338 To make a wickid enpostym maturatif. 14.. Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903) 245 A wycked wound hath me walled. 1576 BAKER Gesner's Jewell of Health 102b, A water agaynst long continuing ulcers, yea how peryllous or wycked so euer they bee.
d. Of bad quality; poor, vile, ?sorry?; occas. perverted, abnormal; {dag}in early use sometimes merely negative = un-, dis-.
13.. Spec. S. Edm. in Hampole's Wks. (1895) I. 225 {Th}are~of commestresones,..wykked reste (L. inquietudo), Malice and hardnes of herte.
1375 BARBOUR Bruce IX. 75 Ane of thame sall be vorth thre Of thame thatvikkid chiftane has. c1384 CHAUCER H. Fame III. 530 Ye shal haue..wikkyd loos and wors name. (Cf. quot. a1340 s.v. WICK a. 2b.) a1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. 68 A Rial {th}ing expert, {th}at..amende{th} {th}e errour als wele of {th}e first digestion as of {th}e seconde, and do{th} away wicked colour & vnnatural. c1440 Jacob's Well 78 Of good sede he repyth wycked corn.

1663 Lauderdale Papers (Camden) I. 145 It will be hard to billet me forthis wicked inke, for this place affords no better for fine paper. (Cf. ante p. 136 If you write not upon better paper and with better pens, wee will have yow billetted again.) a1704 T. BROWN Dial. Dead, Reas. Oaths Wks. 1711 IV. 76 Retailer of wicked Bottle Ale and Brandy. 1764 H. WALPOLE Let. to G. Montagu 16 July, They talk wicked French.

{dag}e. Difficult or dangerous; esp. of roads, passing into: In bad condition, out of repair (cf. d).
c1350 Will. Palerne 3507 Ouer mires & muntaynes & o{th}er wicked wei{ygh}es. 1377 LANGL. P. Pl. B. VII. 27 {Th}ey shulde..amende mesondieux {th}ere-myde and myseyse folke helpe, And wikked wayes wi{ygh}tlich hem amende. c1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode I. xci. (1869) 50 Bi ful wikkede pases {th}ou shalt go, and wikkede herberwes {th}ou shalt fynde. 1513 DOUGLAS Æneis V. iv. 86 Ontill a wickit place his schip did steir. Ibid. XII. xi. 160 Lyke till a wykkit hill of huge wecht (L. mons improbus). 1533 BELLENDEN Livy IV. xviii. (S.T.S.) II. 115 {Th}e battell was fochtin in ane wikkit place (L. loco iniquo). Ibid. V. ***. 222 Quhare ony strait or wikkit passage was. 1600 HAKLUYT Voy. III. 375 It is most wicked way,..because they are inaccessible mountaines.

{dag}f. Difficult to do something with. Obs.
a1352 MINOT Poems (ed. Hall) xi. 8 {Th}at woning was wikked for to win. c1400 Brut I. 55 {Th}at lande was strong and wikkede to wynne. c1440 Pallad. on Husb. II. 155 This lond is ful wikked to be wrought, To hard in hete and ouer softe in wete.
3. a. In weakened or lighter sense (from 1), usually more or lessjocular: Malicious; mischievous, sly.

1600 SHAKES. A.Y.L. IV. i. 216 That same wicked of Venus,..thatblinde rascally boy. 1750 GRAY Long Story 44 A wicked Imp they call a Poet. 1781 JOHNSON 1 Apr. in Boswell, She (sc. Mrs. Thrale) is the first woman in the world, could she but restrain that wicked tongue of hers.
1809 MALKIN Gil Blas X. x. (Rtldg.) 369 Rubicund in the jowl,efflorescent on the nose, with a wicked eye at a bumper or a girl. 1829 LYTTON Devereux IV. v, You are the wickedest witty person I know. 1857 B. TAYLOR Northern Trav. ***. (1858) 312 He had..wicked black eyes, and a mouth which laughed even when his face was at rest. 1868 L. M. ALCOTT Little Women v, ?You are not afraid of anything, you know,? returned the boy, looking wicked.
b. Excellent, splendid; remarkable. slang (orig. U.S.).
1920 F. SCOTT FITZGERALD This Side of Paradise I. iii. 119 ?Tell 'em toplay ?Admiration?!? shouted Sloane... ?Phoebe and I are going to shake a wicked calf.? 1977 Western Mail (Cardiff) 5 Mar. 8/2 He could, as I say, sidestep off either foot, but what sped him on was a wicked acceleration over 20 yards.

Laura
(emulate St. George for email)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]The Lincolnshire Lay Subsidy of 1334 includes one Everard le ... word carried in the C14th. Anyone got an OED handy?[/nq]
[nq:1]Here's some of the OED entry - can't see anything about wizards, though. Everard may just have been a bad lot.[/nq]
You've just given the different meanings and illustrative quotations - what about the etymology?

John Briggs

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]The Lincolnshire Lay Subsidy of 1334 includes one Everard le ... word carried in the C14th. Anyone got an OED handy?[/nq]
[nq:1]Here's some of the OED entry - can't see anything about wizards, though. Everard may just have been a bad lot.[/nq]
Thanks for looking. The meaning doesn't seem to have changed much until modern slang use. It must have been a burdensome name to carry when he was up to no good. I notice that Stamford (main entry) has also got an Andrew Godefelaugh. No prizes for guessing which of the two was better off.
I can remember following a "historical" story in a comic ("Lion" or "Eagle" or something) which featured Sir Giles Fairchild and Sir Percy Foulfellow. Now I wonder which one was the villain...
Phil C.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Here's some of the OED entry - can't see anything about wizards, though. Everard may just have been a bad lot.[/nq]
[nq:1]You've just given the different meanings and illustrative quotations - what about the etymology?[/nq]
Sorry, it got left out - still no wizards, though:

(ME. (13th cent.) wicked, wikked, app. f. WICK a., as wretched from wrecche WRETCH. The later wiked appears to be merely a graphic variant; forms with the lowered stem-vowel are of both types, wekked, weked.)

Laura
(emulate St. George for email)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]You've just given the different meanings and illustrative quotations - what about the etymology?[/nq]
[nq:1]Sorry, it got left out - still no wizards, though: (ME. (13th cent.) wicked, wikked, app. f. WICK a., as wretched from wrecche WRETCH. The later wiked appears to be merely a graphic variant; forms with the lowered stem-vowel are of both types, wekked, weked.)[/nq]
OK - what does it say for WICK?

John Briggs

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]You've just given the different meanings and illustrative quotations - what about the etymology?[/nq]
[nq:1]Sorry, it got left out - still no wizards, though: (ME. (13th cent.) wicked, wikked, app. f. WICK a., as wretched from wrecche WRETCH. The later wiked appears to be merely a graphic variant; forms with the lowered stem-vowel are of both types, wekked, weked.)[/nq]
There is of course, 'wicca (very fashionable these days) and 'witch'. The relation between these I could not say but I suspect the 'wicca' and 'wicked' must have something to do with each other.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]OK - what does it say for WICK?[/nq]
Grey town in Scotland to be visited only in an absolute emergency. ;-)

Wicked!

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions