wick [wickwicks] noun, verb BrE [wɪk] NAmE [wɪk] noun 1. the piece of string in the centre of a ↑candle which you light so that the ↑candle burns 2. the piece of material in an oil lamp which absorbs the oil and which you light so that the lamp burns
Word Origin: Old English wēoce, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch wiek and German Wieche ‘wick yarn’. Idiom: ↑get on somebody's wick
verb ~ sth (away) (of a material) to take small drops of liquid from an area and move them away •Wool socks wick away sweat. Verb forms:
Word Origin: Old English wēoce, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch wiek and German Wieche ‘wick yarn’.