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Wright, wring, wrong, wraith, wren, write, wrestle, (awry?), wrack, wrangle, wrath, wrap, wreak, wreath, wreck, wrench, wrest...I could go on (onelook.com lists 227 words beginning with "wr," but some of those are abbreviations, initialisms, or forms of others), but I'll stop. 🙂
Why are there so many words that begin with "wr" with that dastardly silent 'w'? I've looked up the etymologies of many of them, and although quite a few of them share a common language of origin, not all of them do.
So, Grant, Martha: What's up with all these 'wr' words?
In only one word I'm aware of, the W is pronounced. That word is "Wronskian", a function used to determine linear independence in systems of differential equations. It derives from the name of the Polish philosopher and mathematician who came up with it.
I suspect we're going to learn that the initial W in the other, more common words in your list was also pronounced at some time in the past.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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