Wound
Pronunciation
- RP enPR: woÍžond, IPA: /wuËnd/
- Rhymes: -uËnd
Origin 1
Noun from Old English wund, from Proto-Germanic *wundÅ. Verb from Old English wundian, from Proto-Germanic *wundÅnÄ…. Indo-European cognates include Albanian unë ("piece of a broken pot, splinter").
Full definition of wound
Noun
wound
(plural wounds)- An injury, such as a cut, stab, or tear, to a (usually external) part of the body.
- 2013, Phil McNulty, "http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23830980", BBC Sport, 1 September 2013:The visitors were without Wayne Rooney after he suffered a head wound in training, which also keeps him out of England's World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine.
- ShakespeareShowers of blood
Rained from the wounds of slaughtered Englishmen. - 1883: Robert Louis Stevenson, I went below, and did what I could for my wound; it pained me a good deal, and still bled freely; but it was neither deep nor dangerous, nor did it greatly gall me when I used my arm.
- (figuratively) A hurt to a person's feelings, reputation, etc.It took a long time to get over the wound of that insult.
- (criminal legal) An injury to a person by which the skin is divided or its continuity broken.
Derived terms
Verb
- (transitive) To hurt or injure (someone) by cutting, piercing, or tearing the skin.The police officer wounded the suspect during the fight that ensued.
- (transitive) To hurt (a person's feelings).The actor's pride was wounded when the leading role went to his rival.
Pronunciation
- RP IPA: /waÊŠnd/
- US IPA: /wæʊnd/
- Rhymes: -aÊŠnd
Origin 2
See wind (Etymology 2)
Verb
woundwound
(past of wind)- 1905, w, w:The Case of Miss Elliott Chapter 1, “… Captain Markam had been found lying half-insensible, gagged and bound, on the floor of the sitting-room, his hands and feet tightly pinioned, and a woollen comforter wound closely round his mouth and neck ; whilst Mrs. Markham's jewel-case, containing valuable jewellery and the secret plans of Port Arthur, had disappeared. …â€