word of the day :: wrest

wrest:

[rest]

–verb (used with object) 

1. to twist or turn; pull, jerk, or force by a violent twist.

2. to take away by force: to wrest a knife from a child.

3. to get by effort: to wrest a living from the soil.

4. to twist or turn from the proper course, application, use, meaning, or the like; wrench.

-noun

5. a wresting; twist or wrench.

6. a key or small wrench for tuning stringed musical instruments, as the harp or piano, by turning the pins to which the strings are fastened.

Origin:

bef. 1000; (v.) ME wresten, OE wrǣstan; c. ON reista; akin to wrist; (n.) ME: a wresting, deriv. of the v.

"There could be no honor in a sure success, but which might be wrested from a sure defeat."

 :: Ann Landers ::

* Definition from www.dictionary.com