First attested 1513, in a translation of the Aeneid.{{cite-book
|title=Eneados
|year=1513
|book=10
|translator=Gawin Douglas
|chapter=X
|section=lines 81–82
|passage_block=Nor ȝit na vayn wrathys nor gaiſtis quent / Thi char conſtrenyt bakwart forto went
{{cite-book
|title=Eneados
|year=1513
|book=10
|translator=Gawin Douglas
|chapter=XI
|section=lines 95–96
|passage_block=Syklyke as that, thai ſay, in diuers placis / The wraithis walkis of goiſtis that ar ded
{{cite-book
|title=Eneados
|year=1513
|book=10
|translator=Gawin Douglas
|chapter=XI
|section=lines 129–130
|passage_block=Thydder went this wrath or ſchaddo of Ene, / That ſemyt, all abaſyt, faſt to fle
The word has Unknown. J. R. R. Tolkien favored a link with writhe. Also compared are Scots warth and Old Norse vǫrðr ("watcher, guardian"), whence Icelandic vörður ("guard"). See also wray/bewray, from Middle English wreien. Perhaps from wrath as a wraith is a vengeful spirit.
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