From Middle English writhen, from Old English wrīþan, from Proto-West Germanic *wrīþan, from Proto-Germanic *wrīþaną ("to weave, twist, turn") (compare Old High German rīdan ("to wind, turn"), Old Norse vríða ("to weave, twist")), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyt- ("to twist, writhe"). Compare Lithuanian riēsti ("to unbend, wind, roll").
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