wound1

[woond; Older Use and Literary wound] /wund; Older Use and Literary waʊnd/
noun
1.
an injury, usually involving division of tissue or rupture of the integument or mucous membrane, due to external violence or some mechanical agency rather than disease.
2.
a similar injury to the tissue of a plant.
3.
an injury or hurt to feelings, sensibilities, reputation, etc.
verb (used with object)
4.
to inflict a wound upon; injure; hurt.
verb (used without object)
5.
to inflict a wound.
Idioms
6.
lick one's wounds, to attempt to heal one's injuries or soothe one's hurt feelings after a defeat.
Origin
before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English wund; cognate with Old High German wunta (German Wunde), Old Norse und, Gothic wunds; (v.) Middle English wounden, Old English wundian, derivative of the noun
Related forms
woundedly, adverb
woundingly, adverb
Synonyms
1. cut, stab, laceration, lesion, trauma. See injury. 3. insult, pain, anguish. 4. harm, damage; cut, stab, lacerate.
British Dictionary definitions for lick one's wounds

wound1

/wuːnd/
noun
1.
any break in the skin or an organ or part as the result of violence or a surgical incision
2.
an injury to plant tissue
3.
any injury or slight to the feelings or reputation
verb
4.
to inflict a wound or wounds upon (someone or something)
Derived Forms
woundable, adjective
wounder, noun
wounding, adjective
woundingly, adverb
woundless, adjective
Word Origin
Old English wund; related to Old Frisian wunde, Old High German wunta (German Wunde), Old Norse und, Gothic wunds

wound2

/waʊnd/
verb
1.
the past tense and past participle of wind2
Word Origin and History for lick one's wounds

wound

n.

Old English wund "hurt, injury," from Proto-Germanic *wundaz (cf. Old Saxon wunda, Old Norse und, Old Frisian wunde, Old High German wunta, German wunde "wound"), perhaps from PIE root *wen- "to beat, wound."

v.

Old English wundian, from the source of wound (n.). Cognate with Old Frisian wundia, Middle Dutch and Dutch wonden, Old High German wunton, German verwunden, Gothic gawundon. Figurative use from c.1200. Related: Wounded; wounding.

lick one's wounds in Medicine

wound (wōōnd)
n.

  1. Injury to a part or tissue of the body, especially one caused by physical trauma and characterized by tearing, cutting, piercing, or breaking of the tissue.

  2. An incision.

wound v.
Slang definitions & phrases for lick one's wounds

lick one's wounds

verb phrase

To attempt to heal one's injuries or hurt feelings


wound

adjective phrase

Tense; anxious; on edge: She was a tall, angular woman, tightly wound, with a Nefertiti profile and hands made for scratching (1788+)


Idioms and Phrases with lick one's wounds

lick one's wounds

Recuperate from injuries or hurt feelings. For example, They were badly beaten in the debate and went home sadly to lick their wounds. This expression alludes to an animal's behavior when wounded. It was originally put as lick oneself clean or whole, dating from the mid-1500s.

wound

see: