awry

The word 'awry' originates from a Middle English adverbial phrase, 'on wry' or 'a wry', meaning literally 'in a twisted or turned manner'. Its core component, 'wry', derives from the Old English verb 'wrīgian', meaning 'to turn, tend, or go', which is related to a Proto-Germanic root conveying the sense of turning or bending. Over time, the prepositional prefix fused with the adjective, and the literal sense of physical twisting evolved into the modern abstract meanings of deviation from correctness or expectation. Thus, something gone awry has figuratively 'turned' away from its proper course.

This is a simplex word. It is formed from the Middle English phrase 'on wry' or 'a wry', where 'a-' is a preposition meaning 'on, in, at' (from Old English) and 'wry' means 'twisted, turned, bent' (from Old English 'wrīgian', meaning to turn or tend).