shipwreck
Meaning
the destruction of a ship at sea by sinking or breaking up, for example in a storm or after hitting rocks.
to cause someone to suffer shipwreck; to be destroyed in a shipwreck.
Structure
Usage
the divers explored the ancient shipwreck on the ocean floor.
they were shipwrecked on a deserted island for months.
the scandal caused the shipwreck of his political career.
Etymology
the word 'shipwreck' is a transparent compound formed from two old germanic roots. 'ship' originates from proto-germanic skipą, referring to a watercraft, a concept vital to northern european cultures. 'wreck' entered english from old norse 'wrek', which denoted something cast ashore or driftwood, itself from a proto-germanic root meaning 'to drive'. the compound logically combines the object, the ship, with its disastrous fate—being driven ashore and broken into ruins. over time, the meaning expanded from the physical remains to encompass the catastrophic event itself and later, metaphorically, to any complete ruin or failure.
Analysis
ship (old english 'scip', meaning a large sea-going vessel); wreck (middle english 'wrek', from old norse 'wrek', meaning something driven ashore, flotsam, or destruction).