WICK

I. noun Etymology: Middle English weke, ~e, from Old English wēoce; akin to Old High German wiohha ~, Middle Irish figid he weaves Date: before 12th century a bundle of fibers or a loosely twisted, braided, or woven cord, tape, or tube usually of soft spun cotton threads that by capillary attraction draws up to be burned a steady supply of the oil in lamps or the melted tallow or wax in candles, II. transitive verb Date: 1949 to absorb or drain (as a fluid or moisture) like a ~