wrak

Wrak is a noun used in Dutch and Polish to denote a wreck or wreckage—the remains of something that has been destroyed or is no longer functional. In Dutch, het wrak refers most often to the hull and remains of a sunken or destroyed vessel, such as a ship or airplane; the standard plural is wrakken. In Polish, wrak also means wreck, applicable to ships, aircraft, cars, and other damaged objects; the typical plural forms are wraki, with usage spanning everyday language and technical contexts like archaeology and salvage.

Etymology and cognates: The term is cognate with the German Wrack, and all share a Germanic origin. Similar words appear in several related languages, reflecting a common semantic field for destruction and remnants.

Contexts and usage: In maritime and underwater contexts, wrak denotes a wreck site or wreckage; it is common in shipwreck reports, salvage operations, and wreck diving communities. In everyday speech, wrak can take a metaphorical sense, describing something in a hopelessly damaged or dilapidated state, for example “een wrak van een auto” in Dutch or “wrak samochodu” in Polish.

See also: Wreck, Wrack, and related terms in Germanic languages. The concept encompasses physical remnants of transport vehicles as well as metaphorical damage, and is widely used in literature, law, archaeology, and tourism related to underwater and coastal environments.