Meaning

noun a wrecked ship (or a part of one)

noun an irretrievable loss

noun an accident that destroys a ship at sea

originFrom Middle English shipwrak, from Old English sċipwræc (“jetsam”), equivalent to ship + wrack. Cognate with Scots schip-wrak (“to shipwreck”, verb), Dutch scheepswrak (“shipwreck”), German Schiffswrack (“shipwreck”), Swedish skeppsvrak (“shipwreck”), Danish skibsvrag (“shipwreck”). Modern form is due to influence from wreck.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0