Meaning

noun any piece of cord that conveys liquid by capillary action

noun a loosely woven cord (in a candle or oil lamp) that draws fuel by capillary action up into the flame

originFrom Middle English wik, wike, wich, wicke (“dwelling, home; building or land, probably enclosed, in which work is done; area, region, territory; city, town; hamlet, village”), from Old English wīc (“dwelling place, abode, lodging; temporary dwelling place, camp; place where a thing remains; town, village”), and then probably: * from Latin vīcus (“row of houses; street; quarter, neighbourhood;…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0