wicked

Etymology 1

From Middle English wicked, wikked, an alteration of Middle English wicke, wikke (“morally perverse, evil, wicked”). Of uncertain origin. Possibly from an adjectival use of Old English wiċċa (“wizard, sorcerer”), from Proto-West Germanic *wikkō, from Proto-Germanic *wikkô (“necromancer, sorcerer”), though the phonology makes this theory difficult to explain. Alternatively, perhaps related to English wicker, Old Norse víkja (“to bend to, yield, turn, move”), Swedish vika (“to bend, fold, give way to”), English weak.

adj

1. Evil or mischievous by nature.
   Genuine cowards follow wicked people and cannot reliably sustain any virtue.
   ‘[…] I remember a lady coming to inspect St. Mary's Home where I was brought up and seeing us all in our lovely Elizabethan uniforms we were so proud of, and bursting into tears all over us because “it was wicked to dress us like charity children”. […]’. 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess
   What a wicked game to play, to make me feel this way / What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you / What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way 1989, Chris Isaak (lyrics and music), “Wicked Game”, in Heart Shaped World
2. (slang) Excellent; awesome; masterful.
   That was a wicked guitar solo, bro!
3. Harsh; severe.
   wicked wind

adv

1. (slang, New England, Britain) Very, extremely.
   (both Californian/regional, and both potentially considered mildly vulgar)
   The band we went to see the other night was wicked loud!

Etymology 2

See wick.

verb

1. simple past and past participle of wick

adj

1. Having a wick.
   a two-wicked lamp
   Up went Moggy, with her thick-wicked kitchen candle, to seek repose; […] 1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard

Etymology 3

See wick.

adj

1. (UK, dialect, obsolete) Active; brisk.
2. (Britain, dialect, chiefly Yorkshire) Infested with maggots.
3. Alternative form of wick, as applying to inanimate objects only.