W/Racked with guilt?

[modernwizard]

If I'm wracked with an emotion, should I be RACKED or WRACKED? If I use "rack," I conjure up the pleasant image of someone's tendons being unscrewed on a Procrustean bed. If I use "wrack," it connotes "wreck" and "wreak," a verb that absolutely must be conjoined with "havoc." [Seriously, what else do you wreak besides havoc? Destruction, maybe, but that's about it.] Both spellings are acceptable and absolutely synonymous, so the choice comes down to a predilection for connotations. I use "wrack" because, when someone is wracked with pain, sobs, a coughing fit, etc., he/she is usually incapacitated, hunched over, deflated and otherwise wrecked. I like the wreckage, not the rackage.

Boy, that silent W in "wracked" looks stupid. I guess I shouldn't look at words like "write," "wriggle," "wrap," "wraith," "wreath," "wrath," etc. They all look RONG! :p

Comments

[damsel-ophelia.livejournal.com]

I'm not going to talk about my unfailing attraction to rackage ;-)

The W looks dumb, but when I think of "racked" I tend to think of "shelved".

[abbagirl.livejournal.com]

I think I usually use/see "racked"...hmm.

[melopoeia.livejournal.com]

THE STORM'S WRACK MAY RACK THE BUDGET

To wrack is to severely or completely destroy, a storm-wracked ship. Wrack is also a noun denoting wreckage, the storm's wrack. To rack is to stretch beyond capacity, as in to rack one's brains. (The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition 2003)

[blogofstench.livejournal.com]

It's the little things, apparently, that bring my commenters out of the woodwork. Who knew this was such a nerve-wracking issue?

I stand by my assertion that "wrack" and "rack" are synonymous in this case. Every dictionary I've ever checked says so, and that's how people use them.

Off to wreak havoc on my hacked, whipped, wrapped, wrecked, whacked, wet rack. Wow, k and p sounds are great for violent words.

What have I wrought?!