Friends, I could read and read the history and etymology of “Work” in the OED for days. It’s intricate, rich, adventurous, and Very Early Old English. If you’re looking for delicious holiday break reading, I strongly suggest reading the entry for “work” in the OED. The participle “Wrought” is concordanced elsewhere as well, because in those halcyon days I thought I would get to the end of the uncommon words and be finished with the project. Ha!

• 1.075 They shaped and wrought, and light they caught
• 1.123 Indeed they hardly know a good bit of work from a bad,
• 2.049 warming to his new work as he lifted it carefully out,
• 3.033 or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing,
• 4.021 Work, work! Nor dare to shirk,
• 4.021 Work, work! Nor dare to shirk,
• 4.025 and slaves that have to work till they die
• 4.025 and also not working with their own hands more than they could help;
• 5.076 working
• 6.014 but everyone said it was a very clever bit of work.
• 6.028 and worked up the best magic he could
• 6.061 especially to get food or slaves to work for them.
• 7.023 They work for him
• 8.111 the other dwarves were working at the rest of the captives,
• 8.133 His people neither mined nor worked metals or jewels,
• 9.023 I shall be hard at work tonight
• 9.047 Get on with the work!’
• 11.014 and upright as masons’ work,
• 11.019 Mining work,
• 12.013 gold wrought
• 12.035 that is warrior’s work,
• 12.063 and your job is to do all the dangerous work
• 12.096 for it was wrought of pure silver
• 13.037 wrought for some young elf-prince long ago.
• 13.048 still showing the fragments of old carven work within,
• 14.036 There is work to do.
• 15.026 and at such work the dwarves were still very skilled.
• 15.027 As they worked
• 15.027 So while the others went on with their work,
• 18.033 wrought and unwrought,