Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - wick

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English weke, ~e, from Old English weoce; akin to Old High German wiohha ~, Middle Irish figid he weaves  Date: before 12th century a bundle of fibers or a loosely twisted, braided, or woven cord, tape, or tube usually of soft spun cotton threads that by capillary attraction draws up to be burned a steady supply of the oil in lamps or the melted tallow or wax in candles  II. transitive verb  Date: 1949 to absorb or drain (as a fluid or moisture) like a ~ a fabric that ~s away perspiration