The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Wrest \Wrest\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wrested; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Wresting.] [OE. wresten, AS. wr?stan; akin to wr?? a
   twisted band, and wr[imac]?n to twist. See Writhe.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. To turn; to twist; esp., to twist or extort by violence;
      to pull of force away by, or as if by, violent wringing or
      twisting. "The secret wrested from me." --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

            Our country's cause,
            That drew our swords, now secret wrests them from
            our hand.                             --Addison.
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            They instantly wrested the government out of the
            hands of Hastings.                    --Macaulay.
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   2. To turn from truth; to twist from its natural or proper
      use or meaning by violence; to pervert; to distort.
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            Wrest once the law to your authority. --Shak.
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            Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor. --Ex.
                                                  xxiii. 6.
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            Their arts of wresting, corrupting, and false
            interpreting the holy text.           --South.
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   3. To tune with a wrest, or key. [Obs.]
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Wrest \Wrest\, n.
   1. The act of wresting; a wrench; a violent twist; hence,
      distortion; perversion. --Hooker.
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   2. Active or moving power. [Obs.] --Spenser.
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   3. A key to tune a stringed instrument of music.
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            The minstrel . . . wore round his neck a silver
            chain, by which hung the wrest, or key, with which
            he tuned his harp.                    --Sir W.
                                                  Scott.
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   4. A partition in a water wheel, by which the form of the
      buckets is determined.
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   Wrest pin (Piano Manuf.), one of the pins around which the
      ends of the wires are wound in a piano. --Knight.

   Wrest plank (Piano Manuf.), the part in which the wrest
      pins are inserted.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

wrest
    v 1: obtain by seizing forcibly or violently, also
         metaphorically; "wrest the knife from his hands"; "wrest a
         meaning from the old text"; "wrest power from the old
         government"