Definitions for "Writhe"
Keywords:  wrest, wring, contort, distort, wriggle
To twist; to turn; now, usually, to twist or turn so as to distort; to wring.
To wrest; to distort; to pervert.
To extort; to wring; to wrest.
the number of times the DNA double helix crosses over itself; the number of superhelical turns that are present.
In knot theory, the writhe is a property of an oriented knot or link. More precisely, it is a property of a 2-dimensional representation of a knot or link. The writhe is the total number of positive crossings minus the total number of negative crossings.