irk
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English irken (“to tire, grow weary”), from Old Norse yrkja (“to work”), from Proto-Germanic *wurkijaną (“to work”), from Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- (“to work”). Cognate with Icelandic yrkja (“to compose”), Swedish yrka (“to urge, argue”), Old English wyrċan (“to work”). More at work.
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɜːk/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ɝk/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)k
Verb edit
irk (third-person singular simple present irks, present participle irking, simple past and past participle irked)
- (transitive) to irritate; annoy; bother
- It irks me doing all this work and have someone wreck it.
- 1905, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], The Gods of Pegāna, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews, […], →OCLC:
- Let no man pray to Māna-Yood-Sushāī, for who shall trouble Māna with mortal woes or irk him with the sorrows of all the houses of Earth?
Synonyms edit
- See also Thesaurus:annoy
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
to irritate; annoy; bother
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Anagrams edit
Manx edit
Noun edit
irk