Old English

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Etymology

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From Proto-West Germanic *sinkwan, akin to Old Frisian sinka (West Frisian sinke), Old Saxon sinkan, Old High German sinkan (German sinken), Old Norse søkkva (Danish synke, Swedish sjunka, Icelandic sökkva, Faroese søkka), Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐌲𐌵𐌰𐌽 (sigqan).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈsin.kɑn/, [ˈsiŋ.kɑn]

Verb

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sincan

  1. to sink
    • late 10th century, Ælfric, Lives of Saints
      Æfter þisum ġebede, bærst ūt of heofonum swȳþe fǣrlīċ fȳr and forbernde þæt templ, and ealle þā godas grundlunga suncon intō þǣre eorþan, and ne ætēowdon siþþan.
      After this prayer, a very sudden fire burst out of the heavens and burned up the temple, and all the gods sunk completely into the earth, and have not appeared since.

Conjugation

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Middle English: synken
    • English: sink
    • Scots: sink
    • Yola: zunk (preterite)