ilk
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English ilke, from Old English ilca, conjectured as from Proto-Germanic *ilīkaz, a compound of *iz and *-līkaz from the noun *līką (“body”). Akin to Dutch lichaam, or lijk, body, dead body.
The sense of “type”, “kind” is from the application of the phrase ‘of that ilk’ to families: the word thus came to mean ‘family’.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
ilk (not comparable)
- (Scotland and Northern England) Very; same.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
- By semblaunt, was that ilke image
Usage notes edit
Used following a person’s name to show that he lives in a place of the same name, eg Johnstone of that ilk means Johnstone of Johnstone.
Noun edit
ilk (plural ilks)
- A type, race or category; a group of entities that have common characteristics such that they may be grouped together.
- 1905, Upton Sinclair, chapter XXV, in The Jungle, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 26 February 1906, →OCLC:
- "Hinkydink” or “Bathhouse John,” or others of that ilk, were proprietors of the most notorious dives in Chicago […]
- 1931, Ogden Nash, The Cow:
- The cow is of the bovine ilk;
One end is moo, the other, milk.
- 2016 February 23, Robbie Collin, “Grimsby review: ' Sacha Baron Cohen's vital, venomous action movie'”, in The Daily Telegraph (London):
- On the surface, the film is a globe-trotting gross-out caper in which Nobby, who's from a hellish version of the titular Lincolnshire town ("twinned with Chernobyl"), is reunited with his long-lost brother Sebastian (Mark Strong), who has become a spy for the British secret services. That makes him a servant of the powers-that-be that have no time for Nobby and his scrounging ilk.
Usage notes edit
- In modern use, ilk is used in phrases such as of his ilk, of that ilk, to mean ‘type’ or ‘sort.’ It often – though not necessarily – has negative connotations. The use arose out of a misunderstanding of the earlier, Scottish use in the phrase of that ilk, in which it means ‘of the same name or place.’ For this reason, some traditionalists regard the modern use as incorrect. It is, however, the only common current use and is now part of standard English.
Synonyms edit
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
References edit
- “ilk” in The New Oxford American Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2005
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “ilk”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams edit
Azerbaijani edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-Turkic *il(i)k (“before; early; first”). Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰃𐰠𐰚 (ilk, “first”), Karakhanid اِلْكْ (ilk, “first, firstly”), Turkish ilk, Chuvash ӗлӗк (ĕlĕk, “before, in old times; ago”).
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
ilk (comparative daha ilk, superlative ən ilk)
Noun edit
ilk (definite accusative ilki, plural ilklər)
Declension edit
Declension of ilk | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
singular | plural | |||||||
nominative | ilk |
ilklər | ||||||
definite accusative | ilki |
ilkləri | ||||||
dative | ilkə |
ilklərə | ||||||
locative | ilkdə |
ilklərdə | ||||||
ablative | ilkdən |
ilklərdən | ||||||
definite genitive | ilkin |
ilklərin |
Middle English edit
Determiner edit
ilk
- (Northern) Alternative form of ech
Pronoun edit
ilk
- (Northern) Alternative form of ech
Norwegian Nynorsk edit
Noun edit
ilk m (definite singular ilken, indefinite plural ilkar, definite plural ilkane)
- alternative form of ilke
Scots edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
From the Old English īlca, from Proto-Germanic *ilīkaz, a compound of *iz and *-līkaz from the noun *līką (“body”).
Adjective edit
ilk (not comparable)
- The same.
Usage notes edit
- Used following a person’s name to show that he lives in a place of the same name, eg Johnstone of that ilk means Johnstone of Johnstone.
Etymology 2 edit
From Middle English ilk, from Old English ġehwylc (“each, every”), equivalent to y- + which. Merged with Northern Old English ylc (“each”). More at each. (compare the Dutch elk - each).
Determiner edit
ilk
- (archaic, of two or more) each; every
- 1786, Robert Burns, A Winter Night:
- Ilk happing bird, - wee, helpless thing!
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Synonyms edit
Turkish edit
Etymology edit
From Ottoman Turkish الك (ilk, “first, firstly, in the first place”), from Proto-Turkic *il(i)k (“first”). Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰃𐰠𐰚 (ilk, “first”), Karakhanid اِلْكْ (ilk, “first, firstly”), Bashkir элек (elek, “before, earlier, ago”).
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
ilk
Adverb edit
ilk
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɪlk
- Rhymes:English/ɪlk/1 syllable
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- Scottish English
- Northern England English
- English terms with quotations
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Collectives
- Azerbaijani terms inherited from Proto-Turkic
- Azerbaijani terms derived from Proto-Turkic
- Azerbaijani terms with IPA pronunciation
- Azerbaijani terms with audio links
- Azerbaijani lemmas
- Azerbaijani adjectives
- Azerbaijani terms with usage examples
- Azerbaijani nouns
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English determiners
- Northern Middle English
- Middle English pronouns
- Norwegian Nynorsk lemmas
- Norwegian Nynorsk nouns
- Norwegian Nynorsk masculine nouns
- Scots terms with IPA pronunciation
- Scots terms derived from Old English
- Scots terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Scots lemmas
- Scots adjectives
- Scots uncomparable adjectives
- Scots terms derived from Middle English
- Scots terms prefixed with y-
- Scots determiners
- Scots terms with archaic senses
- Scots terms with quotations
- Turkish terms inherited from Ottoman Turkish
- Turkish terms derived from Ottoman Turkish
- Turkish terms inherited from Proto-Turkic
- Turkish terms derived from Proto-Turkic
- Turkish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Turkish terms with audio links
- Turkish lemmas
- Turkish adjectives
- Turkish adverbs