ilk
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editInherited 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”).
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
editAdjective
editilk (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
editUsed 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
editilk (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.
Synonyms
editDerived terms
editTranslations
editReferences
edit- “ilk” in The New Oxford American Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2005
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “ilk”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams
editAzerbaijani
editEtymology
editFrom 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
editAdjective
editilk (comparative daha ilk, superlative ən ilk)
Noun
editilk (definite accusative ilki, plural ilklər)
Declension
editDeclension 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
editDeterminer
editilk
- (Northern) Alternative form of ech
Pronoun
editilk
- (Northern) Alternative form of ech
Norwegian Nynorsk
editNoun
editilk m (definite singular ilken, indefinite plural ilkar, definite plural ilkane)
- alternative form of ilke
Scots
editPronunciation
editEtymology 1
editFrom the Old English īlca, from Proto-Germanic *ilīkaz, a compound of *iz and *-līkaz from the noun *līką (“body”).
Adjective
editilk (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
editFrom 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
editilk
- (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
editTurkish
editEtymology
editInherited from Ottoman Turkish الك (ilk, “first, firstly, in the first place”), from Proto-Turkic *il(i)k (“first”). Cognate of Old Turkic 𐰃𐰠𐰚 (ilk, “first”), Karakhanid اِلْكْ (ilk, “first, firstly”), and Bashkir элек (elek, “before, earlier, ago”).
Pronunciation
editAdjective
editilk
Usage notes
edit- ilk is different from birinci in the sense that it refers something that is the first of its kind or where things that come after the first one are not relevant. birinci implies the existence of a relevant order of things.
Adverb
editilk
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- 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
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- Rhymes:English/ɪlk
- Rhymes:English/ɪlk/1 syllable
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
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- English terms with quotations
- English nouns
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- 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