awk

English

Etymology

From Old Norse ǫfugr/ǫfigr/afigr (“turned backwards”) ( > Danish avet (“backwards”), Swedish avig (“turned backwards”)), from Proto-Germanic. Cognate with German äbich, Gothic 𐌹𐌱𐌿𐌺𐍃 (ibuks, “turned back”). Akin to Sanskrit अपाच् (apāc, “turned away”) . Compare dialect Danish ave (“to turn”), Icelandic öfga (“to reverse”).

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ɔːk/
• (US) IPA: /ɑːk/
• Homophone: auk

Adjective

awk (comparative more awk, superlative most awk)

1. (obsolete) Odd; out of order; perverse.
2. (obsolete) Wrong, or not commonly used; clumsy; sinister; as, the awk end of a rod (the butt end).

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Golding to this entry?)

3. (obsolete, UK, dialect) Clumsy in performance or manners; unhandy; not dexterous; awkward.

Adverb

awk

1. (obsolete) Perversely; in the wrong way.

Proper noun

awk

1. (computing) A Unix scripting language or the command line interface itself.

Noun

awk (uncountable)

1. (computing) A Unix script written in the awk language.

References

• awk in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• Notes:

Anagrams

• kaw, Kwa