ilk
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
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, death 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
Adjective
ilk (not comparable)
- (Scotland and Northern England) Very; same.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Spenser to this entry?)
Usage notes
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
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
- In modern use, ilk is used in phrases such as of his ilk, of that ilk, to mean ‘type’ or ‘sort.’ The use arose out of a misunderstanding of the earlier, Scottish use in the phrase of that ilk, where 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
Derived terms
References
- “ilk” in The New Oxford American Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2005
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “ilk”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams
Azerbaijani
Etymology
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
Adjective
ilk
Noun
ilk (definite accusative ilkni, plural ilklər)
Declension
Scots
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From the Old English īlca, from Proto-Germanic *ilīkaz, a compound of *iz and *-līkaz from the noun *līką (“body”).
Adjective
ilk (not comparable)
- The same.
Usage notes
- 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
From Middle English ylk, iwilk, 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
ilk
Synonyms
- 1786, Robert Burns, A Winter Night:
- Ilk happing bird, - wee, helpless thing!
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Turkish
Etymology
From Ottoman Turkish الك (ilk, “first, firstly, in the first place”), from Proto-Turkic *ilk (“first”). Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰃𐰠𐰚 (ilk, “first”), Karakhanid اِلْكْ (ilk, “first, firstly”), Bashkir элек (elek, “before, earlier, ago”).
Adjective
ilk
Synonyms
Antonyms
Adverb
ilk
Synonyms
- 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
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- Scottish English
- Northern England English
- Requests for quotations/Spenser
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- en:Collectives
- Azerbaijani terms inherited from Proto-Turkic
- Azerbaijani terms derived from Proto-Turkic
- Azerbaijani terms with IPA pronunciation
- Azerbaijani lemmas
- Azerbaijani adjectives
- Azerbaijani terms with usage examples
- Azerbaijani 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 lemmas
- Turkish adjectives