sicken
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English sekenen, equivalent to sick + -en. Cognate with Danish sygne (“to pine”), Swedish sjukna (“to fall ill; become sick”), Norwegian sykne, Icelandic sjúkna (“to sicken; become sick”).
Pronunciation
[edit]- IPA(key): /ˈsɪkən/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -ɪkən
Verb
[edit]sicken (third-person singular simple present sickens, present participle sickening, simple past and past participle sickened)
- (transitive) To make ill.
- The infection will sicken him until amputation is needed.
- (intransitive) To become ill.
- I will sicken if I don’t get some more exercise.
- 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
- The judges that sat upon the jail, and numbers of those that attended, […] sickened upon it and died.
- (transitive) To fill with disgust or abhorrence.
- His arrogant behaviour sickens me.
- 2025 March 4, Sharon Otterman, “Trump Threatens Columbia With Millions in Cuts Over Antisemitism Claims”, in The New York Times[1], archived from the original on 2025-03-12:
- In announcing the review, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the new health secretary, said in a statement that “antisemitism — like racism — is a spiritual and moral malady that sickens societies and kills people with lethalities comparable to history’s most deadly plagues.”
- (sports) To lower the standing of.
- 2007, Euan Reedie, Alan Shearer: Portrait Of A Legend - Captain Fantastic, →ISBN:
- Whenever I get booed by opposition fans it only makes me more determined to sicken them.
- 2011, Scott Burns, Walter Smith the Ibrox Gaffer: A Tribute to a Rangers Legend, →ISBN:
- But instead of giving up, the Rangers team managed to grab a dramatic later winner from Kenny Miller to sicken St Mirren and lift the cup
- (intransitive) To be filled with disgust or abhorrence.
- 1607, William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra:
- Mine eyes did sicken at the sight.
- (intransitive) To become disgusting or tedious.
- 1770, Oliver Goldsmith, The Deserted Village:
- The toiling pleasure sickens into pain.
- (intransitive) To become weak; to decay; to languish.
- 1734, Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man:
- All pleasures sicken, and all glories sink.
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]to make ill
become ill — see fall ill
Anagrams
[edit]German
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Central Franconian secke (“to piss”), from Proto-West Germanic *saikijan, whence also archaic German seichen.
The Central Franconian -ck- may be irregular or may be from a geminated variant Proto-Germanic *sikkōną (compare German sickern). The figurative sense “to be annoyed, to complain” is also found in cognate Dutch zeiken. Compare English pissed off.
Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]sicken (weak, third-person singular present sickt, past tense sickte, past participle gesickt, auxiliary haben)
- (regional, colloquial, western Germany) to piss
- Ich geh ma’ eben sicken.
- I’m gonna take a piss.
- (regional, colloquial, western Germany) to be annoyed; to be pissed off; to complain
- Lass ihn! Der is’ den ganzen Tag schon am Sicken.
- Leave him! He’s been pissed off all day.
Usage notes
[edit]- The figurative sense is used chiefly in the colloquial progressive with am (as above).
Conjugation
[edit]| infinitive | sicken | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present participle | sickend | ||||
| past participle | gesickt | ||||
| auxiliary | haben | ||||
| indicative | subjunctive | ||||
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| present | ich sicke | wir sicken | i | ich sicke | wir sicken |
| du sickst | ihr sickt | du sickest | ihr sicket | ||
| er sickt | sie sicken | er sicke | sie sicken | ||
| preterite | ich sickte | wir sickten | ii | ich sickte1 | wir sickten1 |
| du sicktest | ihr sicktet | du sicktest1 | ihr sicktet1 | ||
| er sickte | sie sickten | er sickte1 | sie sickten1 | ||
| imperative | sick (du) sicke (du) |
sickt (ihr) | |||
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Derived terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “sicken” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “sicken” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “sicken” in Duden online
- “sicken” in OpenThesaurus.de
Swedish
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Contracted from se (“to look, see”) and vicken, which was the older pronunciation of vilken (“what, which”).
Pronoun
[edit]sicken c sicket n sicka, sickna pl
- (colloquial) what a; expresses a (often strong) feeling such as surprise, disappointment; liking, disliking
- Sicken dag!
- What a day!
Synonyms
[edit]References
[edit]- sicken in Svensk ordbok (SO)
- sicken in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
- sicken in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
Anagrams
[edit]Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms suffixed with -en (inchoative)
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɪkən
- Rhymes:English/ɪkən/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with quotations
- en:Sports
- English ergative verbs
- German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- German terms derived from Central Franconian
- German terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- German 2-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio pronunciation
- German lemmas
- German verbs
- German weak verbs
- German verbs using haben as auxiliary
- Regional German
- German colloquialisms
- German terms with usage examples
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish pronouns
- Swedish colloquialisms
- Swedish terms with usage examples