sulk

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sʌlk/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌlk

Etymology 1

(deprecated template usage)

Back-formation from sulky, of uncertain origin. Probably from Middle English *sulke, *solke (attested in solcennesse (“idleness; laziness”), from Old English āsolcennys (“idleness; slothfulness; sluggishness; laziness”), from āsolcen (“sulky, languid”), from past participle of Old English āseolcan (“be slow; be weak or slothful; languish”), from Proto-Germanic *selkaną (“to fall in drops; dribble; droop”), from Proto-Indo-European *sélǵ-o-nom, from *selǵ- (“to let go, send”). Cognate with several Indo-Iranian words deriving from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sarȷ́- (such as Sanskrit सृजति (sṛjáti), सर्जति (sarjati), सर्जन (sárjana), सृक (sṛká)), possibly Hittite 𒊭𒀠𒀝𒍣 (ša-al-ak-zi /⁠šalkzi⁠/, “knead, mix”), although the semantic connection is weak.

Noun

sulk (plural sulks)

1. A state of sulking.
   • 1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy:

     He thanks our miserable Liberal agent, an unbeliever called Donald Somebody, see the caption, who since the court's arrival on his territory has retired into a fuming sulk from which he has only tonight emerged.

   Leo has been in a sulk all morning.

Verb

sulk (third-person singular simple present sulks, present participle sulking, simple past and past participle sulked)

1. (intransitive) to express ill humor or offence by remaining sullenly silent or withdrawn.

Synonyms

• mope

Related terms

• sulkily
• sulky

Translations

to express ill humor or offence by remaining sullenly silent or withdrawn

• Azerbaijani: darılmaq
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 撅嘴 (juēzuǐ), 噘 (zh) (juē), 幽憤／幽愤 (zh) (yōufèn), 幽愤 (zh) (yōufèn)

• Czech: trucovat (cs)
• Danish: surmule
• Dutch: sikkeneurig zijn, mokken (nl), pruilen (nl)
• Finnish: murjottaa (fi), mököttää (fi), jurnuttaa (fi)
• French: bouder (fr), faire la gueule (fr)
• German: schmollen (de)
• Greek: μουτρώνω (el) (moutróno), σκυθρωπιάζω (el) (skythropiázo), κατσουφιάζω (el) (katsoufiázo)
• Hebrew: זעף (za'af)
• Hungarian: duzzog (hu)
• Italian: fare l'offeso, tenere il muso, tenere il broncio, imbronciarsi, piangersi addosso
• Japanese: 拗ねる (すねる, suneru), やさぐれる (ja) (yasagureru)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Korean: 실쭉거리다 (ko) (siljjukgeorida)
• Maori: whakamoroki, whakamotutoke, whakakeke
• Norwegian: å furte
• Occitan: fonhar, far lo morre (oc), chorrar (oc)
• Persian: قهر (fa) (ğahr)
• Polish: obrażać się (pl), dąsać się
• Portuguese: amuar (pt), estar mal-humorado estar de mau humor, ficar emburrado m
• Romanian: îmbufnat (ro)
• Russian: ду́ться (ru) (dútʹsja), ку́кситься (ru) (kúksitʹsja)
• Slovak: opúchať sa, fúkať sa, odúvať sa
• Spanish: taimado, enfurruñarse
• Swedish: tjura (sv)
• Tagalog: tampo
• Turkish: küsmek (tr), darılmak (tr), gücenmek (tr)

Etymology 2

(deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin sulcus.

Noun

sulk (plural sulks)

1. A furrow.

References

• “sulk”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
• “sulk”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "sulk" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.

Anagrams

• Lusk, lusk