werk

See also: Werk

English

Etymology

The LGBT slang usage is very recent and in essence an orthographical variant. It is independent from the far older and long-obsolete alternative form which derived directly from Middle English werk (noun) and werken (verb).

Verb

werk (third-person singular simple present werks, present participle werking, simple past and past participle werked)

1. (obsolete except as LGBTQ slang and eye dialect) Alternative form of work.

   Werk it, bitch!

Noun

werk (plural werks)

1. (obsolete except as LGBTQ slang and eye dialect) Alternative form of work.

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʋɛːrk/

Etymology 1

From Dutch werk, from Old Dutch *werk, from Proto-Germanic *werką, from Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom.

Noun

werk (plural werke, diminutive werkie)

1. work

Derived terms

• werkboek
• werkdier
• werktuig
• werkvloei
• werkwoord

Etymology 2

From Dutch werken, from Middle Dutch werken, from Old Dutch wirken, wirkon (“to work, make”), from Proto-Germanic *wirkijaną (“to work, make”), from Proto-Indo-European *werǵ-, *wreǵ- (“to work, act”).

Verb

werk (present werk, present participle werkende, past participle gewerk)

1. work

Related terms

• werker

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʋɛrk/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: werk
• Rhymes: -ɛrk

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch werc, from Old Dutch *werk, from Proto-West Germanic *werk, from Proto-Germanic *werką, from Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom.

Noun

werk n (plural werken, diminutive werkje n)

1. work, labor

   Synonym: arbeid

   Dit gaat veel werk vereisen. ― This will require much work.

   De werken van Herakles zijn wereldberoemd. ― The labors of Heracles are world-famous.

2. profession, job, employment, line of work

   Hij is trots op zijn nieuwe werk als leraar. ― He is proud of his new profession as a teacher.

   Na jaren hetzelfde werk te hebben gedaan, besloot ze een carrièreswitch te maken. ― After working in the same job for years, she decided to make a career switch.

   Zij is op zoek naar werk in de IT-sector. ― She is looking for employment in the IT sector.

3. workplace

   Op mijn werk werkt de airco zelden. ― The air conditioning seldom works at my workplace.

4. product, creation; production, output, result of work

   De dichterlijke werken van Homerus vormen de basis van de Oudgriekse literatuur. ― The poetic works of Homer form the basis of Ancient Greek literature.

   De kunstenaar heeft veel werken tentoongesteld in de galerij. ― The artist has exhibited many works in the gallery.

5. (dialectal) tow, oakum

   Synonym: hede

Derived terms

• aardewerk
• boekwerk
• breiwerk
• broddelwerk
• glaswerk
• haakwerk
• huiswerk
• kantoorwerk
• knoeiwerk
• kunstwerk
• liefdewerk
• meesterwerk
• monnikenwerk
• naaiwerk
• nachtwerk
• nattevingerwerk
• paalwerk
• papierwerk
• proefwerk
• prutswerk
• raamwerk
• schoolwerk
• schuurwerk
• smoelwerk
• smokwerk
• stukwerk
• teamwerk
• thuiswerk
• vakwerk
• waterwerk
• werkauto
• werkbaas
• werkbesparing
• werkbroek
• werkduur
• werkgever
• werkkamer
• werkkledij
• werkkleding
• werkloos
• werkmeester
• werknemer
• werkonderbreking
• werkongeval
• werkschema
• werkschuw
• werkvergadering
• werkvoorziening
• werkweigeraar
• werkweigering
• zilverwerk

Related terms

• werken

Descendants

• Afrikaans: werk
  • → Tswana: bereke
    • → Yeyi: bbérìk-á
• Negerhollands: werk, wark
• Skepi Creole Dutch: wark
• → Indonesian: werek
• → Saramaccan: wéíki

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

werk

1. inflection of werken:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

Middle English

Alternative forms

• weork, werc, werch, werck, wirk
• werrc, weorrc (Ormulum); warc, wark, warke, werke, wirche, wirke, wyrk (especially Late Middle English)
• worc, worch, work, wurch (chiefly Essex, Gloucestershire, Southern)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *werǵ-

Proto-Indo-European *-om

Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom

Proto-Germanic *werką

Proto-West Germanic *werk

Old English weorc

Middle English werk

From Old English weorc, from Proto-West Germanic *werk, from Proto-Germanic *werką, from Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom; compare worchen.

Forms with /u/ are originally due to the late West Saxon Old English change of /we͜or/ to /wyr/ (which then develops further to /wur/), but are reinforced by the influence of worchen. The influence of that verb and its alternative forms also explains occasional forms with /i/ or /t͡ʃ/.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wɛrk/, (Late Middle English) /wark/
• IPA^(key): /wurk/ (mainly Essex, Gloucestershire, Southern)
• IPA^(key): /wirk/, /wɛrt͡ʃ/, /wirt͡ʃ/, /wurt͡ʃ/ (uncommon)

Noun

werk (plural werkes)

1. An action or deed; something accomplished or done:
   1. A task, duty, or service; an assigned action.
   2. (rare) A function or purpose; an appropriate act.
2. A product or creation; the result of work:
   1. Adornment, detail; that which decorates.
   2. A building or structure; something constructed.
   3. A work of literature, music, or scholarship.
   4. (alchemy or occult) A method, skill, or technique.
3. Effort or activity (whether physical or mental):
   • 1422, James Yonge (translator), Secretum Secretorum:

     The work of matremony may be ussit and don... without anny Syn

     Marital congress may be used and done [...] without being sinful.

   1. One's job or occupation; what one does for a living.
   2. Maintenance, upkeep; keeping in good condition.
   3. Manufacture or craftsmanship; means of construction.
4. Trouble, difficulty.

Related terms

• hondwerk
• hondywerk

Descendants

• English: work

  Geordie: wark

• Middle Scots: wark, werk, work
  • Scots: wark
• Yola: woork

References

• “werk, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
• “work, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
• McIntosh, Angus; Samuels, M[ichael] L.; Benskin, Michael (2013) [1986], Michael Benskin, Margaret Laing, editors, eLALME: A Linguistic Atlas of Late Medieval English‎^[1], Edinburgh: Angus McIntosh Centre for Historical Linguistics; revised November 2024.
• Jordan, Richard (1974),  Eugene Crook, transl., Handbook of the Middle English Grammar: Phonology (Janua Linguarum. Series Practica; 218)‎^[2], The Hague: Mouton & Co. N.V., →DOI.

North Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian werk, wirk, from Proto-West Germanic *werk, from Proto-Germanic *werką (“work”), from Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom (“work”), from Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- (“to make”).

Noun

werk

1. (Föhr-Amrum) work

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *werk, whence also Old High German werc, Old Norse verk.

Noun

werk n

1. work

Declension

werk (neuter a-stem)

	singular	plural
nominative	werk	werk
accusative	werk	werk
genitive	werkes	werkō
dative	werke	werkun
instrumental	—	—

Descendants

• Middle Low German: wark, werk
  • Low German: Wark, Werk
  • Plautdietsch: Woakj

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from German Werk, from Middle High German wërc, from Old High German werc, from Proto-West Germanic *werk, from Proto-Germanic *werką, from Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom. Possibly a doublet of wiersza (“fishing basket”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛrk/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛrk
• Syllabification: werk

Noun

werk m inan

1. (colloquial) clockwork

   Synonym: mechanizm zegarka

2. (engineering, obsolete) mechanism

   Synonym: mechanizm

3. (cinematography) photo documenting the film set

   Hypernym: zdjęcie

Declension

Declension of werk

	singular	plural
nominative	werk	werki
genitive	werku	werków
dative	werkowi	werkom
accusative	werk	werki
instrumental	werkiem	werkami
locative	werku	werkach
vocative	werku	werki

Related terms

nouns

• werkmajster
• werkmistrz

Further reading

• werk in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Scots

Noun

werk (plural werkis)

1. obsolete form of wirk (“work”)

References

• “wirk”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.