kirk
/kɜɹk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.85 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A church.
Example Sentences
- "The Ship was cheer'd, the Harbour clear'd— / Merrily did we drop / Below the Kirk, below the Hill, / Below the Light-house top."
- "When she sang in the kirk, folk have told me that they had a foretaste of the musick of the New Jerusalem, and when she came in by the village of Caulds old men stottered to their doors to look at her."
- "But long, long ago an enthusiastic reporter called it a "fairy palace," and the office building on the west side was once a church. Hence, in North British phraseology, to "gang tae the Kirk" meant to be had up on the carpet."
- "I suspect that members of the Church of Scotland who stop going, stop thinking of themselves as part of the Kirk much more readily."
- "One Nation, a new 501(c)4 linked to the Karl-Rove-backed American Crossroads super PAC, is spending more than $1.9 million on print, radio and digital ads highlighting the efforts of Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey to pass the “doc fix” legislation that realigned payments to Medicare providers with inflation."
- "It had been 2,836 days since Chris Kirk last won on the PGA Tour. Yet after securing his first victory in over seven years on Sunday, that was not the first milestone the American golfer had on his mind."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁-der. Proto-Indo-European *ḱuh₁ryós Proto-Hellenic *kúrios Ancient Greek κῡ́ριος (kū́rios) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Hellenic *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) Ancient Greek -ακός (-akós) Koine Greek κῡριακός (kūriakós)nom. Proto-Indo-European *-om Proto-Hellenic *-on Ancient Greek -ον (-on) Koine Greek κῡρῐᾰκόν (kūrĭăkón)bor. Proto-West Germanic *kirikā Old English ċiriċebor. Old Norse kirkjabor. Northern Middle English kirke English kirk Inherited from Northern Middle English kirke, borrowed from Old Norse kirkja, borrowed from Old English ċiriċe, from Proto-West Germanic *kirikā, borrowed from Koine Greek κῡρῐᾰκόν (kūrĭăkón), a nominalization of κῡριακός (kūriakós), or from Ancient Greek -ον (-on). Doublet of church.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /kɜɹk/
- British English: /kɜːk/
Usage
- British usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- Slang
- Transitive verb
Inflected Forms
kirks (plural)
kyrk (alternative, obsolete)
Kirke (alternative)
Kirks (present, singular)
Kirking (participle, present)
Kirked (participle, past)
Kirked (past)