Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

spelk

/spɛlk/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: spelk
IPA: /spɛlk/

11

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A splinter, usually of wood.

noun

A wooden splinter caught under the skin.

noun

A rod or switch.

noun

Unusably short lengths of fibre-reinforced material, such as prepreg.

verb

To use a spelk in or on.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"A spelk is often a hazel of two or three years' growth. It is pointed at each end, and is three or four feet long, and is placed at right angles with the thatch to hold it down. Sometimes a bit of very neat work is displayed in the spelking of the thatch […]"

Etymology

From Middle English spelke, from Old English spilc, spelc (“a splint”), from Proto-West Germanic *spelku, from Proto-Germanic *spelkō, *spalkō, *spalkuz (“bast, splint”). Cognate with Old Norse spjalkir (“bars, rails”, plural).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: spelke, spilc, *spelku, *spelkō, spelken, spelċan

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

spelks (plural) spelks (present, singular) spelking (participle, present) spelked (participle, past) spelked (past)

Rhymes With

milk elk welk whelk kelk yelk

Questions

How do you pronounce spelk?: The recorded pronunciation is /spɛlk/.
What does spelk mean?: A splinter, usually of wood.
Where does spelk come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce spelk

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “spelk”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/spɛlk/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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