Where does “ilk” come from?
Ilk comes from Middle English ilke, from Old English ilca, from Proto-Germanic ilīkaz, which combines Proto-Indo-European éy with the Proto-Germanic suffix -līkaz derived from Proto-Indo-European līg-.
ilk (English): Very; same; A type, race or category; a group of...
Definitions
- Very; same; A type, race or category; a group of...
Ancestry of “ilk”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | ilke | same |
| 2 | Old English | īlca | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | ilīkaz | the same |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | -līkaz | -like, -ly |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | līką | body; corpse, dead body; leech-line, bolt-rope |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | leyǵ- | to bind, tie |