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

  1. Very; same; A type, race or category; a group of...

Ancestry of “ilk”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishilkesame
2Old Englishīlcathe same
3Proto-Germanicilīkazthe same
4Proto-Germanic-līkaz-like, -ly
5Proto-Germaniclīkąbody; corpse, dead body; leech-line, bolt-rope
6Proto-Indo-Europeanleyǵ-to bind, tie

Words derived from “ilk”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European leyǵ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic līką →Every word from Proto-Germanic -līkaz →