English

Alternative forms

• ilke

Adjective

ilk ‎(not comparable)

1. (Scotland and Northern England) Very; same.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Spenser to this entry?)

Usage notes

Used following a person’s name to show that he lives in a place of the same name, eg Johnstone of that ilk means Johnstone of Johnstone.

Noun

ilk ‎(plural ilks)

1. A type, race or category; a group of entities that have common characteristics such that they may be grouped together.
   • 1906, Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, Chapter 25

     "Hinkydink” or “Bathhouse John,” or others of that ilk, were proprietors of the most notorious dives in Chicago […]

   • 2016 February 23, Robbie Collin, “Grimsby review: ' Sacha Baron Cohen's vital, venomous action movie'”, in The Daily Telegraph (London):

     On the surface, the film is a globe-trotting gross-out caper in which Nobby, who's from a hellish version of the titular Lincolnshire town ("twinned with Chernobyl"), is reunited with his long-lost brother Sebastian (Mark Strong), who has become a spy for the British secret services. That makes him a servant of the powers-that-be that have no time for Nobby and his scrounging ilk.

Usage notes

• In modern use, ilk is used in phrases such as of his ilk, of that ilk, to mean ‘type’ or ‘sort.’ The use arose out of a misunderstanding of the earlier, Scottish use in the phrase of that ilk, where it means ‘of the same name or place.’ For this reason, some traditionalists regard the modern use as incorrect. It is, however, the only common current use and is now part of standard English.

Synonyms

• kind
• likes
• sort
• type

Derived terms

• of that ilk

References

• “ilk” in the The New Oxford American Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2005

Scots

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪlk/

Etymology 1

From the Old English īlca, from Proto-Germanic *ilīkaz, a compound of *iz and *-līkaz from the noun *līką ‎(“body”).

Cognate to English ilk.

Adjective

ilk ‎(not comparable)

1. The same.

Usage notes

• Used following a person’s name to show that he lives in a place of the same name, eg Johnstone of that ilk means Johnstone of Johnstone.

Etymology 2

From Middle English ylk, iwilk, from Old English ġehwylc ‎(“each, every”), equivalent to y- +‎ which. Merged with Northern Old English ylc ‎(“each”). More at each. {compare the Dutch elk - each]

Determiner

ilk

1. (archaic, of two or more) each; every

Synonyms

• ilka

Turkish

Etymology

From Old Turkic [script needed] ‎(ilk), [script needed] ‎(ilki), from Proto-Turkic [Term?].

Adjective

ilk

1. first

Synonyms

• birinci

Antonyms

• son

Adverb

ilk

1. first