ink

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɪŋk/; /ˈiŋk/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English enke, later inke,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French enque (“dark writing fluid”), enche,^[4][2][3] from Late Latin encaustum (“purple ink”),^[4][2][5] from Greek ἔγκαυστον (énkauston), the neuter of énkaustos, burned in,^[4][2] from enkaíein, to burn in (see caustic).^[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The coloured fluid used for writing: about 1250.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The Greek and Latin word denoted the purple or reddish ink with which the late Roman emperors signed their edicts,^[2][3][7] and in Pliny a method of painting with heat.^[4] The black fluid of the cuttlefish is ink from before 1586.^[6][7] Johnson defined ink as the black liquor with which men write.^[4] The inkhorn, a vessel for ink, is from the 14th century, and an inkhorn term, a learned word, from the 16th.^[3] The verb, to mark with ink, is from 1562,^[2][5] and to cover a printing plate with ink from 1727.^[4] To sign a contract is an informal American sense,^[8] and a tattoo is modern slang.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1250 – writing fluid.^[2]
• 14th century – inkhorn.^[3]
• 1562 – the verb.^[2]
• before 1586 – cuttlefish ink.^[6]
• 1727 – to ink a plate.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A coloured liquid or paste used for writing, drawing or printing.
2. A dark fluid squirted by an octopus or squid to hide itself.
3. (informal) A tattoo or tattoos.

Verb

1. To mark, coat or stain with ink.
2. (informal) To sign a contract.

Word family

• inker
• inkiness
• inky
• inkless
• inklike
• inkstand
• inkwell
• inkberry

Related words

• inkhorn
• encaustic
• caustic

Usage notes

A separate ink, an iron cross in the upper millstone (1572), is recorded by the OED.^[6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins