Etymologically
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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
  • 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