kirk

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kɜːk/ (UK); /kəɹk/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English kirke, probably borrowed from Old Norse kirkja (“church”),^[2][3][4][5] itself from Old English ċiriċe (see church).^[4][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 1200, in the Ormulum, in Barnhart and Etymonline.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In northern England it was once used as far south as Norfolk.^[7] It was used in literary Scots until the 17th century and survives in vernacular use;^[7] it is often cited as an example of northern dialect.^[2] In official use the name Kirk of Scotland gave place to Church of Scotland,^[7] though the Kirk remains an informal name for the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.^[8][9] Kirkland, church land, is from the mid-15th century.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – kirke.^[2]
• 1375 – in literary Scots.^[7]
• mid-15th century – kirkland.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (Scottish and northern England) A church.
2. The Kirk: the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

Word family

• kirklike
• kirkman

Related words

• church
• kirkyard

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins