Etymologically
Log in

kirk

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 16:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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

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