Etymologically
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sink

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈsɪŋk/; /ˈsiŋk/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English sinken, inherited from Old English sincan (“to become submerged, go under”) (past tense sanc, participle suncen),[2][3][4][5] from Proto-Germanic *sinkwaną,[3][2] cognate with Old Saxon sinkan, Dutch zinken, German sinken, Old Norse sǫkkva and Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐌲𐌵𐌰𐌽 (sigqan),[2][3][4] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *sengʷ- (“to sink”);[3] Hoad calls it of unknown origin.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To become submerged: Old English, about 950 in Barnhart.[2]

Semantic evolution

The transitive sense, to make something sink, is from the late 12th century and replaced Middle English sench (compare drink and drench).[3][4] To penetrate, of a blow, is from about 1300, and to make an impression on the mind from the early 14th century.[3] To fall into a worse state is from the early 14th century, and to decrease in value from the 1590s.[3] Sink or swim is from the 1660s, and sink without trace is First World War military jargon, translating German spurlos versenkt.[3] The noun, a pit for waste water, is from the early 15th century, a drain from the late 15th, and a basin with a drainpipe, as in a kitchen, by the 1560s.[3][6] A place of vice, a sink of iniquity, is from the 1520s.[3][6]

Timeline

  • c. 950 – to go under.[2]
  • late 12th century – to make sink.[3]
  • early 15th century – a cesspool.[3]
  • 1520s – a place of vice.[3]
  • 1560s – a kitchen sink.[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To go down below the surface of water or another liquid.
  2. To cause a ship to sink.
  3. To move or fall slowly downwards; to decline.
  4. To dig or drill: sink a well.
  5. To put money into a business; to invest.

Noun

  1. A fixed basin with a water supply and drain, as in a kitchen.
  2. A place where vice or corruption is rife.

Word family

  • sinkable
  • sinklike
  • sinkage
  • unsinkability
  • unsinkable
  • countersink
  • sinker
  • sinkless
  • sank
  • sunk
  • sunken
  • sinkhole

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press