sink English · revision 6359

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 950|origins=gem-pro *sinkwaną}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈsɪŋk/; /ˈsiŋk/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English sinken, [[inh|ang|sincan|t=to become submerged, go under]] (past tense sanc, participle suncen),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*sinkwaną]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) cognate with [[osx|sinkan]], [[nl|zinken]], [[de|sinken]], [[non|sǫkkva]] and [[got|𐍃𐌹𐌲𐌵𐌰𐌽|tr=sigqan]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from PIE [[ine-pro|*sengʷ-|t=to sink]];^(Etymonline) Hoad calls it of unknown origin.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To become submerged: Old English, about 950 in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The transitive sense, to make something sink, is from the late 12th century and replaced Middle English sench (compare drink and drench).^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) To penetrate, of a blow, is from about 1300, and to make an impression on the mind from the early 14th century.^(Etymonline) To fall into a worse state is from the early 14th century, and to decrease in value from the 1590s.^(Etymonline) ''Sink or swim'' is from the 1660s, and ''sink without trace'' is First World War military jargon, translating German spurlos versenkt.^(Etymonline) 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.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A place of vice, ''a sink of iniquity'', is from the 1520s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 950 – to go under.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 12th century – to make sink.^(Etymonline)

+ * early 15th century – a cesspool.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1520s – a place of vice.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1560s – a kitchen sink.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To go down below the surface of water or another liquid.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To cause a ship to sink.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To move or fall slowly downwards; to decline.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To dig or drill: ''sink a well''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To put money into a business; to invest.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A fixed basin with a water supply and drain, as in a [[kitchen]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A place where vice or corruption is rife.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sinkable]]

+ * [[sinklike]]

+ * [[sinkage]]

+ * [[unsinkability]]

+ * [[unsinkable]]

+ * [[countersink]]

+ * [[sinker]]

+ * [[sinkless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sank]]

+ * [[sunk]]

+ * [[sunken]]

+ * [[sinkhole]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}