ink English · revision 8025

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1250|origins=grc ἔγκαυστον}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɪŋk/; /ˈiŋk/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English enke, later inke,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) [[bor|fro|enque|t=dark writing fluid]], enche,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from Late Latin [[m|la-lat|encaustum|t=purple ink]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from Greek [[m|grc|ἔγκαυστον|tr=énkauston]], the neuter of énkaustos, burned in,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from enkaíein, to burn in (see [[caustic]]).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The coloured fluid used for writing: about 1250.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Greek and Latin word denoted the purple or reddish ink with which the late Roman emperors signed their edicts,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021) and in Pliny a method of painting with heat.^(Etymonline) The black fluid of the cuttlefish is ink from before 1586.^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021) Johnson defined ink as ''the black liquor with which men write''.^(Etymonline) The ''inkhorn'', a vessel for ink, is from the 14th century, and an inkhorn term, a learned word, from the 16th.^(Hoad 1986) The verb, to mark with ink, is from 1562,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) and to cover a printing plate with ink from 1727.^(Etymonline) To sign a contract is an informal American sense,^(AHD) and a tattoo is modern slang.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1250 – writing fluid.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 14th century – inkhorn.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1562 – the verb.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1586 – cuttlefish ink.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1727 – to ink a plate.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A coloured liquid or paste used for [[write|alt=writing]], drawing or printing.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A dark fluid squirted by an [[octopus]] or squid to hide itself.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' A tattoo or tattoos.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To mark, coat or stain with ink.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' To sign a contract.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[inker]]

+ * [[inkiness]]

+ * [[inky]]

+ * [[inkless]]

+ * [[inklike]]

+ * [[inkstand]]

+ * [[inkwell]]

+ * [[inkberry]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[inkhorn]]

+ * [[encaustic]]

+ * [[caustic]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate ink, an iron cross in the upper millstone (1572), is recorded by the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}