## Etymology
From Old English ēcan, īecan ('to increase, augment'), from the same root as Latin augēre ('to increase'); the modern sense 'make last by frugality' is from the phrase 'eke out'.

## AI Etymology
Eke comes from Old English ēcan, īecan ('to increase, augment'), from the same root as Latin augēre ('to increase'); the modern sense 'make last by frugality' is from the phrase 'eke out'. The development is chiefly inherited within English and its older relatives, with the later form continuing material already present in the language's ancestry. In present use, it is used as a verb meaning "to make something last by using it sparingly or with effort", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes related forms such as eke-name and nickname, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Old English ēacian, Proto-Germanic *aukaną, and Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewg-, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance.

## Topics
- Cause, Change & Process

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