irk

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to annoy, irritate, or weary someone

   The repeated interruption began to irk him.

2. 2
   noun

   informal: an annoyance or irritating feature

   The unreliable search was a persistent irk for users.

Simplified etymology

Irk may derive from Old Norse yrkja, “to work” or “to take effect upon.” Its earliest English sense was “to be annoyed or disgusted.”

From Middle English irken, 'to tire or grow weary,' probably from Old Norse yrkja, 'to work.' The word shifted from weariness caused by labor to the modern sense 'annoy or irritate.'

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary