seek

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   inquire for

   seek directions from a local

2. 2
   verb

   go to or towards

   a liquid seeks its own level

3. 3
   verb

   try to get or reach

   seek a position

4. 4
   verb

   To try to find; to look for; to search for.

   I seek wisdom.

5. 5
   verb

   To ask for; to solicit; to beseech.

   I seek forgiveness through repentance.

6. 6
   verb

   To try to acquire or gain; to strive after; to aim at.

   I sought my fortune on the goldfields.

7. 7
   verb

   To go, move, travel (in a given direction).

   Ryght so he sought[…]towarde Sandewyche where he founde before hym many galyard knyghtes

8. 8
   verb

   To try to reach or come to; to go to; to resort to.

   When the alarm went off I sought the exit in a panic.

Etymology

From Middle English seken (also sechen, whence dialectal English seech), from Old English sēċan (compare beseech); from Proto-West Germanic *sōkijan, from Proto-Germanic *sōkijaną (“to seek”), from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- (“to seek out”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian säike (“to seek”), West Frisian sykje (“to seek”), Dutch zoeken (“to seek”), Low German söken (“to seek”), German suchen (“to seek”), Danish søge (“to seek”), Swedish söka, Norwegian Bokmål søke (“to seek”), Norwegian Nynorsk søkja (“to seek”), Icelandic sækja (“to seek”). The Middle English and later Modern English hard /k/…