sink

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to go down below the surface of water or another liquid

   The heavy stone sank quickly to the bottom of the lake.

2. 2
   verb

   to move slowly downward to a lower level

   The sun sank below the hills as evening came.

3. 3
   verb

   to become weaker, lower, or less

   Her spirits sank when she heard the bad news.

4. 4
   noun

   a fixed basin in a kitchen or bathroom with taps, used for washing

   He left the dirty dishes piled up in the sink.

From Middle English synken, from Old English sincan, from Proto-West Germanic *sinkwan, from Proto-Germanic *sinkwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *sengʷ- (“to fall, sink”). Compare West Frisian sinke, Low German sinken, Dutch zinken, German sinken, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål synke, Swedish sjunka. In the causative sense, it replaced Old English senċan (“make sink”) from Proto-Germanic *sankwijaną.

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