awk · adjective, adverb1
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂ep
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂epó
- Proto-Indo-European*h₃ekʷ-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂époh₃kʷos
- Proto-Germanic*abuhaz
- Old Norseǫfugr
- Middle Englishawke
- English todayawk
From Middle English awke, from Old Norse ǫfugr, ǫfigr, afigr (“turned backwards”) (whence Danish avet (“backwards”), Swedish avig (“turned backwards”)), from Proto-Germanic *abuhaz. Cognate with German äbich, Gothic 𐌹𐌱𐌿𐌺𐍃 (ibuks, “turned back”). Akin to Sanskrit अपाच् (apāc, “turned away”). Compare dialectal Danish ave (“to turn”), Dutch averechts (“opposite, backwards, contrary”), Icelandic öfga (“to reverse”).
AWK · proper noun2
From the initial letters of the surnames of its authors: Alfred Aho, Peter J. Weinberger, and Brian Kernighan.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.