Etymology

shirk

S1H4I1R1K5

Today it means: To avoid, especially a duty, responsibility, etc.; to stay away from. Full definition →

German Schurke
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

shirk · verb, noun1

  1. German · borrowed fromSchurke“rogue, knave”
  2. English todayshirk

First use appears c. 1633, in the publications of Shackerley Marmion, apparently from association with shark (verb), or otherwise directly from German Schurke (“rogue, knave”).

shirk · noun2

  1. Arabic · borrowed fromشِرْك
  2. Arabic · borrowed fromشِرْك
  3. English todayshirk

Borrowed from Arabic شِرْك (širk).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.