Meanings
-k1
- idiomaticrareA suffix found in verbs of Middle English, Old English, usually with an intensive or frequentative effect.
tale, talk; steal, stalk; mire, mirk; hear, hark; fare, firk; peer, perk; yare, yark; gaw, gawk
-k2
- idiomaticrareA suffix found in nouns, usually with a diminutive effect.
chine > chink; stale > stalk
Origin
-k · suffix
- Proto-Germanic*-ukōną
- Proto-West Germanic*-ukōn
- Old English-cian
- Middle English-ken
- English-k
From Middle English -ken, -kien, from Old English -cian, from Proto-West Germanic *-ukōn, *-ikōn, from Proto-Germanic *-ukōną, *-ikōną. Cognate with West Frisian -kje, German -chen, Danish -ke, Swedish -ka, Faroese -ka. Perhaps related to Old English diminutive suffix -uc, -oc. More at -ock.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →-k · suffix
- Old English-(u)c
- Middle English-ke
- English-k
From Middle English -ke, from Old English -(u)c and -ca (diminutive suffix). More at -ock.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
-k. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-k
“-k.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-k. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-k,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-k.
Source: -k on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.