firk

F4I1R1K5
/fɜː(ɹ)k/

verb

To carry away or about; carry; move.

OriginMiddle English firken ← Old English fercian ← Proto-West Germanic *farikōn →
Scrabble 11
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Meanings

firk1

verbfirk (third-person singular simple present firks, present participle firking, simple past and past participle firked)

present singular third person firks · participle present firking · participle past firked · past firked · alternative ferk

  1. obsoletetransitiveTo carry away or about; carry; move.
  2. obsoletetransitiveTo drive away.

    I'll fer him, and firk him, and ferret him.

    1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv]
  3. obsoletetransitiveTo rouse; raise up.
  4. intransitiveobsoleteTo move quickly; go off or fly out suddenly; turn out.

    A wench is a rare bait, with which a man / No sooner's taken but he straight firks mad.

    1610 (first performance), Ben[jamin] Jonson, The Alchemist, London: […] Thomas Snodham, for Walter Burre, and are to be sold by Iohn Stepneth, […], published 1612, →OCLC, (please specify the Internet Archive page), (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)
    1 more example

    Caſt care at thy poſternes; and firke i' thy fetters; / They are ornaments, Baby, haue graced thy betters: […]

    1616 October or November (first performance), Ben Jonson, The Diuell is an Asse: A Comedie […], London: […] I. B. for Robert Allot, […], published 1631, →OCLC, Act V, scene , page 164
nounfirk (plural firks)

plural firks · alternative ferk

  1. A stroke; lash.

firk2

nounfirk (plural firks)

plural firks · alternative ferk

  1. UKdialectalobsoleteA freak; trick; quirk.

    firk o' law

    1608, Lording Barry, Ram Alley
    1 more example

    a firk of piety

    1634, William Davenant, The Wits

Origin

firk · verb, noun

  1. Proto-Germanic*faraną“to travel, fare”
  2. Proto-West Germanic*farikōn
  3. Old Englishfercian“to bring, assist, support, carry, conduct, convey, proceed”
  4. Middle Englishfirken
  5. Englishfirk

From Middle English firken, ferken (“to proceed, hasten”), from Old English fercian (“to bring, assist, support, carry, conduct, convey, proceed”), from Proto-West Germanic *farikōn, frequentative of Proto-Germanic *faraną (“to travel, fare”). Akin to Old English faran (“to fare, go”), English fare; if so, equivalent to fare + -k. Cognate with Old High German fuora (“benefit, sustenance, support”), Swabian fergen, ferken (“to bring, dispatch”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

firk · noun

Probably an alteration of freak.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with firk

workclerkburkekirkdirkcirqueBourkecircreworkmercpercquirksmirkperkberserkburklurkerkshirkHercmerkirkbirkoverwork
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

firk. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/firk

MLA

“firk.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/firk. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “firk,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/firk.

Source: firk on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.