ilk

ilk ¹  (lk)

n.

Type or kind: can't trust people of that ilk.

pron. Scots

The same. Used following a name to indicate that the one named resides in an area bearing the same name: Duncan of that ilk.

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[Middle English ilke, same, from Old English ilca; see i- in Indo-European roots.]

Word History: When one uses ilk, as in the phrase men of his ilk, one is using a word with an ancient pedigree even though the sense of ilk, "kind or sort," is actually quite recent, having been first recorded at the end of the 18th century. This sense grew out of an older use of ilk in the phrase of that ilk, meaning "of the same place, territorial designation, or name." This phrase was used chiefly in names of landed families, Guthrie of that ilk meaning "Guthrie of Guthrie." "Same" is the fundamental meaning of the word. The ancestors of ilk, Old English ilca and Middle English ilke, were common words, usually appearing with such words as the or that, but the word hardly survived the Middle Ages in those uses.

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ilk ²  (lk)

adj.

Variant of ilka.

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ilk¹

n

1. a type; class; sort (esp in the phrase of that, his, her, etc., ilk) people of that ilk should not be allowed here

of that ilk Scot of the place of the same name: used to indicate that the person named is proprietor or laird of the place named Moncrieff of that ilk

[Old English ilca the same family, same kind; related to Gothic is he, Latin is, Old English gelīc like]

Usage: Although the use of ilk in the sense of sense 1 is sometimes condemned as being the result of a misunderstanding of the original Scottish expression of that ilk, it is nevertheless well established and generally acceptable

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ilk², ilka [ˈɪlkə]

determiner

Scot each; every

[Old English ǣlc each (+ a¹)]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

ilk - a kind of person; "We'll not see his like again"; "I can't tolerate people of his ilk" like kind, sort, form, variety - a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality; "sculpture is a form of art"; "what kinds of desserts are there?"

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ilk

noun type, sort, kind, class, style, character, variety, brand, breed, stamp, description, kidney, disposition politicians and their ilk

Translations

ilk [ɪlk] N → índole f, clase f
and others of that ilk → y otros así or de esa clase, y otros de ese jaez

ilk [ˈɪlk] n
of that ilk (= of that type) → de cette eau
and their ilk → et consorts
He currently terrorises politicians and their ilk on "Newsnight" → Il terrorise politiciens et consorts dans son émission "Newsnight".

ilk

n people of that ilk → solche Leute; all things of that ilk → dergleichen Dinge; and others of that ilk → und dergleichen, und ihresgleichen

ilk [ɪlk] n of that ilk → di quel genere