Etymograph

English

kirk

Kirk comes from Old Norse kirkja ‘church’, from Proto-Hellenic *kúrios ‘lord, master’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- ‘to swell’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱewh₁-‘to swell’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱuh₁ryósreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kúrios‘lord, master’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκῡ́ριοςkū́rios
  5. Koine Greekc. 300 BCE–600 CEκῡριακόςkūriakós
  6. Koine Greek, derivedc. 300 BCE–600 CEκῡρῐᾰκόνkūrĭăkón
  7. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kirikāreconstructed
  8. Old Englishc. 450–1150ċiriċe‘church’
  9. Old Norsec. 800–1350kirkja‘church’
  10. Northern Middle Englishmodernkirke‘a church’
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1798kirk

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱewh₁-‘to swell’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱuh₁ryósreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kúrios‘lord, master’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκῡ́ριοςkū́rios
  5. Koine Greekc. 300 BCE–600 CEκῡριακόςkūriakós
  6. Koine Greek, derivedc. 300 BCE–600 CEκῡρῐᾰκόνkūrĭăkón
  7. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kirikāreconstructed
  8. Old Englishc. 450–1150ċiriċe‘church’
  9. Old Norsec. 800–1350kirkja‘church’
  10. Northern Middle Englishmodernkirke‘a church’
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1798kirk

Earliest quotation: 1798, Samuel Taylor Coleridge: “The Ship was cheer'd, the Harbour clear'd— / Merrily…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- ‘to swell’

jail, cave, cage, cavity, excavation, hound, cyst, gaol, excavate, cumulus, cajole, caul, cavil, 41 more

through Old English ċiriċe ‘church’

church, 3 more

Today it means

noun A church.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- / kirk

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