English word origin

Etymology of kilk

From Middle English *killock, kellock, from earlier ketlok, kedlock, from Old English cedelc (“mercury (herb)”). Cognate with Scots skelloch (“charlock”).

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗

noun

Synonym of charlock (Phamphospermum arvense, syn. Sinapis arvensis, etc.)

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English *killock, kellock, from earlier ketlok, kedlock, from Old English cedelc (“mercury (herb)”). Cognate with Scots skelloch (“charlock”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mention*killockenm
Inherited-form mentioncedelcang · mercury (herb)
Cognate mentionskellochsco · charlock

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "*killock"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English *killock"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "cedelc",
        "t": "mercury (herb)"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English cedelc (“mercury (herb)”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "skelloch",
        "t": "charlock"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots skelloch (“charlock”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*killock",
      "Reconstruction:Middle English/killock"
    ],
    [
      "kellock",
      "kellock#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ketlok",
      "ketlok#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "kedlock",
      "kedlock#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "cedelc",
      "cedelc#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "skelloch",
      "skelloch#Scots"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Synonym of charlock (Phamphospermum arvense, syn. Sinapis arvensis, etc.)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dialectal"
      ],
      "recordId": "af6bb5f584286b31f0a3fd42858acaf4f69bc1e7d3ead286a4989dfdf6907416",
      "rawRecordSha256": "c01fb532ac23eb279f4e5cff7ee1212d4c8da9eea43a850689209fe9373c9ded",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4552116
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for kilk →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-a2lsaw