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Make Your Point > Archived Issues > ILK

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pronounce ILK:

ILK
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connect this word to others:

Let's add the word ilk to a list of other feisty little monosyllabic ones that derive from Old English: deft, teem, pith, rife, dross, quell, and din. Could you pick one of those that you're most likely to use today in conversation?

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)   

definition:

The word "ilk" comes from an Old English one, ilca, that means "the same." We first used it to refer to some same place or family, like in this 1542 text: "Scot of Balwery.—Wemyss of that ilk.—Lwndy of that ilk." (They could have rewritten "Balwery" twice more, but instead wrote "that ilk.")

Because that kind of phrase was so common centuries ago, the meaning of "ilk" drifted from "same" to "type or kind." Today, we talk about things or people of a certain ilk, meaning a certain kind or type. 

And that often comes off like a complaint: "He hates broccoli and other vegetables of that ilk." "I can't stand this whiny little protagonist Rand and his ilk. Let's get back to the good part, with Perrin and Nynaeve."

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, usually singular: "questions of that ilk," "employees of her ilk."

Other forms: 

None are common today.

how to use it:

Pick the formal, semi-common word "ilk" when you want to say that people or things belong to a certain group, especially when you want to sound insulting: "He took bribes while abusing the public's trust. I despise him and his ilk."

Although "ilk" is often said with a frown or a sneer, it can be said with a smile, or a neutral expression. Here's the BBC: "On offer are traditional laksas of every ilk—thick and soupy, or thin and light; topped with wontons or adorned with prawns; chicken or pork or vegetarian."

examples:

"Arms control agreements are being abandoned faster than they are being negotiated... but the kind of challenges raised by ChatGPT and its ilk are different, and in some ways more complicated."
   — David E. Sanger, New York Times, 5 May 2023

"'Human Resources' will explore more than just these [Hormone Monsters] and their ilk, including Shame Wizards and Depression Kitties that have already graced the show. The new workplace comedy spinoff aims to cater to more 'adult' topics as it leaves behind temporary growing pains for our deeper emotional baggage."
  — Julia Pedrozo Santiago, Salon, 19 June 2021

has this page helped you understand "ilk"?

   

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.


study it:

Explain the meaning of "ilk" without saying "type" or "class."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "(Something) and others of their ilk (have some sort of good or bad quality)."

Example 1: "The Lumineers, Mumford & Sons, and others of their ilk, collectively known as 'Stomp, Clap, Hey' bands, offer folksy energy and rich harmony that I never get tired of listening to."

Example 2: "To my taste, pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots, butternut squash and other foods of their ilk suffer from the problem of muddling. Are these things sweet or savory? It seems to me that they don't know the answer to this themselves."
   — Dave Bry, The Guardian, 1 October 2015




before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month: Poetic Connections!

Check out three snippets from a poem, along with three words we've studied—some beautiful, some outrageous—and decide which word you'll connect to each snippet. To see the definitions, highlight the hidden white text after each word. And to see an example, head here.

Try this set today:

"One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII" by Pablo Neruda

Snippets:
1. "I love you as one loves certain obscure things, secretly, between the shadow and the soul."
2. "and thanks to your love the tight aroma that arose from the earth lives dimly in my body"
3. "I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where"

Words:
A. caliginous (meaning... foggy, gloomy, dark, or misty)
B. ineffable (meaning... extremely hard or impossible to put into words)
C. redolent (meaning... smelling like something specific, or smelling nice)

To see one possible set of answers, scroll all the way down; if your answers don’t match these, that's fine: all that matters is that yours make sense to you.

review this word:

1. A near opposite of ILK could be

A. STOICISM or TOUGHNESS.
B. SENTIENCE or AWARENESS.
C. SINGULARITY or UNIQUENESS.

2. You might read _____.

A. a recommendation for a particularly ilky play
B. an analysis of winning ilks in the real estate business
C. a complaint about reality television and entertainment of that ilk




Answers to the review questions:
1. C
2. C

Suggested answers to the game:

I’d connect caliginous to snippet 1 because the love is dark and mystifying, ineffable to snippet 3 because the love can't be put into words, and redolent to snippet 2 because the love smells like earth.


a final word:


I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.


From my blog:
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A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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