Etymology From Middle English merke, mirke, from Old English mirce, myrce (“dark, gloomy, evil”) and Old Norse myrkr (“dark, murky”), both from Proto-Germanic *merkuz (“dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *mergʷ- (“to flicker; to darken; to be dark”). Cognate Danish mørk (“dark”), Norwegian mørk (“dark”), Swedish mörk (“dark”), Icelandic myrkur (“dark”), as also Albanian murg (“dark”), Proto-Slavic *morkъ (“darkness”), Lithuanian márgas (“multicolored”), murzinas (“dirty, spoiled”), Ancient Greek ἀμορβός (amorbós, “dark”).
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Dark, murky.
He cannot see through the mantle murk.1835, Joseph Rodman Drake, The Culprit Fay:
Etymology From Middle English mirke, merke, from Old English mirce, myrce (“darkness, gloom”) and Old Norse myrkr (“darkness, gloom”), both from Proto-Germanic *merkwą, *mirkwiz (“darkness”), Proto-Indo-European *mergʷ- (“to flicker; to darken; to be dark”).
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Darkness, or a dark or gloomy environment.
[…]in murk and occidental dampc. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
O great star disappear’d—O the black murk that hides the star!1865, Walt Whitman, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”, in Sequel to Drum-Taps: When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d and other poems:
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And yet, tiny sparks of hope gleam in this dim existence, like pearls in the murk.2004, Intelligent Systems, translated by Nintendo of America, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Nintendo, GameCube, level/area: Twilight Town:
Etymology From Middle English mirken, probably from Old Norse myrkja, myrkva (“to make dark, darken”), from Proto-Germanic *mirkwijaną, *mirkwajaną (“to make dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *mergʷ- (“to flicker; to darken; to be dark”).
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To make murky or be murky; to cloud or obscure, or to be clouded or obscured.
Dawn had been murking through the smoky windows, growing stronger for half an hour...1918, Booth Tarkington, The Magnificent Ambersons:
murk
verb
Etymology Possibly an alteration of merc, from clipping of mercenary. First attested in the 1990s.
That's why he was able to catch Crush out there sleeping and why he murked him before he could ask him any questions.2010, Dana Dane, Numbers, page 232:
that 1 fag in there got my pistol confiscated, I got plenty of other guns but I want to murk that cocksucker2011 August 31, Justin Kemble, quotee, “Feds Consulted Urban Dictionary In Threat Case”, in The Smoking Gun:
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In truth, there are Easter eggs planted in just about every frame of Ready Player One, which never misses an opportunity to insert a recognizable character (hey, is that Jason Voorhees getting merked during the film’s first-person shooter level?) or toss a sop to the faithful.2018 March 26, A. A. Dowd, “Steven Spielberg Finds Fun, and maybe even a Soul, in the Pandering Pastiche of Ready Player One”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 31 May 2018:
cause we be murkin from the boogie And shittin on the crowds 'cause they jive fakin woody.1991, Camp Lo, Coolie High:
He clowned Sticks, and Sticks murked him for no reason. And I don't know for sure, but I think he murked Trail.2011, Treasure Hernandez, Baltimore Chronicles, volume 2:
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Yas (Vivian Oparah): And where is this, uh, summit of doom taking place? Dom (David Jonsson): Il Giardino. There. Used to be "our" place. Yas: No. Absolutely not. Text her, you can't make it. We'll go to Laser Quest, merk some eight-year-olds.2023, Nathan Bryon, Tom Melia, directed by Raine Allen-Miller, Rye Lane:
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Ambitransitive, Slang To eliminate; to defeat overwhelmingly.
POV: You're about to get murked by two of Philly's finest on the court. | @myteamtoyota2022 March 5, NBC Sports PhiladelphiaTwitter: