spelk meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

spelk

noun

/spɛlk/

Etymology From Middle English spelke, from Old English spilc, spelc (“a splint”), from Proto-West Germanic *spelku, from Proto-Germanic *spelkō, *spalkō, *spalkuz (“bast, splint”). Cognate with Old Norse spjalkir (“bars, rails”, plural).

Cumbria, Northumbria A splinter, usually of wood.

Cumbria, Northumbria A wooden splinter caught under the skin.

Northern English A rod or switch.

Aerospace, Business, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Unusably short lengths of fibre-reinforced material, such as prepreg.

spelk

verb

Etymology From Middle English spelken, from Old English spelċan, from Proto-West Germanic *spalkijan, from Proto-Germanic *spalkijaną. Cognate with Old Norse spelkja.

Northern English To use a spelk in or on.

A spelk is often a hazel of two or three years' growth. It is pointed at each end, and is three or four feet long, and is placed at right angles with the thatch to hold it down. Sometimes a bit of very neat work is displayed in the spelking of the thatch […]1884, Notes and Queries, page 193:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.