unked

adj — 4 senses

unked

adj

/ʌnˈkɛd/

Etymology From Middle English unked, past participle of unkythen, equivalent to un- + ked (an old past participle form of kithe).

1

UK, Archaic, Dialectal odd; strange

  • On Tuesday afternoon Molly returned home, to the home which was already strange, and what Warwickshire people would call 'unked,' to her. New paint, new paper, new colours; grim servants dressed in their best, and objecting to every change1864 August – 1866 January, [Elizabeth] Gaskell, Wives and Daughters. An Every-day Story. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], published 1866, →OCLC:
  • Forsooth he misdoubted him that the bow was somewhat unked, and that the lad had had some new dealings with the Dwarf-kin or other strange wights.1898, William Morris, The Sundering Flood, p. 41:
  • And there the little stalk of each, which might have been a pear, God willing, had a ring around its base, and sought a chance to drop and die. The others which had not opened comb, but only prepared to do it, were a little better off, but still very brown and unked, and shrivelling in doubt of health, and neither peart nor lusty.1869, Richard Doddridge Blackmore, Lorna Doone, Chapter 17:
3

UK, Archaic, Dialectal uncouth

4

UK, Archaic, Dialectal lonely; dreary

  • March 21, 1790, William Cowper, letter to Mrs. Throckmorton Weston is sadly unked without you.
Related terms
kithe, uncouth

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