English Explanatory Dictionary

holk

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A hollow cavity.
verb
  1. To dig out; make hollow; hollow out.
  2. To dig; dig into; pierce; penetrate; investigate; poke.
  3. To dig up; excavate.

Word forms

holk holks howk houk holking holked

Etymology

From Middle English holk, from Old English holc, holoc (“hole, cavity”), from Proto-West Germanic *holuk, from Proto-Germanic *hulukaz (“a hollow”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, hide”). Equivalent to hole + -ock (diminutive ending). Cognate with Low German holke, hölke (“small hole”), German Holk (“a type of flat-bottomed barge”), Swedish holk (“nest, birdhouse”), dialectal Norwegian holk, hylke (“wooden barrel, cask”), Icelandic hólkur (“hollow cylinder or tube”). Related to hulk.

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