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calk1

[kawk]
verb (used with object), noun
  1. caulk.
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calk2

[kawk]
noun
  1. Also calkin. a projection on a horseshoe to prevent slipping on ice, pavement, etc.
  2. Also calker. a similar device on the heel or sole of a shoe to prevent slipping.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to provide with calks.
  2. to injure with a calk.
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Origin of calk2

1580–90; perhaps a back formation from calkin, taken as a verb calk + -in present participle suffix (Middle English -inde), confused with -ing2

caulk

or calk

[kawk]
verb (used with object)
  1. to fill or close seams or crevices of (a tank, window, etc.) in order to make watertight, airtight, etc.
  2. to make (a vessel) watertight by filling the seams between the planks with oakum or other material driven snug.
  3. to fill or close (a seam, joint, etc.), as in a boat.
  4. to drive the edges of (plating) together to prevent leakage.
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noun
  1. Also caulk·ing [kaw-king] /ˈkɔ kɪŋ/. a material or substance used for caulking.
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Origin of caulk

1350–1400; < Latin calcāre to trample, tread on (verbal derivative of calx heel), conflated with Middle English cauken < Old French cauquer to trample < Latin, as above
Can be confusedcalk caulk
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for calk

Historical Examples

  • Then it was decided to take part of the cargo out and calk her topsides.

    Youth

    Joseph Conrad

  • The calk of the iron shoe was left sticking in the barn door.

  • The more I calk up the sources, and the tighter I get, the more I leak wisdom.

    Roughing It

    Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

  • I can calk the seams with some of our clothes, and part of the sail cloth.

  • We need that in our boat—if it ever gets calm enough to calk it, declared Abe.

British Dictionary definitions for calk

calk1

verb
  1. a variant spelling of caulk
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calk2

calkin (ˈkɔːkɪn, ˈkæl-)

noun
  1. a metal projection on a horse's shoe to prevent slipping
  2. mainly US and Canadian a set of spikes or a spiked plate attached to the sole of a boot, esp by loggers, to prevent slipping
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verb (tr)
  1. to provide with calks
  2. to wound with a calk
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Word Origin

C17: from Latin calx heel

calk3

verb
  1. (tr) to transfer (a design) by tracing it with a blunt point from one sheet backed with loosely fixed colouring matter onto another placed underneath
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Word Origin

C17: from French calquer to trace; see calque

caulk

calk

verb
  1. to stop up (cracks, crevices, etc) with a filler
  2. nautical to pack (the seams) between the planks of the bottom of (a vessel) with waterproof material to prevent leakage
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Derived Formscaulker or calker, noun

Word Origin

C15: from Old Northern French cauquer to press down, from Latin calcāre to trample, from calx heel
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for calk

caulk

v.

late 14c., "to stop up crevices or cracks," from Old North French cauquer, from Late Latin calicare "to stop up chinks with lime," from Latin calx (2) "lime, limestone" (see chalk). Original sense is nautical, of making ships watertight. Related: Caulked; caulking. As a noun, "caulking material," by 1980 (caulking in this sense was used from 1743). Related: Caulker.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper