calk

[kawk]

verb (used with object), noun

caulk.

calk

[kawk]

noun

Also calkin. a projection on a horseshoe to prevent slipping on ice, pavement, etc.

Also calker. a similar device on the heel or sole of a shoe to prevent slipping.

verb (used with object)

to provide with calks.

to injure with a calk.

Origin of calk

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)

to fill or close seams or crevices of (a tank, window, etc.) in order to make watertight, airtight, etc.

to make (a vessel) watertight by filling the seams between the planks with oakum or other material driven snug.

to fill or close (a seam, joint, etc.), as in a boat.

to drive the edges of (plating) together to prevent leakage.

noun

Also caulk·ing

[kaw-king] /ˈkɔ kɪŋ/. a material or substance used for caulking.

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for calk

Historical Examples of calk

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.
Old Rail Fence Corners
Various
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.
Tom Fairfield at Sea
Allen Chapman
We need that in our boat—if it ever gets calm enough to calk it, declared Abe.
Tom Fairfield at Sea
Allen Chapman

British Dictionary definitions for calk

calk

verb

a variant spelling of caulk

calk

calkin (ˈkɔːkɪn, ˈkæl-)

noun

a metal projection on a horse's shoe to prevent slipping

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

verb (tr)

to provide with calks

to wound with a calk

Word Origin for calk

C17: from Latin calx heel

calk

verb

(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

Word Origin for calk

C17: from French calquer to trace; see calque

caulk

calk

verb

to stop up (cracks, crevices, etc) with a filler

nautical to pack (the seams) between the planks of the bottom of (a vessel) with waterproof material to prevent leakage

Derived Formscaulker or calker, noun

Word Origin for caulk

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

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.