murk

or mirk

[ murk ]

/ mɜrk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR murk ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

darkness; gloom: the murk of a foggy night.

adjective

Archaic. dark; murky.

RELATED WORDS

dimness, gloom, murkiness, dusk

Nearby words

Origin of murk

before 900; Middle English mirke, myrke < Old Norse myrkr dark, darkness, replacing Old English myrce dark

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for murk

"I'd get thrown out on my bean if I ever stuck my nose in the kitchen door," Murk said.
The Brand of Silence|Harrington Strong
Jim Farland had told him the location of the Gilbert apartment, and Murk saw that the lights in it were burning.
The Brand of Silence|Harrington Strong
If he had stayed he must have blasphemed the religion which was soiling with its murk their love.
Guy and Pauline|Compton Mackenzie
"I'd like to know the identity of that masked man," the detective said, when Murk had finished.
The Brand of Silence|Harrington Strong

In the same instant, across the murk shot a broad beam of light from the open doorway.
The Hermit of Far End|Margaret Pedler

British Dictionary definitions for murk (1 of 2)

murk

mirk

/ (mɜːk) /

noun

gloomy darkness

adjective

an archaic variant of murky

Word Origin for murk

C13: probably from Old Norse myrkr darkness; compare Old English mirce dark

British Dictionary definitions for murk (2 of 2)

murk

/ (mɜːk) /

verb (tr) slang

to murder (a person)

to defeat (a team) convincingly

Word Origin for murk

C20: of unknown origin

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 murk

murk

c.1300, myrke, from Old Norse myrkr "darkness," from Proto-Germanic *merkwjo- (cf. Old English mirce "murky, black, dark; murkiness, darkness," Danish mǿrk "darkness," Old Saxon mirki "dark"); cognate with Old Church Slavonic mraku, Serbo-Croatian mrak, Russian mrak "darkness;" Lithuanian merkti "shut the eyes, blink," from PIE *mer- "to flicker" (see morn). Murk Monday was long the name in Scotland for the great solar eclipse of March 29, 1652 (April 8, New Style).