n. [ See Birch, n. ] A birch tree. [ Prov. Eng. ] “The silver birk.” Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A small European minnow (Leuciscus phoxinus). [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Birchen; as, birken groves. Burns. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ From 1st Birk. ] To whip with a birch or rod. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A lively or mettlesome fellow. [ Jocular, Scot. ] Burns. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ Cf. Chirp, also Creak. ] 1. To shriek; to gnash; to utter harsh or shrill cries. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

All full of chirkyng was that sorry place. Cheucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To chirp like a bird. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To cheer; to enliven; as, to chirk one up. [ Colloq. New Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ From Chirk, v. i. ] Lively; cheerful; in good spirits. [ Colloq. New Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Ir. duirc. ] A kind of dagger or poniard; -- formerly much used by the Scottish Highlander. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dirk knife, a clasp knife having a large, dirklike blade. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Dirked p. pr. & vb. n. Dirking. ] To stab with a dirk. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ See Dark, a. ] Dark. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To darken. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Darkness. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. n. the name of a town and a battle fought there, in World War II (1940) when 330, 000 Allied troops had to be evacuated from the beaches at Dunkirk in a desperate retreat under enemy fire. Most of the forces were safely evacuated to England.
Syn. -- Dunkerque. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. [ Cf. OE. ferken to proceed, hasten, AS. fercian to bring, assist; perh. akin to faran to go, E. fare. ] To beat; to strike; to chastise. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

I'll fer him, and firk him, and ferret him. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To fly out; to turn out; to go off. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A wench is a rare bait, with which a man [ 1913 Webster ]

No sooner's taken but he straight firks mad.B.Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A freak; trick; quirk. [ Obs. ] Ford. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From AS. feówer four (or an allied word, perh. Dutch or Danish) + -kin. See Four. ] 1. A varying measure of capacity, usually being the fourth part of a barrel; specifically, a measure equal to nine imperial gallons. [ Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A small wooden vessel or cask of indeterminate size, -- used for butter, lard, etc. [ U.S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Obs. ] See Gherkin. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ OE. irken to tire, become tired; cf. Sw. yrka to urge, enforce, press, or G. ekel disgust, MHG. erklich disgusting; perh. akin to L. urgere to urge, E. urge. ] To weary; to give pain; to annoy. [ 1913 Webster ]

To see this sight, it irks my very soul. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

It irketh him to be here. M. Arnold. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Wearisome; tedious; disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; as, irksome hours; irksome tasks. [ 1913 Webster ]

For not to irksome toil, but to delight,
He made us. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Weary; vexed; uneasy. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Let us therefore learn not to be irksome when God layeth his cross upon us. Latimer.

Syn. -- Wearisome; tedious; tiresome; vexatious; burdensome. -- Irksome, Wearisome, Tedious. These epithets describe things which give pain or disgust. Irksome is applied to something which disgusts by its nature or quality; as, an irksome task. Wearisome denotes that which wearies or wears us out by severe labor; as, wearisome employment. Tedious is applied to something which tires us out by the length of time occupied in its performance; as, a tedious speech. [ 1913 Webster ]

Wearisome nights are appointed to me. Job vii. 3. [ 1913 Webster ]

Pity only on fresh objects stays,
But with the tedious sight of woes decays. Dryden.

-- Irk"some*ly, adv. -- Irk"some*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Scot.; cf. Icel. kirkja, of Greek origin. See Church. ] A church or the church, in the various senses of the word; esp., the Church of Scotland as distinguished from other reformed churches, or from the Roman Catholic Church. [ Scot. ] Jamieson. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Etymol. uncertain. ] Turned upward; bent. [ Obs. ] Rom. of R. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Kirkmen [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A clergyman or officer in a kirk. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A member of the Church of Scotland, as distinguished from a member of another communion. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A churchyard. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Darkness; gloom; murk. “In mirk and mire.” Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ See Murky. ] Dark; gloomy; murky. Spenser. Mrs. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Dark; gloomy; murky. [ Archaic ] Spenser. -- Mirk"some*ness, n. [Archaic] [1913 Webster]

a. Dark; gloomy. See Murky. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Written also querk. ] [ Cf. W. chwiori to turn briskly, or E. queer. ] 1. A sudden turn; a starting from the point or line; hence, an artful evasion or subterfuge; a shift; a quibble; as, the quirks of a pettifogger. “Some quirk or . . . evasion.” Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

We ground the justification of our nonconformity on dark subtilties and intricate quirks. Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A fit or turn; a short paroxysm; a caprice. [ Obs. ] “Quirks of joy and grief.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A smart retort; a quibble; a shallow conceit. [ 1913 Webster ]

Some odd quirks and remnants of wit. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. An irregular air; as, light quirks of music. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Building) A piece of ground taken out of any regular ground plot or floor, so as to make a court, yard, etc.; -- sometimes written quink. Gwilt. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Arch.) A small channel, deeply recessed in proportion to its width, used to insulate and give relief to a convex rounded molding. [ 1913 Webster ]

Quirk molding, a bead between two quirks. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having, or formed with, a quirk or quirks. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Consisting of quirks; resembling a quirk. Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Full of quirks; tricky; as, a quirky lawyer. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ or . (Zool.) Any small holothurian resembling in form a gherkin. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Shirked p. pr. & vb. n. Shirking. ] [ Probably the same word as shark. See Shark, v. t. ] 1. To procure by petty fraud and trickery; to obtain by mean solicitation. [ 1913 Webster ]

You that never heard the call of any vocation, . . . that shirk living from others, but time from Yourselves. Bp. Rainbow. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To avoid; to escape; to neglect; -- implying unfaithfulness or fraud; as, to shirk duty. [ 1913 Webster ]

The usual makeshift by which they try to shirk difficulties. Hare. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To live by shifts and fraud; to shark. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To evade an obligation; to avoid the performance of duty, as by running away. [ 1913 Webster ]

One of the cities shirked from the league. Byron. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who lives by shifts and tricks; one who avoids the performance of duty or labor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who shirks. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Disposed to shirk. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) Any one of several species of Asiatic cuckoos of the genus Taccocua, as the Bengal sirkeer (Taccocua sirkee). [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Smirked p. pr. & vb. n. Smirking. ] [ OE. smirken, ASS. smercian, smearcian; cf. MHG. smieren, smielen, to smile. See Smile, v. i. ] To smile in an affected or conceited manner; to smile with affected complaisance; to simper. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A forced or affected smile; a simper. [ 1913 Webster ]

The bride, all smirk and blush, had just entered. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Nice, ; smart; spruce; affected; simpering. “So smirk, so smooth.” Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. With smirking; with a smirk. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Smirk; smirking. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Naut.) The planking from the waterways up to the port sills. Totten. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ So called from the battle of Steinkirk, in 1692, on which occasion the French nobles had no time to arrange their lace neckcloths. ] A kind of neckcloth worn in a loose and disorderly fashion. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Steenkirk. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. stric, from steór a steer. See Steer a young ox. ] A young bullock or heifer. [ Prov. Eng. & Scot. ] Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]