irk

Where does the word "irk" come from? It comes from Old Norse yrkja, passing through Middle English before entering English (1500s).

Irk’s story begins in Old Norse: yrkja meant “to work.” To work; the likeliest source, though the link is uncertain. By 1400s, the word had taken hold in Middle English as irken. To grow tired or weary. It reached English by 1500s as irk. Came to mean to annoy; 'irksome' is recorded from the 1510s. Today, irk means to irritate or annoy.

1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval yrkja "to work", to work; the likeliest source, though the link is uncertain.
2. Stage 2 · Middle English · 1400s irken "to weary", to grow tired or weary.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1500s irk "to annoy", came to mean to annoy; 'irksome' is recorded from the 1510s.