quyk

Middle English

Alternative forms

• quic, quicke, quik, quike, quikke, quycke, quyke, quykke, qwicke, qwik, qwyck, qwyk, qwyke
• cwic, cwich, cwick, cwuc (Early Middle English)
• qwhyke, weke, whik, whike, whikk, whyk, whyke, whykke (Northern)

Etymology

Inherited from Old English cwic, from Proto-West Germanic *kwiku, from Proto-Germanic *kwikwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kwik/, /kweːk/

Adjective

quyk (plural and weak singular quyke, superlative quykest)

1. living, alive, active
   • c. 1368, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Book of the Duchess, as recorded c. 1440–1450 in Bodleian Library MS. Fairfax 16, folio 131r:

     Sende me grace to slepe and mete / In my slepe some certeyn sweven / Wher thorgh that I may knowe even / Whethir my lorde be quyke or ded

     Send me grace to sleep and dream / Some trustworthy dream in my sleep / Through which I might know exactly / Whether my lord is alive or dead.

2. active, alert
3. vibrant, powerful, forceful, effective, apparent
4. keen, perceptive
5. fast, speedy, quick

Derived terms

• quyk lym
• quyk silver
• quykly
• quyknesse
• quyksande

 

Descendants

• English: quick (dialectal wick)
  • → Ido: quik
• Scots: quick, queek

Noun

quyk (plural quykes or quyk)

1. living being

Adverb

quyk

1. quickly, immediately
2. while living

References

• “quī̆k, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-27.
• “quik, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-27.