irk: [13] Irk originally meant ‘grow tired’, and although it is not known for certain, its underlying sense could be ‘work until one is weary’: for a possible source may be Old Norse yrkja ‘work’. The present-day sense ‘annoy’ is first recorded in the 15th century.
irk (v.)
mid-15c., irken "be weary of, be disgusted with;" earlier intransitive, "to feel weary" (early 14c.). Of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Old Norse yrkja "work" (from PIE root *werg- "to work;" see organ), or Middle High German erken "to disgust." Modern sense of "annoy" is from late 15c. An adjective, irk "weary, tired" is attested from c. 1300 in northern and midlands writing.
实用例句
1. By midday the irk of his pack became too oppressive.
