Middle English Dictionary Entry
colk n.
Entry Info
Forms | colk n. Also coke. |
Etymology | Cp. OFris. & MDu. kolk pothole, etc., OE oden-colc a hollow serving as a threshing floor, & Swed. dial. kälk pith. |
Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)
1.
(a) The core (of an apple); the heart (of an onion); sparen neither appel ne ~, to do all one can, go as quickly as possible; (b) the center or bottom (of the heart).
Associated quotations
a
- a1400 Med.Bk.(2) (Roy 17.A.3)118 : Colkis [Add 33996: Tak þreo gret oynenons and kerue out þe koppes aboue].
- a1425(a1400) PConsc.(Glb E.9 & Hrl 4196)6445 : Alle erthe by skille may likend be Til a rounde appel..Þat even in myddes has a colke, And swa it may be tille an egge yholke.
- c1425(c1400) Ld.Troy (LdMisc 595)9010 : Then come..kyng Odemon Out of Troye with mechel ffolk; He spared neyther the appul ne the colk Vn-til he come to [the] Melle.
- ?c1475 *Cath.Angl.(Add 15562)27a : A Colke: erula, interior pars pomi.
- a1500(a1460) Towneley Pl.(Hnt HM 1)338/43 : An appyll..full roten inwardly At the colke within.
b
- a1400 Siege Jerus.(1) (LdMisc 656)916 : He strykeþ myd þat staf streȝt to þe hert, Þat þe colke toclef & þe kyng deyed.
2.
(a) ?A bolt of some kind; ?a calk; (b) charcoal (i.e. the unburned 'core' of wood); cp. MnE coke.
Associated quotations
a
- (1465) Acc.Howard in RC 57201 : For the drawenge of iij kolkes [vr. boltes] of iren for the halyher.
- (1466) Acc.Howard in RC 57214 : John Smythe gaff my mastyr v colkes of yren..v boltes.
b
- (1430) Acc.Iron Master in EHR 14514 : Except all þe wode þat wol be felyes or beemes, þe whuche allewey shall bee fellyd..afore þat þe colyers make coke þeer.
Supplemental Materials (draft)
- a1325 Gloss.Bibbesw.(Trin-C O.2.21:Rothwell) 213 : De manger pommes pur ceo ke l'eyment..La pepinere [glossed:] þe kolk [Cmb Gg.1.1: kore; vrr. kyrnel, the scorce] engetez.
Note: Quot. antedates word.
Note: New form: Also..kolk.
Note: Quot. belongs to sense 1.(a).
Note: The list of variant spellings in the form section is incomplete and needs revision to accord with standards of later volumes of the MED.--all notes per MLL