Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Pain; ache.
  • To be in pain; ache.
  • noun A dialectal (Scotch) form of work.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Obs. or Scot. Work; a building.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb intransitive To be in pain; ache.
  • noun Northern England, Scotland Pain; ache.
  • noun obsolete A building.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English werken, warchen, from Old English wærcan ("to be in pain"). Cognate with Swedish värka ("to ache, pain"), Icelandic verkja ("to pain"). See above.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English werk, warch, from Old English wærc, wræc ("pain, suffering, anguish"), from Proto-Germanic *warkiz (“pain”), from Proto-Indo-European *werǵ-, *wreǵ- (“to work, act”). Cognate with Swedish värk ("ache, pain"), Icelandic verkur ("pain"). Related to work.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

See work.

Support

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Examples

  • 'Ay, ay,' returned my uncle, 'wark's aye best in an evil day.'

    Border Ghost Stories Howard Pease

  • KYLE and the rest of the negative twitts (shut up and help) not jump all over the president. each one of you are just as quilty as BUSH CHENEY AND ROVE so learn from it and get to wark helping. we are doing it so get with it or retire and shut up!!!

    Kyl: By announcing date, Obama has 'complicated' Afghan war 2009

  • So I suppose it is all about balancing the rights of those who want to and are willing to wark towards imposing shari'ah law on non-Muslim populations, and all the horror, rape, slavery, subjugation and death with comes with that, and individuals belonging to those potential victim non-Muslim populations.

    Britain's anti-terror control orders condemned as 'trademark of despots' 2011

  • Still an on, seein as he's sendin fae his wark noo, A dinna see whit wey his wark shidna ken aboot it.

    google is sometimes frightening « Love | Peace | Ohana 2008

  • So tehn yu feel gud an can sai “OK tomorro Ai will eet 3 frootanvej an wark to sumwehr yu need to go”.

    Lol cats now with usb charging ports. - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2009

  • Hutcheon had nae will to the wark, but he had stood by Dougal in battle and broil, and he wad not fail him at this pinch; so down the carles sat ower a stoup of brandy, and Hutcheon, who was something of a clerk, would have read a chapter of the Bible; but Dougal would hear naething but a blaud of Davie Lindsay, whilk was the waur preparation.

    Redgauntlet 2008

  • Wild wark they made of it; for the Whigs were as dour as the Cavaliers were fierce, and it was which should first tire the other.

    Redgauntlet 2008

  • I was half way down — for rowing is faster wark than rinning — ere they could get at their arms; and then it was flash, flash, flash — rap, rap, rap — from the edge of the road; but my head was too jumbled to think anything either of that or the hard knocks I got among the stones.

    Redgauntlet 2008

  • There never was a trade so unhealthy yet but men would fight to get wark at it for twa pennies a day aboon the common wage.

    Chronicles of the Canongate 2008

  • Sir John hushed the matter up, and the funeral passed over without mair bogle-wark.

    Redgauntlet 2008

Comments

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  • (Obsolete) A pain or ache.

    February 15, 2008