Etymograph

English

kirk

Kirk comes from Old Norse kirkja ‘church’, from Proto-Hellenic *kúrios ‘lord, master’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- ‘to swell’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱewh₁-1‘to swell’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱuh₁ryós1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kúrios1‘lord, master’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκῡ́ριος1kū́rios
  5. Koine Greekc. 300 BCE–600 CEκῡριακός1kūriakós
  6. Koine Greekc. 300 BCE–600 CEκῡρῐᾰκόν1kūrĭăkón
  7. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kirikā1reconstructed
  8. Old Englishc. 450–1150ċiriċe1‘church’
  9. Old Norsec. 800–1350kirkja1‘church’
  10. Northern Middle Englishmodernkirke1‘a church’
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1798kirk1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English kirk
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1798, Samuel Taylor Coleridge: “The Ship was cheer'd, the Harbour clear'd— / Merrily…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱewh₁-Wiktionary, English kirk‘to swell’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱuh₁ryósWiktionary, English kirkreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kúriosWiktionary, English kirk‘lord, master’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκῡ́ριοςWiktionary, English kirkkū́rios
  5. Koine Greekc. 300 BCE–600 CEκῡριακόςWiktionary, English kirkkūriakós
  6. Koine Greekc. 300 BCE–600 CEκῡρῐᾰκόνWiktionary, English kirkkūrĭăkón
  7. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kirikāWiktionary, English kirkreconstructed
  8. Old Englishc. 450–1150ċiriċeWiktionary, English kirk‘church’
  9. Old Norsec. 800–1350kirkjaWiktionary, English kirk‘church’
  10. Northern Middle EnglishmodernkirkeWiktionary, English kirk‘a church’
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1798kirkWiktionary, English kirk. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1798, Samuel Taylor Coleridge: “The Ship was cheer'd, the Harbour clear'd— / Merrily…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- ‘to swell’

jail, cave, cage, cavity, excavation, hound, cyst, gaol, excavate, cumulus, cajole, caul, cavil, 41 more

through Old English ċiriċe ‘church’

church, 3 more

Today it means

noun A church.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “kirk”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- / kirk

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