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firk

English

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firk¹

  • /fɜː(ɹ)k/

Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)k

Where it comes from

From Middle English firken, ferken (“to proceed, hasten”), from Old English fercian (“to bring, assist, support, carry, conduct, convey, proceed”), from Proto-West Germanic *farikōn, frequentative of Proto-Germanic *faraną (“to travel, fare”). Akin to Old English faran (“to fare, go”), English fare; if so, equivalent to fare + -k. Cognate with Old High German fuora (“benefit, sustenance, support”), Swabian fergen, ferken (“to bring, dispatch”).

verb firks · firking · firked · ferk

  1. obsolete, transitive To carry away or about; carry; move.
  2. obsolete, transitive To drive away. I'll fer him, and firk him, and ferret him.
  3. obsolete, transitive To rouse; raise up.
  4. intransitive, obsolete To move quickly; go off or fly out suddenly; turn out. A wench is a rare bait, with which a man / No sooner's taken but he straight firks mad.

noun firks · ferk

  1. A stroke; lash.

firk²

  • /fɜː(ɹ)k/

Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)k

Where it comes from

Probably an alteration of freak.

noun firks · ferk

  1. UK, dialectal, obsolete A freak; trick; quirk. firk o' law

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Cite this
MLA

"firk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/firk. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

firk. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/firk

Chicago

"firk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/firk.

BibTeX
@misc{firk_2026,
  title = {firk},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/firk},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}