Firk

//fɜː(ɹ)k// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A stroke; lash.
  2. 2
    A freak; trick; quirk. UK, dialectal
Verb
  1. 1
    To carry away or about; carry; move. obsolete, transitive
  2. 2
    To drive away. obsolete, transitive

    "I'll fer him, and firk him, and ferret him."

  3. 3
    To rouse; raise up. obsolete, transitive
  4. 4
    To move quickly; go off or fly out suddenly; turn out. intransitive, obsolete

    "A wench is a rare bait, with which a man / No sooner's taken but he straight firks mad."

Example

More examples

"I'll fer him, and firk him, and ferret him."

Etymology

Etymology 1

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”).

Etymology 2

Probably an alteration of freak.

Related phrases

go off

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.