ilk

1 of 3

noun

ˈilk 

: sort, kind

politicians and their ilk

ilk

2 of 3

pronoun (1)

chiefly Scotland

: same

—used with that especially in the names of landed families

ilk

3 of 3

pronoun (2)

chiefly Scotland

: each

Did you know?

The noun ilk comes from the Old English pronoun ilca by way of a pronoun ilk that is still in use, but not in most modern English dialects. That ilk is synonymous with same, and persists chiefly in Scotland where it's used in the phrase "of that ilk," meaning "of the same place, territorial designation, or name." It is generally used in reference to the names of land-owning families and their eponymous estates, as in "the Grants of that ilk," which means "the Grants of Grant." In the late 1700s, the Scots phrase extended to mean "of that kind or sort," a usage that found its way into modern English.

Synonyms

Noun

• breed
• class
• description
• feather
• genre
• kidney
• kind
• like
• manner
• nature
• order
• sort
• species
• strain
• stripe
• type
• variety

Examples of ilk in a Sentence

Noun

The club attracts punk rockers and others of that ilk.

we're looking for chestnuts and other items of that ilk for our autumn decorations

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Ten years on, and with the streaming world continuing to fracture the television landscape, Blackout Thursday and its ilk now seem harder to envisage than ever. —Jon O'Brien, IndieWire, 4 Nov. 2024

Like the best thrillers of this ilk, though, its darkest impulses do not weigh it down but rather give it a sadistic, jet-black comic edge. —Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 30 Oct. 2024

Previously, Tri and its ilk have repaired these rifts, but something has gone awry, and Tri needs Zelda’s help to fix things. —Ollie Barder, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024

To be sure, the pop and rock gods of the ’60s walked so that the Gallagher brothers and their ilk could run (with Liam unapologetically adopting many a John Lennon signature such as round eyewear). —Naomi Rougeau, Robb Report, 26 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Pronoun (1)

Middle English, from Old English ilca, from *i- that, the same (akin to Goth is he, Latin, he, that) + *lik- form (whence Old English līc body) — more at iterate, like

Pronoun (2)

Middle English, adjective & pronoun, from Old English ylc, ǣlc — more at each

First Known Use

Noun

1790, in the meaning defined above

Pronoun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Pronoun (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

ilk

noun

ˈilk

: sort entry 1 sense 1a, kind

gamers and their ilk