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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.
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Examples of ilk in a Sentence
Vincent Frank, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
This used to be the role of MLS and other leagues of a similar ilk: stepping stones between a boyhood club and the highest levels while providing safe landing spots for returning domestic talents in their late twenties and beyond.
—Jeff Rueter, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
As ever, though, DLSS and its ilk come down to adoption by developers.
—Michael Justin Allen Sexton, PCMAG, 15 Jan. 2025
The present-day planet proved to be inhospitable to the prehistoric ilk, except for a small region in the tropics around the equator, where many of them now congregate.
—Nick Romano, EW.com, 18 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Ilk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ilk. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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