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Synonyms for eke

Grammar : Verb
Spell : eek
Phonetic Transcription : ik

Définition of eke

Origin :
  • c.1200, eken "to increase, lengthen," north England and E. Midlands variant of echen from Old English ecan, eacan, eacian "to increase," probably from eaca "an increase," from Proto-Germanic *aukan (cf. Old Norse auka, Old Frisian aka, Old High German ouhhon, Gothic aukan), from PIE *aug- "to increase" (see augment).
  • Now mainly in phrase to eke out (1590s). It means "to make something go further or last longer;" you can eke out your income by taking a second job, but you can't eke out your existence. Related: Eked; eking.
  • verb lengthen
Example sentences :
  • Faults of temper she may have had, and eke narrow prejudices on sundry points.
  • Extract from : « In the Valley » by Harold Frederic
  • Then shall he not go without a ducking and eke a drubbing himself!
  • Extract from : « The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood » by Howard Pyle
  • Can you, from the brief minutes I have left, Eke out my reparation?
  • Extract from : « Browning's England » by Helen Archibald Clarke
  • How he contrived to eke out subsistence was difficult to conceive.
  • Extract from : « Confessions Of Con Cregan » by Charles James Lever
  • She had a small pension from the Government, and she worked at dressmaking to eke it out.
  • Extract from : « Olive in Italy » by Moray Dalton
  • I had been desperately saving the ammunition, to eke out this hour of mine with her.
  • Extract from : « Desert Dust » by Edwin L. Sabin
  • And eke cauellira Slender, go you all ouer the fields to Frogmore?
  • Extract from : « The Merry Wives of Windsor » by William Shakespeare
  • Thus were our days spent on the road, thus our evenings, and eke our nights.
  • Extract from : « Our Home in the Silver West » by Gordon Stables
  • I want all the glory and eke the gold if I find the hidden chests.
  • Extract from : « Blacksheep! Blacksheep! » by Meredith Nicholson
  • Plimsoll an' Eke Jordan, the sheriff, are like two peas in a pod.
  • Extract from : « Rimrock Trail » by J. Allan Dunn

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Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019