sunkn.
/sʌŋk/, U.S. /səŋk/, Scottish English /sʌŋk/ Chiefly Scottish. Now rare.† 1. Scottish and Irish English (northern). A seat or bench made of sods of turf laid in layers; (more generally) any seat or bench. Obsolete. Eng. Dial. Dict. (at Sonk) records this sense as still in use in Ulster in 1904.† 3. Scottish. A bank or wall made of earth or turf. Cf. sunk dyke n. at Compounds. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > rising ground or eminence > [noun] > small mound
balkc885
bankc1175
hill1297
hillock1382
mow?1424
sunka1522
tump1589
anthill1598
pustule1651
mound1791
hag1805
moundlet1808
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) iii. iv. l. 30 Syne eftir, endlang the sey costis bay, Vp sonkis [we] set, and desys dyd array.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) v. vii. l. 44 Tho gan the grave Acest with wordis chyde Entellus, sat on greyn sonk hym besyde.
1768 A. Ross Fortunate Shepherdess iii. 221 Gang in an' seat you o' the sunks a' round.
1828 P. Buchan Anc. Ballads & Songs N. Scotl. II. 107 She sawna a seat to sit down on, But only some sunks o' green feall.
1866 J. Shanks Elgin 172 The old stone, called in Morayshire a sunk, which sat by the old fireplace.
a1896 J. Shaw Words from Dumfriesshire Dial. in R. Wallace Country Schoolmaster (1899) 353 Sonks, seats.
2. † a. Scottish, Irish English (northern), and English regional (northern). A sack filled with straw, typically used as a substitute for a saddle or as a simple mattress. Frequently in plural, denoting a makeshift saddle made from a pair of such sacks placed on each side of a horse's back. Cf. sod n.1 2. Obsolete.
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > saddle > types of saddle
mail-saddle1360
trotter-saddle1381
panel1393
loadsaddle1397
packsaddle1398
limber-saddle1480
pillion1480
side-saddle1493
steel saddle1503
pilgate1511
mail pillowc1532
stock-saddle1537
pad1556
sunk1568
trunk-saddle1569
soda1586
mail pillion1586
running saddle1596
Scotch saddle1596
postilion saddle1621
pad-saddle1622
portmanteau-saddle1681
watering saddle1681
cart-saddle1692
demi-pique1695
crook-saddle1700
saddle pad1750
recado1825
aparejo1844
mountain saddle1849
somerset1851
pilch1863
cowboy saddle1880
sawbuck (pack)saddle1881
western saddle1883
cross-saddle1897
centre-fire1921
McClellan1940
poley1957
1568 J. Rowll Cursing 231 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1928) II. 305 But heltaris heidtailis sonkis or sadillis.
a1630 D. Hume Hist. Houses Douglas & Angus (1644) 260 The Earle of Argyle is bound to ride..And all his habergeons him beside Each man upon a sonke of stray.
1715 Arch. & Hist. Coll. Ayr. & Wigtown I. 35 [300 horses] with sunks, hochams, creels, sacks, and ropes.
1777 Whole Proc. Jockey & Maggy (rev. ed.) iv. 24 He halters the black mare, lays on the sunks and a covering, fine furniture for a country wife.
1807 J. Stagg Misc. Poems (new ed.) 7 Wheyle some wi' pillion seats an' sonks To gear their naigs are fussin.
a1860 J. Younger Autobiogr. (1881) ix. 90 Now, John,..lay the sunks on your yellow mare.
a1908 H. C. Hart MS Coll. Ulster Words in M. Traynor Eng. Dial. Donegal (1953) 292/1 Is he in bed? No, doctor, he's just in a sunk.
b. Scottish. A person with a figure resembling a sack of straw; a heavy, ungainly, or corpulent person. Cf. sunkie n. 2. Sc. National Dict. (at Sunk) records this sense as still in use in Angus and Kirkcudbrightshire in 1971.
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1868 G. MacDonald Robert Falconer I. vi. 66 ‘I tauld that sunk, Lumley—’ ‘Ca' naebody names, Robert.’
1882 Brechin Advertiser 24 Oct. 3 Lord Panmure wis a great sunk o' a man.
1957 in Sc. National Dict. (1974) IX. 131/2 [Angus] A great sunk o' a wuman. A sunk o' a bairn.
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society > occupation and work > industry > earth-moving, etc. > [noun] > embanking > an embankment
wharf10..
mounding1691
banking1776
sunka1784
embankment1786
battery1799
fill1850
earth fill1877
a1784 A. Ross Fortunate Shepherd in Sc. Wks. (1938) 184 Lucky..lives fu' snuggly wi' a butt an' ben; Wi' earthen sunks a' round about the wa'.
1812 D. Souter Gen. View Agric. Banff 143 Forming the sunk or bank of earth in a proper manner, at 3d. per ell.
1842 A. Laing in Whistle-Binkie 4th Ser. 72 Wi' rough divot sunks haudin' up the mud wa's.
1875 A. Smith New Hist. Aberdeenshire ii. 925 The larger farms are enclosed..with earthen sunks and hedgerows.
Compounds
sunk dyke n. Obsolete a wall having a vertical face of turf or stone on one side and an earthen embankment on the other; cf. sense 3, face dyke n. at face n. Compounds 2.
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1821 Aberdeen Jrnl. 26 Dec. 1/5 (advt.) Contractors wanted to quarry stones, and build dykes—partly double Dykes, and some sunk Dykes, with Stone Faces.
1904 Illustr. London News 9 Apr. 526/2 The open marsh..stretched inland for two miles without a hedge or other fence but the sunk dykes which intersected it across and across.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
sunkadj.
/sʌŋk/, U.S. /səŋk/Generally less common than sunken, but in some senses more common in certain historical periods (see senses 2, 6, 4b). Where sunk is more common in modern English, the sense always implies deliberate human agency.
1.
a. That has fallen to the bottom of the sea or other body of water; sunken. Chiefly with reference to a ship, boat, etc.
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society > travel > travel by water > shipwreck > [adjective] > sinking > sunk
sunken1489
sunk1578
foundered1699
1578 W. Bourne Treasure for Traueilers iv. vii. f. 16v In foure Tydes the sunke Shyppe wylbe layed vpon drye grounde, at a lowe water.
1680 W. de Britaine Humane Prudence xiii. 39 Labouring to buoy up a sunk Ship.
1773 London Chron. 7 Sept. 242/1 A boat with Shipwrights was coming on shore to the Point from an old sunk Indiaman, where they had been at work.
1839 T. Carlyle French Revol. (ed. 2) III. v. vi. 300 So has History written,..of the sunk Vengeur.
1898 H. Newbolt Island Race 14 The sunk torpedoes lying in treacherous rank.
1912 Blackwood's Mag. Mar. 433/2 Archibald made his bargain with the Earl for his services in salvaging the property in the sunk galleon.
1997 S. S. Gartner Strategic Assessment in War iii. 73 A sunk ship lost both the cargo and the ship itself.
b. Of rocks, tracts of land, etc.: lying below the level of surrounding water; covered with water, submerged.
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the world > matter > liquid > condition of being or making wet > condition of being submerged or action of submerging > [adjective]
sunken1578
sunka1584
drowned1616
underwater1627
submersed1684
submerged1697
whelmeda1821
the world > matter > liquid > condition of being or making wet > condition of being submerged or action of submerging > [adjective] > that has sunk in water, specifically land
sunka1584
a1584 S. Borough in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) ii. 316 The Russes harboured themselues within a soonke banke, but there was not water enough for vs.
1728 Stamford Mercury 7 Mar. 75 The Priscilla..bound from Malaya to London, struck on a sunk Rock.
1765 Public Advertiser 27 June The Danish Ship called the Landschap Eiderstadt..was wrecked on the Sunk Sands.
1803 Gazetteer Scotl. at Angus The coast is sandy, with frequent sunk rocks.
1830 Act 11 Geo. IV & 1 Will. IV c. 59 §20 A certain Estate called Sunk Island, situate in the River Humber.
1915 G. Parker Money Master ii. 31 The Antoine suddenly stopped almost dead with a sudden jolt and shock, then plunged sideways, jerked, and trembled. ‘We've struck a sunk iceberg..,’ he cried.
2000 H. T. Verstappen Outl. Geomorphol. Indonesia vii. 184 Unusually deep lagoons resulted—often called sunk barriers and sunk atolls.
2. Of a person's eyes, cheeks, etc.: having the appearance of having sunk into the face; unusually hollow or deeply set, esp. because of tiredness, illness, or old age; = sunken adj. 2.Apparently more common than sunken before the 18th cent., but much less common since the middle of the 19th.
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the world > health and disease > ill health > [adjective] > in state of ill health or diseased > looking ill
wanc700
sunken?a1505
wersh?a1505
wearisha1535
waryish1565
sunk1578
chap-fallen1597
chop-fallen1604
squalid1661
sallow1747
sallowish1753
peaked1804
shilpit1813
shirpit1821
peely-wally1832
peakish1836
the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > [adjective]
hollowa1250
holkedc1420
howea1500
deep-set1562
depressed1658
depressc1660
sunken1683
recessed1757
sunk1766
niche-like1841
retreating1878
sucken1878
1578 W. B. tr. Appian of Alexandria Aunc. Hist. Romanes Warres 394 Hir eyes were sonke, and hir couloure swart.
1602 B. Jonson Poetaster Induct. sig. A2 This is it, That our sunke eyes haue wak't for. View more context for this quotation
1681 J. Dryden Absalom & Achitophel 20 Sunk were his Eyes, his Voyce was harsh and loud.
a1734 R. North Lives of Norths (1826) II. 131 He went about as a ghost, with the visage of death upon him. Such a sunk, spiritless countenance he had.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. ix. 126 Her temples were sunk, her forehead was tense.
1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward I. ii. 29 His strong features, sunk cheeks, and hollow eyes.
1833 J. Davidson Embalming 14 Many of their Mummies..are of a dark tanned colour,..the features distinct, the belly sunk.
1932 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 16 July 100/1 She looked thin, haggard, and dehydrated; the eyes were hollow, the cheeks sunk, the tongue coated with thick brown fur.
2012 Sun Herald (Sydney) (Nexis) 10 June 54 Deans looked like a dead man walking. The eyes were sunk. He was drained.
3. figurative. That is in a weakened or diminished condition. Cf. sunken adj. 3.
a. In predicative use. Of a person: in a hopeless position; finished, ruined, done for. Now colloquial.
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the world > action or operation > adversity > [adjective] > miserable or wretched > in a hopeless position
sunk1583
screwed1955
1583 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Deuteronomie xciiij. 583/1 If I vtterly faile him at this time, he is quite sunck.
a1625 J. Fletcher Wit without Money (1639) i. i. sig. B Alas, he's sunke, his meanes are gone.
1696 J. Dennis Remarks Prince Arthur ii. iii. 67 By what I have heard, we're sunk and lost for ever.
1761 H. Brooke Earl of Essex iv. 44 Joy! joy! my Nottingham—he's sunk for ever, Caught in the very act of broad rebellion.
1883 A. E. Keeling Oakhurst Chron. iii. 36 He can never be quite sunk while the Court favours him as it does.
1934 A. P. Herbert Holy Deadlock 103 ‘Hell!’ thought Mr. Ransom, ‘we're sunk!’
1951 J. Frame Lagoon 56 If visitors come tonight I am sunk.
2010 Sun (Nexis) 5 May 13 Now a Labour candidate has branded him ‘the worst Prime Minister ever’ he's well and truly sunk.
b. Of a person's spirits: depressed, low.
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the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > [adjective] > of the heart or spirits
leadya1536
sunk1601
sunken1642
sombrous1751
sombre1821
1601 J. Marston et al. Iacke Drums Entertainm. v. sig. H4v I am quite sunck with griefe.
1644 C. Tesdale Hierusalem 17 Oh that the Lord would raise the sunke hearts of our Brittish Yeomanry.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 199 I was exceedingly sunk in my Spirits.
1782 H. More David & Goliath v. 112 Why drive him from my presence? he might now Raise my sunk soul, and my benighted mind Enlighten with religion's cheering ray.
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy III. xi. 317 I saw his daughter's form once more before me in flesh and blood, though with diminished beauty and sunk spirits.
1881 J. Guest Sketch Life & Labours 127 It is Almighty power alone that can Alleviate thy wretched lot, or raise Thy mind from that sunk state in which it lies.
1972 L. Auchincloss I come as Thief iii. 121 I think I'm starting a nervous crack-up. I have the most terrible sunk feeling.
2013 L. Leiderman Lives of Magic iv. 37 I stumbled a little further, dark thoughts sinking my already sunk mood.
c. Morally corrupt; depraved, degenerate.
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the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > corruption > [adjective]
sickc960
foulOE
unwholec1000
thewlessa1327
corrupt1340
viciousc1340
unwholesomec1374
infecta1387
rustyc1390
unsound?a1400
rottenc1400
rotten-heartedc1405
cankereda1450
infectedc1449
wasted1483
depravate?1520
poisoned1529
deformed1555
poisonous1555
reprobate1557
corrupted1563
prave1564
base-minded1573
tainted1577
Gomorrhean1581
vice-like1589
depraved1593
debauched1598
deboshedc1598
tarish1601
sunk1602
speckled1603
deboist1604
diseased1608
ulcerous1611
vitial1614
debauchc1616
deboise1632
pravous1653
depravea1711
unhealthy1821
scrofulous1842
septic1914
society > morality > moral evil > moral or spiritual degeneration > [adjective]
unkind1340
degeneratea1513
bastardlyc1567
regenerate1596
embased1602
sunk1602
depressed1647
abastardized1653
demoralized1800
debased1863
1602 J. Colleton Iust Def. Slandered Priestes iv. 181 The excommunicate, the bandite, the hopelesse and deepest sunke person in all wickednes, are allowed to speake in their own defence.
1678 H. More Let. 25 May 38 in J. Glanvill Saducismus Triumphatus (1681) The vilest reproach against the God of Israel..that..the dulness of any sunk Soul can stumble upon.
1680 H. More Apocalypsis Apocalypseos 97 A thing that sunk flesh and blood are too incredulous of.
1745 E. Young Consolation 121 Let not best Laws, the Wisdom of our Sires, Turn Satires on their sunk, degenerate Sons.
1835 R. Browning Paracelsus iii. 109 If the mean stimulants of vulgar praise, And vanity, should become the chosen food Of a sunk mind.
1868 W. R. Greg Lit. & Social Judgm. 132 She is punished..as the most sunk of sinners.
1912 T. de Vries Dutch Hist., Art & Lit. iv. 91 It was a gigantic struggle between the mediaeval spirit of the deeply sunk and corrupt Roman Catholic World on one side and the spirit of Renaissance and Reformation on the other.
2016 National Mirror (Nexis) 19 May The country is so morally sunk that an individual's effort to change it is an exercise in futility.
d. Of status, value, reputation, etc.: degraded or diminished.
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the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > degrading or debasement > [adjective] > degraded
degraded1483
debased1593
sunk1618
hang-dog1677
meanc1680
unpedestalled1823
vilified1828
disrated1891
1618 J. Everard Arriereban 103 Labour (as occasion shall serue) to plucke vp againe, the sunke and drowned honour of our Country.
1686 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Staffs. viii. 274 Who raised again their sunk ancient Family..by their valour only.
1733 J. Swift Presbyterians Plea Merit 15 A sunk discarded Party.
1824 J. Gordon Short Hist. Adventures of London Reviewer (ed. 2) v. 74 Let him retire to his garret, and there repine, and reflect on his blasted ambition and sunk reputation.
1921 Fourth Estate 1 Jan. 28/2 A newspaper..need not mind the gossip of idle or malicious people about the sordid and sunk condition of the press.
2004 A. A. Caudhri General, I accuse You 195 A wild thought came to my mind that the successful action was going to greatly bolster my battalions [sic] otherwise sunk reputation.
4.
a. Placed at a lower level than the surrounding area; (usually) spec. constructed below the level of the surrounding land or floor. Cf. sunken adj. 5b.Sunken is more common in this sense.
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the world > space > relative position > low position > [adjective] > lower in position > than surrounding parts
sunk-in1611
sunk1633
sunken1683
sunken1791
1633 T. Stafford Pacata Hibernia i. iv. 30 Captaine Iohn Bostocke..espied the Morians of some of the suncke ambush in the Glinn.
1776 G. Washington Let. 10 Dec. in Papers (1997) Revolutionary War Ser. VII. 291 The Wall is to run from the end of the Sunk Wall.
1795 Edinb. Advertiser 2 Jan. 2/1 One half of the sunk flat or cellars, neatly laid out and furnished with catacombs.
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 1203 The earthen floor is excavated to form the molasses reservoir...The bottom holes..allow the molasses to drain slowly downwards into the sunk cistern.
1923 Daily Mail 19 Feb. 6 Visitors will pass by old red brick and crazy paths to a sunk lawn.
1991 R. Waldrop tr. A. Borer Rimbaud in Abyssinia xii. 264 He went down the sunk entryway.
2002 Evening Standard (Nexis) 15 May 6 Most homeowners go for a sunk pool.
b. Designating work produced in various crafts in which depression below the level of a surrounding surface is a feature; made by or used in work of this kind. Cf. sunken adj. 5a.More common than sunken in this sense.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > work of art > [adjective] > executed in specific manner
black and white1765
sunk1776
rupestrian1896
trompe l'œil1926
gessoed1955
1776 Builder's Price-bk. 88 Sunk Work—8s. 6d.
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 316 Sunk-work is that which has been partly chiselled away, as the tops of window-cills, &c.
1835 R. Willis Remarks Archit. Middle Ages vi. 65 A row of small sunk pannels upon the space between the dripstone and window head.
1875 T. Seaton Man. Fret Cutting 143 It may be called Sunk Carving; for, contrary to the usual method, the carving is sunk, whilst the ground is left at its original level.
1909 F. Weitenkampf How to appreciate Prints xiii. 291 Sometimes mat and mount are fastened together on all four sides, forming what is known as a ‘sunk mount’.
1947 A. O. R. Johnson & J. L. Daniels in P. I. Smith Pract. Plastics xiv. 191/2 The Taylor-Hobson pantograph milling and die-sinking machine..is specially designed for machining complex surfaces and producing all forms of dies, moulds, contours, relief and sunk engraving.
2016 Dawn (Pakistan) (Nexis) 29 May This enormous mural is divided into rectangular, square and arched sunk panels that are filled in with brightly coloured glazed-tile mosaics.
c. Nautical. Designating a forecastle or poop which is raised less than the height of a full deck above the upper deck. Now rare (chiefly historical).
ΚΠ
1833 J. H. Wilson On Steam Communication Bombay & Suez 23 The vessel should have no cabins below in the after part, but a sunk poop running as far forward towards the funnel as convenient.
1919 Measurem. of Vessels (U.S. Dept. of Commerce) (ed. 3) i. 38 The break in the deck is caused usually by a sunk forecastle, a sunk poop, a raised quarter-deck, etc.
1933 B. Lubbock Opium Clippers iv. 134 She was carvel-built with a square stern, sunk poop and forecastle, two decks, no quarter-galleries.
1994 Sea Breezes June 481/1 The deck erections comprised a ‘sunk forecastle’ and three deckhouses distributed along the length of the ship.
5. Of the sun: that has gone down below the horizon, set; (of the day) finished, over, as a result of the setting of the sun; = sunken adj. 6. Now rare.
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the world > the universe > sun > solar movement > [adjective] > having set
fallen1635
sunk1737
sunken1798
1737 R. Savage Of Public Spirit 3 When the sunk Sun, no homeward Sail, befriends.
1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc iv. 141 The clouds, that still were pierc'd By the sunk day-star's ray.
1857 New Monthly Mag. June 234 From betwixt the sky and cloud a gush Of the sunk orb's refracted beams was shed.
1904 M. Roberts Rachel Marr iv. xviii. 391 The moon rose roundly, white of silver, and the sunk day shone in the sun's great afterglow.
1958 S. Plath Jrnl. 21 Feb. (2000) 336 The blaze, whitened & purified, of sunk sun which still flushed the west with light.
6. Economics and Finance. Designating expenditure already incurred, esp. capital already invested, which cannot easily be recovered, frequently because spent on assets or investments which are valueless or difficult to realize; (also) designating assets or investments of this kind. Cf. sunk cost n.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > expenditure > [adjective] > types of cost or expenditure
incident1652
incidental1740
sunk1771
sumptuary1796
indirect1903
oncost1908
overhead1909
all-up1942
pass-through1952
internalized1971
1771 Monthly Rev. Sept. 200 For a sunk capital, the disburser may justly expect double interest.
1851 Bury & Norwich Post 13 Aug. The mere fact that a farm retained its former rating value would prove that the tenant's improvements, and consequently his sunk expenditure, must have been considerable.
1893 Daily News 10 May 5/2 The Bank of New Zealand, some time ago, cut adrift its sunk investments.
1943 Jrnl. Business Univ. Chicago 16 1/1 Producers may have sunk capital in fixed investments which have little alternative use.
2013 Canberra Times (Nexis) 19 July b3 This would..also prevent financial losses from further investment in what are likely to end up being sunk assets.
Compounds
C1. Parasynthetic (in sense 2), esp. in sunk-eyed.Analogous formations with sunken are more common from the 19th cent.: see sunken adj. Compounds 1.
ΚΠ
1599 R. Surflet tr. A. Du Laurens Disc. Preserv. Sight x. 118 He becometh pale, leane, souning, without any stomacke to his meate, hollow and sunke eyed.
1601 J. Marston et al. Iacke Drums Entertainm. i. sig. A2v The yeallow toothd, sunck-eyde, gowtie shankt Vsurer.
a1640 P. Massinger Parl. of Love (1976) iv. iii. 23 Weel shew this shallow fooles sunck eyd dispaire.
1762 W. J. Mickle Providence 14 Sunk-ey'd, lean-rib'd Ghosts Yell'd in my ears.
1850 Amer. Whig Rev. Nov. 524/2 ‘Free Trade’ hangs on flags from the house-top, and is roared by a lean, sunk-eyed, big-boned Irish bellman.
1880 R. Broughton Second Thoughts II. ii. viii. 57 The same woman, carrot-headed, thumb-nosed, sunk-chested.
1918 W. Owen Poems (1921) 26 Head to limp head, the sunk-eyed wounded scanned Yesterday's Mail.
1984 R. Taylor Loving Belle Starr 61 Watson's face seems to stare at him, mean and sunk-cheeked.
2003 Independent on Sunday (Nexis) 1 June (Features section) A flawlessly polite and genial host, quite unlike the sullen, sunk-eyed figure in paramilitary uniform who stares balefully out from a hundred press cuttings.
C2. † sunk cell n. Obsolete a shallow depression or well in a microscope slide, typically used to hold thick specimens or liquids.† sunk head n. Typography Obsolete a blank space at the top of a page on which a book or chapter begins.
sunk band n. Bookbinding a sewing support consisting of a cord fitted into a groove cut across the spine of a book; binding done using a number of these cords placed at intervals along the length of the spine; cf. sunk cord n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > book > manufacture or production of books > book-binding > [noun] > cloth or string on which binding constructed
sunk band1851
1851 Trans. Amer. Inst. N.-Y. 1850 137 in Docs. Assembly State N.-Y. (74th Session, Doc. No. 149) V. A smooth roller is used for sunk band or smooth backs, and for raised bands a roller is used with grooves turned in its surface corresponding to the bands on the book.
1906 J. C. Dana Notes on Bookbinding ii. 21 (caption) B Section of modern ‘flexible’ sewing round single bands. C Section of ordinary sewing with sunk bands.
2004 J. M. Reitz Dict. Libr. & Information Sci. 696 Sunk bands, in hand bookbinding, sewing supports recessed by the binder in shallow grooves cut across the binding edge of the sections to eliminate ridges (raised bands) in the material covering the spine.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > magnification or magnifying instruments > [noun] > microscope > slides > part of
sunk cell1862
cell1870
1856 W. B. Carpenter Microscope v. 238 The Author has adopted the recommendation of a friend, to make use of cells which are sunk by grinding out a concave in the thickness of a glass plate.]
1862 W. B. Carpenter Microscope (ed. 3) v. 239 Sunk and plate-glass cells.
1922 C. E. Heath Beginner's Guide Microscope (new ed.) 84 A living water flea from a pond, if put in a sunk cell with a little water and covered with a cover glass, makes a delightful display.
sunk coak n. Woodworking and Shipbuilding (now historical and rare) a groove or cavity in the face of one of two scarfed timbers, into which the coak of the other is fitted to form a joint; see scarf v.2 1a, coak n. 2.Now usually referred to by the more general term mortise (mortise n. 2).
ΚΠ
1821 J. Fincham Introd. Outl. Pract. Ship-Building 10 The raised coak is upon the lip..or thin part of the scarph, and the sunk coak taken out to correspond in the thick part.
1869 R. W. Meade Treat. Naval Archit. & Ship-building (ed. 2) 302 A mortise, or sunk coak, is a hollow cut in a piece of timber to fit a tenon or a raised coak on another piece.
1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 821/1 Sunk-coak, the mortise-like recess in one of the mating surfaces of a scarfed joint, into which the coak..fits.
sunk cord n. Bookbinding a sewing support consisting of a cord fitted into a groove cut across the spine of a book; cf. sunk band n.
ΚΠ
1959 L. M. Harrod Librarians' Gloss. (ed. 2) 268 Sunk Bands (Cords)... Cords or bands..placed in grooves sawn into the backs of sections of a book.
1965 L. S. Darley Introd. Bookbinding 61 (caption) Sawing for sunk cords.
1987 Book & Paper Group Ann. 6 15 Sunk cords may be a sounder structure than has often been assumed in this century.
sunk country n. (with the) a wetland area in eastern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri; cf. sunk lands n.
ΚΠ
1849 C. Lyell 2nd Visit U.S. II. 236 The ‘sunk country’..extends along the course of the White Water and its tributaries.
1918 Jrnl. Ecol. 6 95 The sunk country of the Mississippi bottom lands has for the most part two types of progressive successions.
2013 C. B. Valencius Lost Hist. New Madrid Earthquakes vi. 221 Some newcomers continued west past the sunk country.
sunk enamel n. enamelwork in which hollows made in a metal surface are filled with coloured enamels; = champlevé n. and adj.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > enamelling > [noun] > type of enamelling
champlevé1856
sunk enamel1882
basse-taille1899
plique à jour1899
impasto1903
minakari1970
1882 Liverpool Mercury 5 May 7/9 (advt.) Handsome gold-plate dome English lever watch,..white sunk enamel dial.
1929 Times 2 Nov. 10/4 The coral inlay, and red sunk-enamel (champlevé) on the handle.
1997 E. W. Carr in H. C. Evans & W. D. Wixom Art & Culture Middle Byzantine Era 171/3 This small enameled cross has flaring arms that terminate in cloisonné medallions in sunk enamel.
sunk fence n. a ditch with a wall on its inner side below ground level, forming a boundary to a park or garden without interrupting the view; = ha-ha n.2; cf. sunken fence n. at sunken adj. Compounds 2.
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the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > that which or one who closes or shuts > a barrier > [noun] > ha-ha
ha-ha1712
sunk fence1745
ha1766
1745 D. Fordyce Dialogues conc. Educ. I. xi. 428 She leapt from the sunk Fence, and with difficulty scrambled up the opposite Side of the Ditch.
1780 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting (ed. 2) IV. vii. 137 The contiguous ground of the park without the sunk fence was to be harmonized with the lawn within.
1845 C. Dickens Chimes iii. 119 You may see the cottage from the sunk fence over yonder.
1999 Oxoniensia 63 103 Mr Parkinson was given the task of designing such a ‘ha-ha’ and the perpendicular wall built against the eastern side of the sunk fence is still there.
sunk garden n. a garden that lies below the general level of its surroundings, often as a feature within a larger garden or park; = sunken garden n. at sunken adj. Compounds 2.
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the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > garden > [noun] > other types of garden
grounda1500
knot-garden1519
back-garden1535
summer garden1589
spring garden1612
spring gardena1625
water gardena1626
walled gardena1631
wildernessa1644
window garden1649
botanic garden1662
Hanging Gardens1705
winter garden1736
cottage garden1765
Vauxhall1770
English garden1771
wall garden1780
chinampa1787
moat garden1826
gardenesque1832
sunk garden1835
roof garden1844
weedery1847
wild garden1852
rootery1855
beer-garden1863
Japanese garden1863
bog-garden1883
Italian garden1883
community garden1884
sink garden1894
trough garden1935
sand garden1936
Zen garden1937
hydroponicum1938
tub garden1974
rain garden1994
1835 Chambers' Edinb. Jrnl. 10 Jan. 397/1 On the south there is a deep walled enclosure, forming a sunk garden called the Orangery.
1922 J. Buchan Huntingtower v. 93 A path which wound down to the sunk garden.
2001 Express (Nexis) 31 Mar. 60 The sunk garden, where once bush roses grew, was transformed a few years ago into a lush tropical garden.
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1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1084/1 A sunk-head is a blank portion at the beginning of a book or chapter.
1903 10th Biennial Rep. Bureau of Labor Statistics Iowa 1901–2 333 Where the compositor is required to make up, he shall receive 3 cents per 1,000 ems extra, and be entitled to all folios, sunk heads, blank and short pages.
sunk key n. Engineering a bar, wedge, or other piece of metal fitted into a groove cut longitudinally in a shaft of a machine or engine, and used to couple the shaft with a gear, pulley, or other rotating element; cf. key n.1 12a.
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1862 Morning Post 18 July The shaft is made of cast-iron, and has an eccentric and balance pulley cast on at one end; a similar one is fixed at the other end by means of a sunk key and nut.
1911 F. D. Furman Questions & Probl. Machine Design vi. 20 Under what conditions would a sunk key and a saddle key be useful on a single shaft?
2009 Machine Design (Nexis) 24 Sept. 51 Tapered sunk keys not only act as drivers, but hold components against axial or endwise movement.
sunk lands n. (with the) a wetland area in eastern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri; cf. sunk country n.
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1847 W. Pelham Let. 22 Oct. in U.S. Senate Executive Documents 30th Congr., 1st Sess. III. 114 The district of country..includes a large portion of the district called ‘Sunk Lands’, and is..very difficult to survey; the surveyors only being able to operate during the low stage of the waters.
1896 O. P. Read Arkansas Planter iv. 44 Slow, now, my lady, queen of the sunk lands.
1916 L. W. Stephenson & A. F. Crider Geol. & Ground Waters Northeastern Arkansas 166 The ‘sunk lands’ are gently undulating, the partly wooded, swampy depressions.
2000 Arkansas Hist. Q. 59 135 Bison found some protection in the thick canebrakes and sunk lands of the St. Francis basin in eastern Arkansas.
sunk shelf n. now rare a shelf with a groove to prevent plates, dishes, etc., stored on their edges from slipping off.
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1768 J. Leadbeater Gentleman & Tradesman's Compl. Assistant i. ii. 40 Whole deal sunk shelves.
1874 J. D. Simon & F. T. W. Miller House-owner's Estimator 20 Three 1″ sunk shelves fitted with pot-hooks.
1930 Library World 33 156 A rather remarkable type of reading table, with sunk shelves for book display, was also designed.
1975 C. M. Harris Dict. Archit. 487/1 Sunk shelf, a narrow shelf serving as a plate rail.
sunk storey n. a storey of a building below ground level; a basement; cf. sunken storey n. at sunken adj. Compounds 2.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > [noun] > floor or storey > below ground level
basement1730
sunk storey1769
below stairs1771
sunken storey1791
1769 W. Buchan Domest. Med. i. 59 Such servants, as are obliged to live for the most part in cellars and sunk stories, seldom continue long in health.
1840 J. W. Carlyle Let. 16 Oct. in Coll. Lett. T. & J. W. Carlyle (1985) XII. 287 The sunk-story of this respectable, æsthetic house was..converted into a lively epitome of St. Giles's.
1996 M. Glendinning et al. Hist. Sc. Archit. vi. 304 The Edinburgh Public Library..comprised an ornate upper structure perched on a massive, rock-faced base of sunk storeys.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† sunkv.
Scottish. Obsolete.
intransitive. To be in a bad-tempered or sullen mood; to sulk.Only in the works of Allan Ramsay.
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the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > ill humour > be ill-humoured [verb (intransitive)]
to have pissed on a nettle1546
mumpc1610
to sell souse1611
sullena1652
sumpha1689
frump1693
hatch1694
sunk1724
mug?c1730
purt1746
sulk1781
to get up or out of bed (on) the wrong side1801
strum1804
boody1857
sull1869
grump1875
to hump the back1889
to have (also pull, throw, etc.) a moody1969
1724 [implied in: A. Ramsay Health 71 [He] ask'd his sunkan gloomy Spouse, What Supper had she in the House.].
1737 A. Ramsay To Duncan Forbes 64 For which they'll now have nae relief, But sonk at hame, and cleck mischief.
Derivatives
sunking adj. sulking, sullen.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > ill humour > [adjective]
moodyc1300
distemprec1374
melancholiana1393
solein1399
darkc1440
gloomingc1440
girning1447
melancholyc1450
tetrical1528
tetric1533
distemperate1548
morose1565
sullen1570
stunt1581
humorous1590
gloomya1593
muddy1592
clum1599
dortya1605
humoursome1607
distempereda1616
musty1620
grum1640
agelastic1666
fusty1668
purdy1668
ill-humoured1693
gurly1721
mumpish1721
sunking1724
tetricous1727
sumphish1728
stunkard1737
sulky1744
muggard1746
farouche1765
sombrea1767
glumpy1780
glumpish1800
tiffy1810
splenitive1815
stuffy1825
liverish1828
troglodytish1866
glummy1884
humpy1889
scowly1951
1724 A. Ramsay Health 71 [He] ask'd his sunkan gloomy Spouse, What Supper had she in the House.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.a1522
adj.1578
v.1724