ilk
/ɪlk
/noun [in singular]
1A type of person or thing similar to one already referred to: the veiled suggestions that reporters of his ilk seem to be so good at there was music by Parry and Elgar and others of that ilk...
- I suspect my old school chums, those who were of the right ilk, went down this path and have continued.
- The drive to increase access to universities fits in with New Labour pronouncements on social inclusion and the ilk.
- But so it was until it was won by vibrant and brave men of the ilk of Sir George.
Synonyms
type, sort, class, category, group, set, bracket, genre, kidney, grain, species, race, strain, vintage, make, model, brand, stamp, variety, family
1.1 (of that ilk) Scottish, chiefly archaic Of the place or estate of the same name: Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk...
- Wallace, whose father liked to pretend that he could trace his family tree back to William of that ilk and claim kinship, proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection independently of Darwin.
- Especially since one of her new housemates was big Colin Montgomerie of that ilk, hardly likely to be Mr Chuckles over breakfast.
- Father Peter Lamont of that ilk, head of the Lamont clan, is a Catholic priest who teaches children in New South Wales.
Usage
Today ilk is used in phrases such as of his ilk and of that ilk to mean ‘type’ or ‘sort’. This sense arose out of a misunderstanding of the earlier, Scottish use in the phrase of that ilk, where it means ‘of the same name or place’. For this reason, some traditionalists regard the modern use as incorrect. It is, however, the only common current sense and is now part of standard English.
Origin
Old English ilca 'same', of Germanic origin; related to alike.