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Eked

 - 3 dictionary results

eke

1  [eek]
Use Eked in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), eked, ek⋅ing.
1. to increase; enlarge; lengthen.
—Verb phrase
2. eke out,
a. to make (a living) or support (existence) laboriously: They managed to eke out a living by farming a small piece of land.
b. to supplement; add to; stretch: to eke out an income with odd jobs.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME eken, OE ēac(i)an (intrans.), deriv. of ēaca (n.) increase; ME echen, OE ēcan, var. of īecan (transit.) < WGmc *aukjan; both akin to ON auka, Goth aukan, L augēre, Gk auxánein to increase, amplify
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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eke 1   (ēk)   
tr.v.   eked, ek·ing, ekes

  1. To supplement with great effort. Used with out: eked out an income by working two jobs.

  2. To get with great effort or strain. Used with out: eke a bare existence from farming in an arid area.

  3. To make (a supply) last by practicing strict economy. Used with out.


[Middle English eken, to increase, from Old English ēcan; see aug- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

eke 
c.1200, north England and E. Midlands var. of echen from O.E. ecan, eacan, eacian "addition, reinforcement," probably from eaca "an increase," from P.Gmc. *aukan (cf. O.N. auka, O.Fris. aka, Goth. aukan), from PIE *aug- "to increase" (see augment). Now mainly in phrase to eke out (1596). 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 miserable existence. Obsolete eke "also" (O.E. eac, Ger. auch) is probably related.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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