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shirk

 - 3 dictionary results

shirk

  [shurk]
–verb (used with object)
1. to evade (work, duty, responsibility, etc.).
–verb (used without object)
2. to evade work, duty, etc.
–noun
3. a shirker.
Use shirk in a Sentence
Origin:
1625–35; obscurely akin to shark 2

Synonyms:
1. shun, avoid, dodge.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To shirk
shirk   (shûrk)   
v.   shirked, shirk·ing, shirks

v.   tr.
To avoid or neglect (a duty or responsibility).
v.   intr.
To avoid work or duty.

[Perhaps from German Schurke, scoundrel; akin to Old High German fiurscurgo, demon : fiur, fire + scurigen, to stir up.]
shirk'er n.
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

shirk 
1633, "to practice fraud or trickery," also a noun (1639, now obs.) "a disreputable parasite," perhaps from Ger. schurke "scoundrel, rogue, knave, villain" (see shark). Sense of "evade one's work or duty" first recorded 1785, originally in slang.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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