perkish

perk

1 [purk]
verb (used without object)
1.
to become lively, cheerful, or vigorous, as after depression or sickness (usually followed by up ): The patients all perked up when we played the piano for them.
2.
to act, or carry oneself, in a jaunty manner.
3.
to put oneself forward briskly or presumptuously.
verb (used with object)
4.
to make smart, trim, or jaunty (sometimes followed by up or out ): to perk up a suit with a new white blouse.
5.
to raise smartly or briskly (often followed by up or out ): to perk one's head up.
00:10
Perkish is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
adjective
6.
perky; jaunty: a perk manner.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English perken; perhaps akin to peer2

perk·ing·ly, adverb
perk·ish, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
perk1 (pɜːk) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  pert; brisk; lively
 
vb
2.  See perk up
 
[C16: see perk up]

perk2 (pɜːk) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  (intr) (of coffee) to percolate
2.  (tr) to percolate (coffee)

perk3 (pɜːk) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
informal (Brit) short for perquisite

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

perk
late 14c., "to make oneself trim or smart," perhaps from O.N.Fr. perquer "to perch" (Fr. percher; see perch (1)), on notion of a bird preening its plumage. Sense of "raise oneself briskly" is first attested 1520s; perk up "recover liveliness" is from 1650s.

perk
1869, shortened and altered form of perquisite (q.v.); 1934 as shortened and altered form of percolate (see percolation).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

perk definition


  1. n.
    an extra financial benefit; a monetary inducement or reward. (From perquisite. See also benies.) : I don't get paid much, but the perks are good.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
perk
perquisite
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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