Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An obsolete or dialectal form of quirk.
  • To throttle; choke; stifle; suffocate.
  • To grunt; moan.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To throttle; choke; stifle; suffocate.
  • verb intransitive To grunt; moan.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English querken, from Old English *cwiercan, *cweorcan ("to throttle, smother"), from *cweorc ("throat"), from Proto-Germanic *kwerkō (“gullet, throat”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷergʷ-, *gʷerkʷ-, *gʷerw- (“throat, neck”). Cognate with North Frisian querke, quirke ("to querk"), Danish kværke ("to throttle, strangle, suffocate"), Icelandic kyrkja, kvirkja ("to throttle, strangle"), Latin gurguliō ("throat"). More at gurgle.

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Examples

  • To "querk" is to complain without good cause; to "twank" is to complain with real cause.

    Phil Baker and Friends - The Last 7 Days 2009

  • I just don't prefer the odd new shapes and querk-E designs that are becoming more and more popular these days.

    Autoblog 2009

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